Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream

Update Reviews, August 2024 Visits

Another year, another free birthday scoop at Baskin-Robbins, and more disappointment at the quality of the ice cream (at least in scoop shops).

Cherries Jubilee.

"This dreamy, classic flavor features Cherry Pieces packed in lush Cherry flavored Ice Cream with a Hint of Rum flavor."

I was drawn in by the rum promise of this, and the fact that I do like cherries.  I'm glad I asked for a sample though. The flavor was fine, I guess cherry flavored, not too medicinal, although a bit like maraschino cherries.  But ... it was icy and freezer burnt.  Like basically any Baskin-Robbins I've ever gotten from a scoop shop.  Sigh.  Flavor? **+, but due to the freezer burn, *+.

Jamoca Almond Fudge. Single. $4.49.

"Jamoca® ice cream with roasted almonds and a chocolate flavoured ribbon."

I wanted to like this ice cream much more than I actually did.  So many elements were just not great.

First, like seemingly every scoop of ice cream from Baskin-Robbins, it was freezer burnt.  That is to be expected at this point really.

Next, I didn't taste any mocha really, no coffee notes, just fairly plain (icy) ice cream.  The base really let me down.

Next, the almonds were soft, as if they were soggy.  How were they soft inside frozen ice cream?  I have no idea, but the texture was not pleasant.  There were plenty of them.

The chocolate ribbon was decent.

Overall, lacking coffee flavor, soggy almonds, hard pass. *.

Rum Raisin.  Single.  Cake Cone.

"Rum flavoured ice cream with raisins."

This was pretty average rum raisin ice cream.  Decently boozy.  Fairly plump raisins.  Met expectations.  Made me want walnuts in it though.  Low ***.

Update Reviews, August 2023 Visits

Every month, Baskin-Robbins has a special flavor of the month.  They run from the start of the month, until they run out.  Depending on popularity, sometimes this means you can find a flavor months later.  I like to try these flavors, as they are generally more interesting than the standard lineup.

August: Game Night.

"Salted Caramel Ice Cream stacked with M&M'S® MINIS Milk Chocolate Candies, Buttered Popcorn flavored Clusters, and a game-winning Caramel Pretzel flavored Swirl."

This sounded great to me.  Not because I care about, well, watching any game, but, because it was full of goodies I love to snack on.    Sweet and salty, and with *popcorn*?!!  Yes, yes, yes.

I'm glad I asked to sample it first, because, it turned out, I really didn't like it.  The salted caramel base was just far too sweet, and the popcorn pieces were soft and soggy.  Meh.  **.  

March: Chick’n & Waffles.

"Buttermilk waffle flavored ice cream with plenty of crispy chick’n* and waffle flavored bites drizzled in a decadent bourbon maple syrup flavored swirl."

The shop I visited still had this March flavor in August, which generally isn't the sign of a winner, but, it really did sound pretty interesting, so I gave it a try.  I didn't taste buttermilk.  I didn't taste chicken.  I didn't taste waffle.  Mostly, I tasted sweet, which I guess was the maple syrup swirl, but came across like generic caramel.  There was some textural bits that I guess were waffle?  Overall, too sweet and didn't deliver in the interesting flavors.  **.

April:  PB ‘n J. 

"This fresh take on your childhood favorite offers smooth peanut butter ice cream with sticky and sweet grape jelly swirls smeared into brown butter flavored ice cream."

Next, they also had April's flavor still available: PB 'n J.  This was actually pretty good, although fairly heavy.  Rich, strongly peanut butter flavored base, lots of fruity sweet jelly.  It definitely tasted like PB&J, but was just a bit too rich for my mood, a full scoop would have been a bit much, but, it was an enjoyable flavor that lived up to the description.  ***.

Icing on the Cake.

"It’s your birthday everyday when you can indulge in this cake flavored ice cream with cake pieces, frosting bits and candy confetti ribbon. Now you can eat ice cream and have your cake too!"

Since it was my birthday, I was tempted by the "Icing on the Cake" flavor, which I also sampled, and it too let me down.  Just sweet.  Meh.  ***.

Old Fashioned Butter Pecan.
Single, 4oz. $4.95.

Pralines 'n Cream: "Vanilla flavored Ice Cream with Southern-inspired Praline Pecans & a gooey Caramel Swirl."

Butter Pecan: "Butter-Roasted Pecans folded into Butter Pecan flavored Ice Cream."

I don't actually remember if I asked for butter pecan, or pralines 'n cream ... both feature pecans, both feature a high fat dairy product ... I *think* it was butter pecan I randomly picked in the end, selected as it was a fresh tub, whereas most were on the last dregs.  I hoped that would mean less freezer burnt ice cream, which seems to commonly be a problem at their shops.

It was ... ok.  It was sweet, it had nice hunks of pecans, but, it wasn't particularly creamy, and didn't really draw me in.  It did melt nicely, but even then, I wasn't left with a feeling of really wanting more of it.  Highly mediocre, decent flavor, but lower end ice cream base.  **+.

Jamoca Almond Fudge.
Single, 4oz, Cone. $4.85.

"Baskin-Robbins' Jamoca® Coffee Ice Cream with Roasted Almonds & a Chocolate flavored Swirl."

I've heard good things about the Jamoca Almond Fudge flavor, so I got a cone without trying it (after sampling, and ruling out, the monthly flavors).  The ice cream base was more mildly chocolate flavored to me than coffee, I was definitely expecting a stronger coffee flavor.  It was nicely loaded with goodies, crispy roasted almond flakes and chocolate swirl.  

This seems like it could be an enjoyable flavor, however, mine was very freezer burnt.  It just tasted stale, like the inside of a freezer.  Decent enough pedigree (although I wanted stronger coffee flavor), but alas, the lack of proper storage totally ruined it.  **.

I asked for it in a cone, wanting a cake cone, and was given a sugar cone, and then charged an additional fee for it.  I explained that I wanted a cake cone, and she just shrugged and took away the fee, not offering a cake cone, or bowl, or anything.  I've literally never had good service at any Baskin-Robbins location, the staff are always just so grumpy.

Update Reviews, 2019 Visits

A few more visits, and I found a new flavor I do like!

Nutty Coconut & Peppermint. Small (split scoop).

Did you know you can get a split scoop at Baskin-Robbins, even for a small?  YES!

I was thrilled when my server suggested this, as I really was torn between 3 flavors: the Nutty Coconut and two different peppermint ice creams (this one, and the York Peppermint Pattie).  I only had to rule out one, and decided on the regular Peppermint, rather than Peppermint Pattie, but it was a close call.

Nutty Coconut:
"Feeling crazy? So will your senses when they feel the chill of coconut flavored ice cream mixed with almonds, pecans, and walnuts."

This is one of Baskin Robbins "Classic" flavors, that has been around ~forever, yet somehow, I hadn't ever tried it before.

It turned out to be rather awesome.  I *think* my favorite flavor so far!

The base is coconut ice cream, great coconut flavor, and I think some texture from shredded coconut as well.  But the real texture comes from the plentiful nut mix-ins, bits of almond, pecan, and walnut, all of which are chopped up and give this ice cream a ton to look forward to.  The nuts and coconut worked together surprisingly well!

Peppermint Stick:

This is another classic flavor, but I believe it has been discontinued.  But my shop still had it, and I actually tried it accidentally - I asked to sample the Peppermint Pattie, and she gave me this instead.  Good mistake on her part, as I liked it *slightly* more than the Peppermint Pattie!

It was a ridiculous fake pink color, but besides that, it was just simple peppermint goodness.  Far more minty than any of their other mint offerings, and enhanced with bits of peppermint stick.  For mint lovers, no question.

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YORK® Peppermint Pattie -  December 2017 Flavor of the Month

"Mini York peppermint patties and a rich dark chocolate mint flavored ribbon swirled in mint flavored ice cream."

This was a "returning favorite", last offered in December 2014.

It was good.  The mint base was slightly minty, a white base not a silly pink peppermint.  The ribbon and mini York patties gave it plenty of interesting bits.  But I actually preferred the regular Peppermint slightly, as it was a more intense mint, and didn't have the chocolate to take away from the minty experience.  But chocolate and mint are a great combo, and this worked, for sure.

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Bobsled Brownie® - January 2018 Flavor of the Month.

"A combination of Butter Caramel-flavored ice cream and Milk Chocolate Mousse-flavored ice cream with blonde brownie pieces and a fudge crackle swirl throughout."

This certainly sounded interesting, butter caramel ice cream, chocolate mousse ice cream, blondies, fudge crackle ... but, it was all blended together too much, so all you could really taste was some chocolate with a bit of cakey texture.  Not for me.

Also: why was my scoop shop still selling in April when I tried it?  This is more evidence that half my dislike of Baskin-Robbins comes from their low turn around and freezer burn!

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Golden OREO® ‘N Churro

"This innovative new flavor features cinnamon caramel-flavored ice cream with crispy churro pieces and Golden OREO® cookie pieces all wrapped together with a fried dough-flavored ribbon!"

Discontinued flavor.

This one caught my eye, amusingly.  I don't like Oreos (golden or not), and I don't really like churros, so, why this?  Well, I do like cinnamon flavored ice creams, and, uh, the promise of a "fried dough" ribbon was just too much to pass up.

I'm glad I asked to sample first though.  Because I did not like this.  It did taste like fried dough, but, not in a good way.  It tasted like fried oil.  Greasy, old, stale, carnival oil.  Somewhat like the June Flavor of the Month in 2015, Dunkin’ Donuts® Coffee ‘N Donut, that tasted like stale donuts.

Not good.  No wonder this was discontinued (and yet still in stock at my location ...)

Update Review, 2017

Another year, a few more flavors tried ...

Icing on the Cake, Regular (4 ounce). (July) $3.25.

"Have your cake and lick it too! Cake flavored ice cream with cake pieces, frosting bits, and a candy confetti ribbon."

I loved the sound of this one.  I don't like cake exactly, so the cake pieces aren't what drew me in, but I adore frosting, and, "candy confetti ribbon" sounded awesome.  Plus, I could see sprinkles!

The base was sweet, but didn't actually taste like cake, just like the when I had it in the America's Birthday Cake flavor.  Just sweet, not very high end ice cream, not very creamy.  But I wasn't here for the base.

The cake pieces, also unremarkable, also just like in America's Birthday Cake.  Texture, sure, and not stale, but, not special.

So what about the good stuff?  The "frosting bits", for example?  Well ... I'm not quite sure where those were.  I didn't find them really, and the ingredient listing never has a component for frosting bits, but instead has "cookie pieces" listed, in addition to the "cake pieces".  Uh ... what?  Not that I found cookie pieces either.  I find this puzzling.

But that ribbon.  I was there for the ribbon.  "Candy confetti ribbon", according to the description, or, "Confetti Swirl Ribbon", per the ingredients.  Whatever you call it, it was pretty great.  Sweet, full of texture from the sprinkles and sugar bits.

So, overall, not bad.  The ice cream quality still isn't high, but this had lots of mix-ins that worked together well to provide textures I enjoyed.  I still wonder if my local Baskin-Robbins just has low turn-around (because, really, San Francisco isn't known for ice cream weather, and, when people want ice cream, we have too many artisan ice cream shops to ever actually pick Baskin ...), or if they just don't keep their freezers well calibrated or something, because the ice cream is always so icy, and I just don't see how that could be normal.

No Sugar Added Peanut Buttery Bar Blast Ice Cream. Kid's Size (2.5 ounce). (August) $2.79.

"Go nuts for no sugar added peanut, caramel, and nougat flavored ice cream, chocolate chips, and a buttery peanut butter ribbon running throughout!"

This sounded great.  I like peanuts and caramel.  A crunchy peanut butter ribbon sounded awesome.  Chocolate chips would add some texture.  Sure!

I tried a sample of if, and I was drawn in by the crunch ribbon.  It didn't actually taste like peanut butter, it was basically like crunched up Butterfinger, but, I liked it.  So, I got a scoop.

It wasn't until I had the full scoop in front of me that I realized I had selected a No Sugar Added flavor.  "Hmm, well, if I didn't notice, great!", I thought.  And then I had a few bites.  Doh.  It tasted like sweetener.  I wasn't ever able to stop tasting it after that, and it left a particularly bad aftertaste.  Note to self: do not get the No Sugar Added flavors.

The ice cream base was described as "peanut, caramel, and nougat flavored ice cream", and, well, it just tasted like sweet (fake sweet, that is).  I did not taste peanuts, nor caramel, nor I guess nougat.  It also just wasn't creamy.  At least this time it wasn't icy like most of my Baskin Robbins visits, but, creamy it was not.  Not as it melted either.  I think their ice cream just isn't very good.

I did still like the crunch ribbon, although I didn't get much of it.  The "chocolate chips" were very confusing.  I had no chips.  But, there were bits of chocolate.  When I read the ingredients later, I found the reason why.  The ingredient listing said "No Sugar Added Chocolate Liquid Chip".  Aha.  Not real chocolate chips.  Still, they added flecks of chocolate and some texture, which is why I wanted them.

The ingredients also listed pretzel pieces, which weren't in the flavor description, and I don't think I ever really found either.  Odd.

Overall, just not very high quality ice cream, and I'm really not a fan of the No Sugar Added base.  Whoops.

Others

Wild ‘N Reckless Sherbet

"A green apple, blue raspberry, and fruit punch flavored sherbet party. Fruit has never had so much fun."

The colors in this were quite vibrant, and although I'm totally not a sherbet person, I did like Baskin Robbins Splish Splash Sherbet, so I gave this one a chance.

Woah, sweet.  Soooo sweet.  I did like the tartness of one of the flavors, but wow.

Peach of Cake
"Peach and butter cake flavored ice creams combine with blonde brownie pieces and a caramel ribbon for a flavor that is far more than just peachy!"

This was actually quite good.  The peach flavor was vibrant.  It was quite refreshing.  I only tried a sample, so I didn't get any of the blond brownie pieces, but, I almost ordered it.  Next time ...

Update Review, August 2016

Yadda, yadda,  start with my original review, then the update, and then come back here, if you want more context for Baskin-Robbins.

For my birthday, I of course went to Baskin-Robbins to get my free birthday scoop.  I had a hard time picking a flavor, since, I don't actually think their ice cream is all that good.  I sampled a couple, and in the end, decided to just go for the special Flavor of the Month, OREO® Milk 'n Cereal Ice Cream, since it was, well, special.  This was an interesting choice for me given that I don't really care for OREO (sorry, Dad).  I was drawn in by the promise of the crunchy frosted corn flake ribbon.  Ben & Jerry's always does such a great job with ribbons, and my pick last year had an insanely good cookie dough batter flavored ribbon, so, I knew Baskin-Robbins could pull off the ribbon.

OREO® Milk 'n Cereal Ice Cream, Child Size.

"It's breakfast with Baskin! Cereal milk flavored ice cream swimming with OREO® cookie pieces, frosted corn flake cereal pieces, and a crunchy frosted corn flake cereal ribbon."

This was actually pretty good.  And I admit, I was pretty skeptical about this flavor, as it sounded rather confused.  Cereal and OREO?  How do those go together?

The base ice cream was apparently cereal milk flavored, which, to be honest, I didn't really taste.  I assumed it was a vanilla base until I copied the description from the website here.  It was loaded up with goodes though, so the base didn't really matter.  Chunks of OREO cookie were as expected, assorted sizes, and, well, they were OREO.  Since I'm not an OREO lover, these were what they were, and were not particularly interesting.  But, everything else was.

I didn't necessarily find distinct "frosted corn flake cereal pieces" and "crunchy frosted corn flake cereal ribbon", but, there was plenty of light brown stuff in there that had a slight crunch to it.  The texture was pretty strange, sorta like what you'd expect peanut butter to be like if it were made of corn flakes.  It wasn't bad though.  If you got a bite of it, it was also sorta like cookie dough with a bit of crispy crunch to it.  Pretty fascinating actually, and there was plenty of this too.

So, overall, a decent flavor.  The base ice cream wasn't flavorful nor particularly creamy quality ice cream, and the OREO cookie pieces I could do without, but the corn flake components were interesting enough that I enjoyed my scoop.   I'd likely try something new next time though.

Update Review, August 2015

If you didn't read my original Baskin-Robbins reviews, I suggest you start there, and then return to this update, since I'm skipping the background this time around.  See "Original Review: August 2014" below.

This year's visit was inspired by, you guess it, a birthday freebie.  I can't resist free treats!  My birthday rolled around, and, just like clockwork, Baskin-Robbins sent me an e-mail offering up a free scoop.  I eagerly headed there to pick a new flavor.  Spoiler: I found a winner.

Mom’s Makin’ Cookies™, Child Size.

"Mom’s secret recipe of brown sugar flavored ice cream filled with chocolate chip cookie pieces, chocolate flavored chips, and a delicious cookie dough batter flavored ribbon."

Ok, this was just downright delicious.  It was like everything you always want chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream to be.  All the flavors and textures, just amped up another notch.

So, stepping back.  The base was a sweet base, apparently brown sugar.  I'm not quite sure I'd identify it as brown sugar, but it was clearly more interesting than vanilla and not cloying sweet like cake batter.  It was creamy, and it melted perfectly on the hot day.

But the mix ins are where the magic was. First, the cookie dough batter ribbon.  This was really interesting, it wasn't thick like cookie dough gobs, or the flavored ribbons you find in Ben & Jerry's ice cream; it was more like a caramel, albeit a cookie dough flavored one.  Yup, it tasted like cookie dough, buttery and sweet.  Kinda awesome.

Next came the chocolate chip cookie pieces.  This is where I was a bit skeptical.  I didn't want chunks of cookie in my ice cream, I wanted cookie dough!  Except, these were soft, just like gobs of cookie dough, perhaps just a bit grittier?  Big, sizable chunks, perfect for some texture.

And finally, little chocolate chips, which added more crunch.

This was definitely awesome.  It was sweet, creamy, had a fun cookie dough batter swirl to keep discovering, and chunks to dig for.  It reminded me of Ben & Jerry's Milk & Cookies, just with the chocolate cookie swirl replaced with the cookie dough one, and a more interesting base swapped in.  Similar concept, but I think Baskin-Robbins had a slight edge here.

I'd definitely get this again.

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June Flavor of the Month, Dunkin’ Donuts® Coffee ‘N Donut

"Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and donut-flavored ice creams dunked with donut pieces and a chocolate flavored icing ribbon."  

Before settling on the Mom's Makin' Cookies, I also tried another tempting sounding option, inspired by their partnership with Dunkin' Donuts.  You know my fondness for Dunkin' Donuts, as I am originally from the east coast ...

I'm glad I tried it.  Because, well, wow, it was exactly as advertised.  It tasted like donuts.  Like greasy, sorta stale, cake donuts.  I didn't taste any coffee, but wow, donuts.  I can't imagine eating a scoop of this, unless maybe used in an affogado?  It was fun to try, and I'm glad I asked to sample before committing to a full scoop.

Original Review, August 2014

I grew up without a Baskin-Robbins nearby, and we always got our ice cream at home from Schwans delivery, so I somehow made it to my 30s without ever having Baskin-Robbins.  But, I love ice cream, and I'm always interested in trying out new places, so I finally checked it out.

My first visit was when I had a very sore throat, and I was on a quest to eat soft, cold things, using my GoPago credits as inspiration on where to go (yes, this was a few years ago, since GoPago is no longer active in San Francisco).  I'd just spent a couple weeks on the east coast, eating tons of soft serve ice cream, so even though it was still freezing out and totally not ice cream weather, I headed for the one place on GoPago that had soft serve: Baskin-Robbins.  (Yes, soft serve.  No it is not normal for them, they clearly specialize in hard ice cream)/

My second visit was prompted by joining their e-club, which gave me a certificate for a free scoop of ice cream for my birthday, so I went to cash in on it.  I looked up all of the flavors online beforehand so I wouldn't be too slow to decide, and had picked out a slew of flavors that I wanted.  I thought choosing one would be impossible!  Unfortunately for me, it turned out to be quite easy, as they didn't have ANY of the flavors I wanted to try!  Out of my list of 8 flavors, they didn't have a single one I wanted!  Not quite sure how that was possible.  They also didn't have the monthly special flavor.

My third visit was due to my realization that Togos was on LevelUp, with a $2 credit.  Sure, I could use my free credits to get some chips or a drink, but Baskin-Robbins is attached to Togos, and they use the same checkout.  Thus, I could use my credits to get a mini sundae!  Way better than chips or drinks :)

My next visit came from Togos running another LevelUp promotion, with a whopping $10 credit.  I think the idea was that you could get a full meal at Togos, but again, I didn't really want Togos, and that could get me quite a bit of ice cream.  And ... since Ojan wasn't going to use his credit either, I could fetch some for him too!

So, over the course of the past few years, I've tried a lot of their ice cream.  And for the most part, I'm highly unimpressed.  Maybe I'd go back for another freebee, but I certainly wouldn't pay for this ice cream.

The service at the SF location was varied.  As I mentioned, it is adjacent to a Togos, with the same staff running both places, running back and forth between them.  They are attached, but not exactly right next to each other, so this seems a little crazy.  It means you can stand there for a very long time with no one paying any attention, since they are all on the Togos side.  One staff member was also completely unfriendly, never smiling, never seeming remotely interested in her job, and generally annoyed that I was there getting ice cream.  I'll call her Ms. Surly for the rest of this review.  Another staff member was less friendly on my first visit, but was more informative and personable on subsequent visits, even striking up random conversation with me the last time I was there.  The third, I think a manager, gave decent standard service.

Soft Serve

The menu was advertising a new item: mini soft serve parfaits.  They had several varieties, each with a sauce in the bottom, then the soft serve, and then a candy topping.  Since I wanted soft serve, and a sundae is far more fun than just a cone or cup, I eagerly tried a few.

The soft serve just wasn't very good, and the form factor of these mini parfaits was far from ideal, making it impossible to get to the sauce until the end.  Why was the sauce on the bottom?

Reese's Mini Soft Serve Parfait.  $2.

I have a thing for peanut butter, so the Reese's one immediately called out to me.  Peanut butter sauce in the bottom, vanilla soft serve, peanut butter cup crumbles on top.

It was ... basically exactly as advertised.  The soft serve is a newer item for Baskin Robbins, and they only have vanilla flavor.  It wasn't very good.  It had a strange sourness to it, not tart like frozen yogurt, just ... sour.  It was creamy and a decent consistency.  It also wasn't really vanilla flavored.  Very, very mediocre soft serve.  The peanut sauce in the bottom was basically just generic creamy peanut butter.  It was hard to get to, since it was only in the bottom, and thus even though I wanted some to mix into my initial bites, I couldn't really without spilling the whole thing.  And at the end, I wound up with just a ton of peanut butter left over.  The pb sauce also got really hard from having the cold ice cream on top, making it difficult to scoop up.  The peanut butter cup crumbles were exactly what you'd expect.

I wanted this to come together better, being more than a sum of its parts, but it really wasn't.  Mediocre soft serve, pb cups, and hard to get to low end peanut butter.  Meh.

But for $2, it really did seem like a bargain, particularly compared to anything else on the menu.  I don't really understand why it was so cheap (as in, cheaper than just a bowl or cone of soft serve, even though it was bigger and had toppings ...).

Hot Fudge and Almonds Mini Parfait.  $2.

On my next visit, I tried a parfait again, since it is the only ice cream item that tell within my LevelUp budget.  I wasn't a fan of the peanut butter last time, so I went for one with hot fudge.  Even mediocre hot fudge is usually pretty good, right?

This parfait suffered from exactly the same issues as the first, namely, that you couldn't get to the sauce in the bottom, until the end, when you are left with only sauce.  Unlike the first one however, I didn't have the problem of spilling the parfait as I tried to dig for the sauce, as this one was tiny.  I thought it seemed like it had much less ice cream than the first one, and looking at the photos afterwards confirmed it.  This one barely extended above the top of the rim, whereas my first one had a nice swirl on top.  I'm not sure which one was correct, I'm guessing the first, as this looked pretty sad.  This one was made by Ms. Surly.

Anyway, the ice cream was the same mediocre soft serve, decently creamy, but not very vanilla, and with a slight sourness.  The nuts were just generic little bits of almond.  The fudge wasn't actually hot, and it wasn't particularly chocolatey.

This would have been a very boring parfait, but being the pro I am, I brought along a banana and a peanut butter cup, and turned it into a real sundae.  My final product was pretty good, but that wasn't exactly what they were offering.

I certainly would not order this plain parfait again, as it offered nothing flavor-wise.

Build-your-own Mini Parfait, hot fudge and cookie dough.  $2.

My third and final attempt at a parfait.  I kept trying, because $2 for a parfait really does sound like a great deal, if I could come up with a combo I liked.  And Ojan didn't want his $2 credit, so I might as well try again if it was free ...

On my last visit, I saw that they had the standard parfaits listed (chocolate with M&Ms, Oreos, or nuts, caramel with Snickers, peanut butter with Reece's, or strawberry with nuts).  But then it also said "or, build your own".  When I asked about it, Ms. Surly  told me that was only for the 31 Below Mix Ins, not the soft serve parfaits.  I was skeptical, since it was listed under the parfait section, but she was so grumpy and clearly unwilling to entertain this idea, that I gave up on it and picked the simple hot fudge and nuts, since I had my extra toppings with me anyway.

On this visit, I had the nicer employee, and I asked him about it.  He told me you can pick any sauce and any dry topping.  The dry toppings available were the standard candy toppings (M&Ms, Oreo, Snickers, Butterfinger, Reece's, gummy bears, sprinkles, nuts) or ... cookie dough!  This seemed like the clear winner, as it was more likely to be good than a generic candy topping.  Plus, cookie dough can be so good!  For sauces, there was the peanut butter, hot fudge, caramel, or chocolate sauce.  I didn't care for the peanut butter the first time, and thought the hot fudge was pretty mediocre, but it was the only one that seemed to go with the cookie dough, so I selected it again.  I guess the chocolate sauce would have as well, but why pick chocolate sauce when there is hot fudge?

As you can see, the nicer employee again made a much bigger parfait.  He even layered it a little, so there was the hot fudge in the bottom, then the soft serve, then some cookie dough, then he added even more soft serve, and more cookie dough!  Surly employee certainly did not do that.  Then, he asked if I wanted chocolate sauce on top too.  Such a difference!

The chocolate sauce on top was standard chocolate sauce, indistinguishable from Hershey's.  It didn't have a lot of flavor, but I appreciated that there was something on top, since, like every time, the hot fudge was trapped in the bottom.  The fudge was the same as last time, except that it was luke warm this time.  But like always, I had a very hard time getting any until  the end.

The ice cream was actually better this time, it still didn't have any vanilla flavor to it, but it didn't have the strange sourness.

But ... the cookie dough.  It was, quite literally, the worst cookie dough I have ever tasted in my life.  It was dried out beyond belief.  It tasted stale.  It just tasted ... awful.  I don't know how to describe it really, just beyond horrible.  I tried a couple pieces, and then picked them all out.  Or so I thought, forgetting that they nice employee had layered it throughout, so I accidentally got more later on.  Ugh.  It was truly foul!

Would never, ever, ever get this again.  Luckily, in my bag of tricks, I had a banana and other assorted toppings, and turned it into a proper sundae, which I enjoyed.

Hard Ice Cream/Sherbet/Frozen Yogurt

I've tried quite a few flavors of the regular ice cream, and several frozen yogurts.  Most were pretty standard, a few were kinda bad, and a few I really liked.

Mint Chocolate Chip, sugar cone.  $2.19.

For your birthday, you get a free kids size cup or cone.  I went with the mint chocolate chip, without sampling it first, because Ms. Surly looked like she wanted to kill me when I asked to sample one.  Rookie mistake.  It really wasn't very good.  Not creamy, no real mint flavor, even the chocolate bits weren't flavorful.  Really, really mediocre.

The sugar cone was also pretty generic.  Not much to say here.

The ice cream was just plopped on top of the cone.  It would have fallen off with my first lick if I hadn't secured it more properly.

Would not get again, and would have been very sad if I'd paid for this.

America's Birthday Cake, single scoop.  $2.19.

"Strawberries, cake-flavored ice cream, confetti topped cake pieces and blue whipped cream".

Another year, another birthday. I started this post over a year ago, which is crazy!  I returned this year to get my birthday scoop, and this time, went for America's Birthday Cake.  I'd probably never normally get such a silly flavor, but hey, it was free, and it seemed like the most fitting choice, given the circumstance.

Cake and ice cream, very festive, and quite colorful.

Like most of their ice cream, it wasn't creamy, was a bit icy, and kinda tasted stale.  I still don't know if that is just Baskin-Robbins in general, or if it is just this location.  Really just not good ice cream at all.

The "cake" flavored ice cream I actually thought was just plain vanilla, it wasn't until I looked up the description online that I saw it was supposed to taste like cake.  Very unremarkable.  The "strawberries" seemed to just be strawberry ice cream, fake tasting strawberry at that.

There were a few small chunks of vanilla cake mixed in.  I didn't see any promised confetti topping.  The cake wasn't stale tasting, or too hard, but was pretty unremarkable.

The "blue whipped cream" was my favorite component, and the real reason I picked this flavor.  It was sweet, fluffier than the ice cream base, which improved the overall texture.  It reminded me of the whipped cream style icing on Carvel ice cream cakes, which I always had growing up, and still have a weakness for.

Premium Churned Light Orange 'N Crème Ice Cream. $2.19.

"Soak up the sun with this orange light ice cream with a whipped cream flavored ribbon for a new twist on a frozen favorite!"

I didn't actually realize this was a Light version, but the flavor sounded somewhat interesting, at least, compared to my other options.  Baskin Robbins does have some really interesting flavors, but for some reason, my local shop never seems to carry them.  I hoped this would be somewhat like a creamsicle.

It was ridiculously sweet.  I'm not sure if they try to make up for the Light version by adding artificial sweetener or something?  Just way too sweet.  There was very little of the whipped cream ribbon, which is too bad, as I actually liked that, and it helped combat the sweetness of the orange ice cream.

The ice cream itself was fairly fluffy and light, but it was loaded with ice chunks.  Not just ice crystals, but actual chunks.  Sad for a scoop shop to not properly store their ice cream, as the result was just not appealing.

I ordered a single scoop, and got a very large multi scoop serving, which would have been quite nice, if I liked it.

[ No Photos ]

• Apple Cinnamon Crisp Ice Cream: "Cinnamon flavored ice cream topped with a sticky brown betty ribbon and packed with tasty apple and oat chunks."  Tasting notes: This was decently creamy, seemed fresh, and had a ton of cinnamon flavor.  There was even little chunks of mushy apple in it. Not bad, but not great. [ This is really quite good.  Its like apple pie and ice cream, all in one!  Great cinnamon flavor, ridiculously sweet brown betty ribbon, but quite good. ] [ Loving this!  Yes, it is very sweet, but it is apple pie in ice cream form!  Kinda amazing.  Love the cinnamon flavor and the brown betty ribbon, oat chunks give some good texture. ] [ So sweet.  Love the gooey caramel swirl. ] [ My favorite of their flavors, by far.  Would gladly get again. ]
• Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream: "A little bit blue, a lotta bit delicious. Creamy cheesecake flavored ice cream packed with cheesecake bits and swirled around with a blueberry ribbon."  Tasting notes: I didn't taste cheesecake at all, the base seemed pretty plain vanilla.  I also didn't find any cheesecake bits.  The "blueberry ribbon" however was quite generous, which was not a good thing, as it was just sweet and didn't really taste like blueberry.  I really didn't care for this.
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream: "Vanilla flavored ice cream with cookie dough and chocolate flavored chips".  Tasting notes: Standard vanilla ice cream, with chunks of cookie dough.  This cookie dough was much, much better than the inedible stuff from the parfait.  It had a decent buttery flavor and wasn't all dried out.  Pretty standard cookie dough ice cream. [ Something tastes a little stale about this. ] [ Just not interesting.  Vanilla ice cream doesn't have much flavor, it isn't creamy.  There are little chocolate chips and some stale tasting dough.  I don't like this much at all. ]  [ Not creamy, base ice cream very generic, cookie dough bits not that great.  Would not get again. ] [ Just really not very good.  I've had a lot of different cookie dough ice creams, and this one just offers nothing.  The ice cream itself isn't very good, the cookie dough are just tiny chunks and not flavorful.  Meh. ]
• Nutty Ice Creams
• Nutty Coconut Ice Cream: "Coconut ice cream mixed with almonds, pecans, and walnuts." Tasting notes: Good coconut flavor, fair amount of nuts.
• Old Fashioned Butter Pecan Ice Cream: "Butter pecan flavored ice cream with, yep, butter-roasted pecans.".  Tasting notes: Somewhat generic tasting base ice cream, with plentiful whole pecans.  Not particularly remarkable.  Decently creamy.  [ Ok creaminess  I like the whole pecans, ok buttery flavor, not really standout though. Could be any old butter pecan ice cream. ]
• Pralines 'N Cream Ice Cream: "Praline-coated pecan pieces and caramel in vanilla flavored ice cream."  Tasting notes: Nice sweetness, thick swirl of caramel, pretty good.  Better than Butter Pecan.
• Black Walnut Ice Cream: "Walnut flavored ice cream with a black walnut explosion." Tasting notes: Decent walnut flavor, but not particularly interesting.
• Chocolate Ice Creams
• World Class Chocolate Ice Cream: "Rich white chocolate flavored mousse ice cream swirled with even richer milk chocolate flavored mousse ice cream."  Tasting notes:  Not really sure I get the whole mousse part here.  Nor the white chocolate, mostly just seemed like generic chocolate ice cream and some white ice cream.
• German Chocolate Cake Ice Cream: "Swiss chocolate ice cream with coconut, walnut pieces, and milk chocolate brownie. Oh and let's not forget the caramel swirl!" Tasting notes: the caramel swirl was nice, good sweetness.  Chocolate ice cream was pretty generic.  Liked the chunks of brownie. [ Big chunks of brownie, nice walnuts.  Yum! ] [ Love the nuts, love the texture from the coconut, great flavors. ] [ Nice coconut flavor, good rich chunks of brownie.  My second favorite of their ice creams. ]  [ Good creamy chocolate ice cream, nice flavor from coconut, plentiful brownie bites. ] [ I like this.  Fairly creamy, mellow chocolate ice cream, with good coconut flavor.  I love discovering the generous chunks of brownie and nuts throughout.  And the caramel swirl adds a little bit of gooeyness to it.  Second favorite flavor. ]
• Splish Splash Sherbet: "Blue raspberry sherbet and a splash of blueberry sorbet".  Tasting notes: This was really quite good!  It was icy, but in the way that sorbet is.  Overly sweet, but fruity and refreshing.  I love, love, loved blue raspberry Slush Puppies when I was a kid, and it reminds me exactly of that. [ The blue colored one is way too sweet, so if you get some without the other swirl, it can be pretty cloying ] [ You need to be in the mood for sweet with this, but it is somehow refreshing at the same time.  Quite good. ]
• Frozen Yogurt
• Raspberry Cheese Louis: "Cheesecake flavored frozen yogurt is sprinkled with raspberry cheesecake pieces and graham crackers with a sweet raspberry ribbon.".  Tasting notes: I didn't taste cheesecake in any way.  Very icy.  Raspberry swirl just sweet.  Didn't like.
• Sweet N' Salty Frozen Yogurt: "Super smooth salted caramel frozen yogurt and caramel pretzel balls tied up in a salted caramel ribbon bow."  Tasting notes: Just sweet, didn't really get any salt, my sample didn't have any pretzel in it either.

Novelties

Praline Caramel Ice Cream Cake Bite: Pralines 'n Cream ice cream over white cake, white coating, finished with caramel drizzle and crushed praline pecans.  $2.99.

This is one of their "novelty" items, small versions of their cakes, called cake bites.  Since I wasn't about to buy a whole cake for myself, this seemed like a good way to try out their ice cream cakes.  I grew up having Carvel ice cream cakes for every birthday, so ice cream cake has a special place in my heart.  Of course, Carvel cake is all about the crunchies and the frosting, of which this had neither.

The white cake was not good.  Kinda dry, and very flavorless, with a horrible aftertaste.  Cakes made from boxed cake mix come out better than this.  Not a good base layer.  The ice cream was just their standard Pralines 'n Cream ice cream, good enough I guess, but not really special.  It was covered in "white coating", which I give them credit for not even trying to call white chocolate.  It was kinda just sweet and there.  On top of that was a fairly tasty caramel drizzle and some bits of pecans.  The toppings were the best part.

Yes, this was cake and ice cream, which should be good together, but honestly, it didn't have much going for it.  Wouldn't get again.

Shakes

Very Berry Strawberry Shake, mini, $3.49.

I've went through a serious milkshake craze.  It had been years since I'd had one, and then I just got hooked.   I had just about every type of shake possible, ranging from ones made in real blenders (like the one at Roxy Cafe that started the trend), to those from shake dispensers at fast food joints (like my free birthday shake from Del Taco), to something in-between (like my shake from Bistro Burger).  But the best was from Holy Grill, made with Mitchel's vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries.  Even though that one didn't have whipped cream, which I consider to be an important element, it was still the best one I've had flavor-wise.  Quality ice cream and fresh fruit really just makes a big difference!   Every time I've seen strawberry shakes since, I've gotten it, even though I never would normally pick strawberry, hoping to replicate my experience from Holy Grill.  The last one I had was the least successful shake ever, from McDonald's (yes, I should have known better).  That was horrendous.

This one wasn't nearly as bad as the McDonald's shake, but really wasn't very good.  There was no offer of whipped cream, even though I know they have it for making sundaes.  I wish I'd gone out of my way to ask for it, because once I left with it and tried it, it was obvious that it would have really helped out.

It was made in some sort of blender/mixer combo device.  Not quite a classic blender, nor a classic milkshake maker.  The result was not a good consistency.  Mostly, it was just milk, with a few bits that were too thick to suck up.  And then a ton of froth.  The high powered mixer thing just really destroyed the ice cream.  The small amount that stayed frozen melted far too fast.  It wasn't exactly hot out, as I was in San Francisco after all, and I had basically no ice cream or iciness remaining after about 2 minutes.  Very poor execution.  I was really surprised, since I think they sell a lot of shakes, and the machine seemed custom.

Flavor-wise there wasn't much going on.  Slight strawberry flavor, not even in the same ballpark as the one from Holy Grill, but not fake and horrible like the one from McDonald's.  It was at least made with real ice cream, with some bits of strawberry in it, but the addition of all the milk just watered it down.

On the plus side, I had the nicer employee this time.  I also ordered a hand packed pint, which he thoughtfully stashed in a freezer while he made the shake and rang me up.  I really appreciated that extra effort, as it helped my pint not melt as fast for my trip home.

I got the mini size, which was "only" 12 ounces.  $3.49 was actually kinda pricy for this size, more than the 12 ounce mini I got from Bistro Burger for $2.99 and just slightly less than the $3.99 large sizes I got many other places.  Certainly not worth the price, would no get again.

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Desserts from The Melt

Update Review, 2020 & 2021 Visits

April 2020, 925 Market St. Location

Week #6 of quarantine life, and San Francisco decided to treat us to a beautiful day.  72 degrees, sunny, and warm.  I wanted to get out, take a walk, and, eat ice cream.  It was *perfect* ice cream weather.  And I adore ice cream.

I immediately wanted a soft serve ice cream cone, and, The Melt came to mind instantly.  I knew they were open AND I knew I had a birthday reward on my account that was I was saving to use for a special time.  This seemed like the perfect chance to perk myself up.

I headed into the Market Street location, intending to get just a cone, but still lamenting that The Melt does not offer toppings besides the chocolate cookie dust (that I dislike).  I had sprinkles in my bag, because I'm #alwaysprepared, but still, I wished for more.  Plus, a simple, cone, the cheapest thing on the menu, seemed like such a waste of my precious reward!

I pondered the milkshake, twice the cost, even though I'm not really a milkshake fan, and I hadn't cared for others I've tried at The Melt before .  They did have some new flavors on the lineup though, including a strawberry one (and every once in a while I do love strawberry milkshakes (like the one I had at Holy Grill years ago ...).   I asked if it was made with real strawberries (rather than just syrup), and the staff member taking my order said yes, AND got very excited.

I told her I was using my birthday reward, but really just wanted soft serve.  She told me that nearly everyone gets a shakes with their rewards, because its a far better value, just like I thought, and strongly encouraged me to do it.  She loves the shakes, and continued to go on telling me how much she loves them.  Another staff member walking by jumped in to say that my server was the reason the strawberry shake had been added to the menu!  They both told me they love the shakes.  But still ... I hesitated.  I really just wanted ice cream after all.  A lot of ice cream.

"Perhaps I could just get a nice big ice cream? In a cup?".  My amazing server was on board.  "I'll just make it in the milkshake cup, and put a cone on top, how is that?  I'll make you ... a milkshake, hold the milk, hold the blending, heh!"  she said.  "And I'll ring it up as the shake."  This arrangement sounded great to me.  Then, entire staff sang Happy Birthday to me.   They didn't look annoyed to *have* to do something like that, and really seemed to be having fun with it.  Honestly, it made my day, more than I ever could have imagined, and remember, this was in the early depths of pandemic isolation despair.

And then, my day got even better.

A Very Off Menu Strawberry Sundae. $5.49.

"Strawberry shake, hold the milk, hold the blending."

Another staff member went to make the "shake", and was clearly confused of course, as my server called over, "it says strawberry shake on the order, but its just a big ice cream cup! Perch a cone on top at the end!", but that person hesitated, confused, which, well, makes sense.  

"Or I'll come do it, and make it with love!!!" my server called out.  So she did.  She filled my cup up, a huge milkshake cup, filled with ice cream.  Sooo much ice cream.  I was thrilled.  And she asked me, "Do you want ... chocolate sauce?  Cookie crumb? I can add toppings!"  I opted for the strawberry topping, to honor her strawberry shake adoration.

I was handed over a glorious creation.

Um, yeah.  This was a *ton* of ice cream.  Is it the best soft serve around?  Nah.  Super Duper has richer, creamier soft serve.  But it is decent, creamy, nice consistency, good vanilla flavor, and is made by Fosselmens.  Adding the strawberry turned out to be an amazing move, as, well, I had a legit sundae at this point.  A generous scoop of strawberry topping was applied, soft, slightly stewed, in its own juices.  All different size chunks.  Not quite the same as fresh berries of course, but this was more suited for ice cream topping anyway.

And with that, I had a fabulous ice cream sundae.  I walked out with glee, and literally every other customer stared.  As did the folks on the street.  I'm sure I looked like a kid in a candy store, so very, very excited.

I made a mini cone first, scooping some ice cream into the cone, layering with fruit, and added my own sprinkles.  It was fantastic.  I stashed the next scoop of ice cream in my vacuum mug I had with me (like I said, #alwaysprepared), and then polished off the rest with a spoon and a slurp, as it turned into a melty-almost-milkshake anyway.

And I was happy.  Very, very happy.

****.

May 2020, 455 Market St Location

A month later, in May, the weather in San Francisco took a two day turn for amazing summer weather.  80*.  I had no choice.  Time to get get more ice cream.

I again decided to "hack" the menu, in exactly the same way.  I almost went for the snickerdoodle "sundae", rather than strawberry, when I learned that the snickerdoodle shake is made with cookie butter added in (yum!), but, at least minute, I went back to my original strawberry creation.

It was a great decision, and I realized something about this genius trick: the best part is that you get 3 desserts in one, really.  You get a strawberry sundae on top.  You can then make an ice cream cone.  And, all the melty goodness you don't use for the other two, turns into a milkshake in the cup.  For someone like me who hates deciding on things, this was perfect.  I had it all!

Off Menu Strawberry Sundae #2.

I ordered the same way, this time intentionally: "Strawberry shake, but not blended, no milk, just as a big cup of ice cream with strawberry stuff, and a cone on top.  Here is what it looked like when they made it last time", and I showed my photo.

The cashier definitely paused, and I said, "and you can ring it up as a shake".  Once it was clear I wasn't trying to cheat the prices, he was game to try.  The other staff member nearby was pretty excited about it too.

The result was much the same as the previous, although, he was far less generous with the ice cream.  Perhaps he added the proper amount they use for the shake?  The previous one was full to the very very top with ice cream, and then had the strawberry and cone added, whereas this, with topping, was still well below the top line.  Probably a more reasonable portion, but, it was less.

The strawberry sundae worked just as well as before.  That strawberry goo really is great, juicy stewed berries, and very sweet.

The ice cream however was a bit of a letdown.  It was more icy, grainy, and more milk-tasting.  Definitely didn't taste like vanilla, wasn't very creamy.  It was a different location, but it was sad, as it reminded me of why I originally didn't have a strong opinion of the soft serve at The Melt.  I wonder if the machine just hadn't been cleaned as often?  Or if this machine works less well?  Who knows.

I still enjoyed it, but, the difference was quite noticeable.

The part that melted down (after I made my ice cream cone, stay tuned), tasted exactly like a strawberry shake, and was pretty delightful that way.  It almost made me consider getting a real shake in the future.  ***+.

Off Menu Strawberry Shake - cone part!

I did of course utilize the cone and made a mini cone, stuffed with ice cream, a bit of the berry (but I tried to avoid it) and I added my own sprinkles and crumble that I came prepared with.

The ice cream lack of creaminess and iciness was more obvious in this form, but, it still was a soft serve cone, in San Francisco, on a hot day, and I was still pleased with it.

*** for the cone part.

May 2020, Embarcadero Center Location

The weather was great again the next day, so, I went back, picking the Embarcadero Center location instead, just a few blocks further, to try the difference in the ice cream machines.

3 Treats in One!  Cookie butter snickerdoodle sundae /
Cookie Butter Lined Cone with Soft Serve (and my own sprinkles) /
Melty Cinnamon Shake.

And ... I went for the snickerdoodle version, just, of course, not as a shake.

Again I loved the fact that I got 3 dessert experiences out of it: a sundae to eat at first, a cone to make and enjoy next (really my favorite way to have soft serve!), and, a melty shake at the end.

I *adored* this one, in particular the cone - because I lined it with the cookie butter!!!  I almost would say it was even better than the strawberry one, but really, it is just different.  The strawberry one is very sweet but has fruitiness (not the same as fresh fruit, or feeling healthy, but, still, fruity), where this one is much heavier ... cookie butter is not a light item!

Off Menu Snickerdoodle Sundae. $5.49.

I ordered the same way of course: "Snickerdoodle shake, but not blended, no milk, just as a big cup of ice cream with cookie butter and a cone.  Here is what it looked like when they made it last time", and I showed my photo, saying, again, "just the snickerdoodle topping, not strawberry this time please".  

My cashier was again totally into it, asked if I wanted both strawberry and cookie butter (which I was THRILLED to say yes to!), but then he couldn't figure out how to ring it up that way.  The person making it was again totally amused, and had a ton of fun.  She asked if I wanted cookie butter layered throughout or just on top, and if I wanted cinnamon sprinkled all over and throughout too.  I loved how excited they were for me.

The "milkshake" was handed over with glee "Tell everyone {her name here} made this for you!", she exclaimed, so very clearly proud of it.  I too was proud!

The "shake" was again a huge cup of soft serve with toppings on top (I opted to not have it layered, in case I didn't like the cookie butter).  This time it was filled right up to the top! I honestly think this is ... a pint of ice cream, gulp.  Its sooo much more than you get in a cone, which makes sense, the price is much higher, but its also considerably more than ... well, what someone should eat in one sitting.  Don't mind me ... just call it a large sundae from an ice cream shop and it will make sense?

The ice cream *was* better at this location, slightly less grainy, and I did like the milky taste this time around, particularly with the rich cookie butter, but the 5th & Market location definitely is best.

***+ for the ice cream alone.

Snickerdoodle Toppings: So much cookie butter!

Here you can see the "Snickerdoodle" toppings: cinnamon and cookie butter!

The giant glob of cookie butter was enough to make my eyes go a bit wide (I do know the nutrition stats on this stuff!), but also, it made me smile with glee.  I hoped I liked their brand!

And I did.  So, "cookie butter", if you aren't familiar, is basically Biscoff cookies (or knockoffs of them), turned into a spread like peanut butter.  You can use it anywhere you use peanut butter, and its pretty glorious.  It became quite popular when Trader Joe's introduced a version a few years ago, and I've since discovered that I do quite like it (you can even get little snack packs of just cookie biscuits and biscoff spread dip now, which I've reviweed before).

It is heavy, it tastes like ... well, a spread made from graham crackers, its really buttery, really rich, really thick ... and pretty delicious, in small bits of course.  It is intended to be blended into a shake here, not consumed in a giant lump of course.  There was also plenty of cinnamon on top, and the cinnamon and cookie butter combo is a great one.

Mini cone filled with cookie butter!!!

So what did I do?  I made something *amazing*.  Yes, I took the cookie butter, and lined the inside of my cone with it. And then I filled the cone with ice cream, and topped with the sprinkles and crumble I brought with me.

Now this, this was glorious.  The crunchy cone, the decadent sweet and rich cookie butter throughout, and the melty milky soft serve?  Glorious.  I loved this so very much.

I was inspired to line the cone remembering the epic creation I had at Turn Dough down in Santa Monica - now *THAT* was a thing to behold, omg - a freshly made churro chimney cone, lined with cookie butter, filled with soft serve, and then topped with mint chocolate sauce, white chocolate sauce, sliced almonds, AND rafello ... yeah, um, that was insane, literally 4 desserts in one.  And really, really, really good.  But yes, this cookie butter lined cone was inspired by that cookie butter lined creation, I can't claim to have thought it up.

This was magic, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. **** for this creation.

Snickerdoodle Milkshake.

And then, after all that ... you are left with a cup of melty ice cream (because, really, there is no way to consume THAT much ice cream fast enough, particularly if you are, uh, taking time to line your cone with cookie butter, make a cone, add toppings, etc), so you do basically get a rich milkshake too.  It was great to drink at the end, tons of cinnamon and some cookie butter made it in, and it was a great way to polish off way too much dessert.

Embarcadero Center Location June 2020 Visit

Soft Serve In A Cup (but with cone) + Cookie Crumble.  $2.99 + $0.50.

A few days later, our heat wave came back *again*.  I was thrilled.  But not ready to commit to a huge sundae this time.  Thus, I just wanted a cone.  For me, there is nothing better than soft serve, in a cone, with sprinkles, on a hot day.  So many childhood memories.

I was asked if I wanted a cup or cone, and I actually asked for a cup, but with a cone on the side - because usually, if you do so, you get more ice cream!  And also, it would give me some damage control for when it melted too fast.  What I was handed however was a cone, made as a cone, and then just turned upside down into the cup.  Doh.  It still worked fine, but, not quite what I intended.

Of course I knew the only "approved" topping for ice cream is the cookie crumble, which I haven't liked before, but I still asked about other options.  None were offered, and I decided not to be complicated and ask for a scoop of strawberries or cookie butter, or even a sprinkle of cinnamon, since I knew they wouldn't have any idea how to charge for it, or ring it up.

I gave the cookie crumble another chance, for $0.50.  The cone itself is one size only, for $2.99 which feels a bit high for the size and quality compared to other fast food places, but, I do know they use a nicer brand, even if I don't love it.

Soft Serve with Cookie Crumble - As a cone!

I pulled it out of the cup to enjoy.  It did come out easily, no real loss.  So, dumping it into a cup was really no different than getting a cone at least.

The soft serve was good, still not the richest, creamiest out there, and the vanilla flavor has a slightly odd taste, but, it wasn't too grainy or icy.  It also wasn't too soft although it melted quickly due to the warm weather.   This location has their machine well calibrated.

Alas though, I still did *not* like the cookie crumble.  I'm not sure why, but I really, truly just do not like it at all.  Gritty, just chocolate cookie (*not* cookies and cream, if you are wondering! No cream!) I half-heartedly ate a little, then just knocked the rest off.  I just really didn't want the coating.

I wish they offered sprinkles.

Soft Serve ... with *my* sprinkles and peanut crunch.

But of course I was prepared for such a "disaster".  I always am.  I added my own sprinkles (100s and 1000s from Australia!) and peanut crunch.  Saved!  I enjoyed my cone this way.

***.

Update Reviews, 2018 & 2019 Visits

The dessert menu, like all areas of The Melt's menu, has evolved over the years.  Gone are the dessert melts.  Gone are the sundaes I never actually got to try.  The offerings now are pretty ... sparse.  Simple chocolate chip cookies and soft serve ice cream, vanilla only, that I have tried before.  The milkshakes remain, although the lineup has expanded.  Root beer floats were added (I argue that the later are not *really* desserts though ... aren't they just decadent drinks?).

Anyway, nothing very inspiring on the dessert menu, but The Melt does give you a free dessert item for your birthday, so, over the years, 've tried a few,  because I can't resist freebies.  Shout out to The Melt for not giving you only a handful of days to use your birthday reward - they have no expiration date!

Soft Serve Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Chocolate Crunch. $2.99 + $0.50. (August 2018).

I've had soft serve at The Melt before, but it was years ago.  Back then, I wasn't impressed.  I was sad that they had only vanilla, more sad that they had no toppings, and even more sad by the sour taste.

Things were slightly better this time.  They still have only vanilla, and only one size.  But, they added a topping: chocolate crunch, which you could add on for $0.50.  Since I'm a serious lover of sprinkles, I opted for this, hoping it would be like crunchy chocolate bits or something.

My name was called out, and I went to pick up my ice cream, only to be handed a plain cone.  I reminded the staff member that I had ordered the chocolate crunch.  She looked at the receipt, and went back to the machine, but was confused.  "Uh, what is the chocolate crunch?", she asked someone nearby.  He pointed her at the topping, and then swooped in to help when she started very awkwardly spooning it on.

The result was the creation above, with the topping sorta covering half the ice cream.

The chocolate crunch wasn't crunchy.  It was basically Oreo powder.  I didn't care for the gritty texture all over my cone.  I really wanted sprinkles, or better yet, the crispy crunch coating I've had at some ice cream stands.  I would not get it again, and was happy when most of it blew off anyway (not exactly applied well!).

The ice cream was better this time in that it wasn't sour.  It was creamy.  It melted nicely.  But it still didn't really have any flavor, and wasn't particularly rich.  I'm sorry to say, I think generic fast food restaurant soft serve is better.

The cone was at least fresh, not stale.

Overall, just highly mediocre.  The cone was much bigger than before, but I can't tell if that was just the luck of the staff member I had, or if they have increased portion sizes (the price has only gone up by $0.04).  I'd consider another if I had a freebie, and it was a hot day, and I brought my own sprinkles, but, this offering could use some improvement.

Soft Serve. $2.99. (June 2019, Embarcadero Location).

Another visit, another cone, just plain this time.  I was hoping The Melt would introduce a second flavor of soft serve, or another topping besides cookie crunch, but ... alas.  Still the same vanilla only, cup or cone, cookie crunch only option.

So, vanilla it was, in a cone.  I brought my own sprinkles.  #alwaysPrepared

This was a hot day, and the server apologized for the cone not being pretty.  I handed this one over to my companion, as we were both getting cones.  The ice cream also melted very fast, but I don't consider that a bad thing.

Soft Serve. $2.99. (June 2019, Embarcadero Location).

The next one came out better ... because the server "cheated", and used a spoon to prop it up after she made it, lol.  She really did want them to look nice when she saw me taking photos.

The ice cream was better than I remembered, although still not particularly special.  Creamy, sweet, but just simple, not an intense vanilla flavor.  I really wanted it to be something more.

I added my rainbow sprinkles, and I added candied pecans, and enjoyed it more, but I kept wanting chocolate dip, or even a drizzle of caramel.  Just something to make it more interesting.

Soft Serve. $2.99. (August 2019, 1st & Market Location).

I've often lamented The Melt's soft serve, due to its lackluster nature, and lack of toppings besides the chocolate crumb, but I still gave it another try, on a particularly warm day, when all I wanted was ice cream.  Luckily, I had additional toppings in my bag (#alwaysPrepared).

I was fairly surprised when the cone was handed over, as it looked different than any other the Melt has ever serve me. I was more hopeful, as it seemed to have better integrity than the previous ones, actually standing upright on its own.

And it was better.  It still was a fairly icy style, not as rich and creamy as I'd like, not an interesting deep vanilla flavor, but it was hands down the best I've ever had from The Melt, and, with my own sprinkles + crunch coat + cannoli bits to dip it into, I was quite pleased.

This one did come from a location I hadn't visited before, the newest location at 1st & Market, and perhaps it had a newer machine?  I'll return to only this location in the future for soft serve!

Cookies & Cream Milkshake. $4.99. (August 2018).

When I visited for years, The Melt had only vanilla and chocolate milkshakes.  Now they have a few more: Snickerdoodle, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Cookies & Cream.  All can have malt added for $0.50.

A friend opted for a Cookies & Cream shake, which of course he shared with me, even though I had my own ice cream cone.

It was very thick, impossible to suck up at first.  As it warmed up, it became drinkable, but basically just separated into milk and ice cream.  It used the same vanilla base as my ice cream, and thus didn't have much flavor, and the milk was also very plain.  I think it likely had the same chocolate powder bits blended in, although they worked much better here, creating a decent cookies and cream flavor.

Overall?  Not very good, and it turns out, exactly what I thought about it last time: milky soft serve.  The price has been raised by more than $1, and $5 seems pretty high for a very generic milkshake, given that it is the same price as Roam, which serves organic local Straus Creamery shakes or Big Mouth Burgers, with local Mitchell's.

Original Review, August 2014

I've been to the Melt a number of times.  I've gone for breakfast for the egg and cheese melts and the oatmeal, and of course for lunch/dinner for the classic melts and soups.  The regular melts haven't ever really done it for me, but their breakfast melts are pretty tasty.  You can read about all my earlier adventures in my previous review.

I hadn't been to the Melt for months, and admittedly, most of my visits were very early on, so I was curious how they were doing.  They are clearly successful, as they have a slew of locations now, and a fleet of busses too!  They've also really refined the menu, giving far more customizations and ingredients to add-in.  If ever I feel like trying another melt, there are a few new ones I have my eyes on, including the breakfast ridiculousness of an Egg-In-A-Hole, in a waffle.

Anyway, the one part of the menu that I had somehow not yet explored was the desserts!  The original dessert menu had a few different dessert melts, I remember one was a pound cake with raspberry filling, another was a biscoff and fig jelly melt.  Those have both disappeared.  The only dessert melt remaining is the chocolate marshmallow s'more melt, which I keep meaning to try.

This time however, I was drawn in by their newest offerings: ice cream and milkshakes!  I grew up in the land of soft serve ice cream, and have been pretty saddened by San Francisco's general preference for soft serve froyo instead.  So I was eager to try out the soft serve.  And of course, I went on a milkshake crusade last summer, so I needed to see how The Melt's measured up.  And, I always like to bring things home for Ojan, so he got to try out the cookies.  Unfortunately, the ice cream products weren't hits, but the cookie was decent.

Vanilla Bean Milkshake. $3.95.

I started with a milkshake.  They offer only two flavors of milkshake, classic vanilla or chocolate.  Both are made with soft serve ice cream and milk.  In fact, that is all the vanilla milkshake seemed to be: just a bunch of the soft serve, sorta mixed up with milk.  It was way too thick to drink through the straw originally, so it really was just slightly milky soft serve.  Super strange.  As it warmed up, it didn't do so in a very nice way either, turning into a pool of milk on top.  It also didn't have much flavor.  Not that vanilla milkshakes are usually that interesting, but I was expecting more vanilla flavor, or something to make it enjoyable.

It reminded me in a lot of ways of the fairly crappy one I had from Del Taco last summer, but at least that one had whipped cream on top.  I desperately wanted to enjoy my milkshake, so when I got home, I decided to spruce it up.  Inspired by the absolutely delicious strawberry shake I had from Holy Grill, I grabbed a bunch of frozen strawberries from the freezer, threw them in, and got to work with my handy immersion blender.  It was better once it tasted like berries, but it was admittedly a bit melted at this point.

The price was about in range for all other milkshakes I've had in San Francisco, but it was not worth repeating.

Vanilla Bean Soft Serve Cone. $2.95.

Next I moved on to the soft serve ice cream.  Now, soft serve ice cream is an important thing to me.  I grew up in the land of soft serve.  I've had a lot of it over the years.  Moving to the West Coast, where people eat froyo instead, has been hard for me.  I'm always overjoyed when I see places that offer real soft serve ice cream!

They had only one flavor: vanilla.  Which makes me think that the chocolate milkshake is the same as the vanilla, just with syrup added.  They also offer once size.  And only in a cake cone (I imagine you could ask for a bowl?).

The cone was a decent size, not overwhelmingly big, not too small.  The ice cream was a nice creamy consistency.  But it was a bit sour.  And really didn't have any vanilla flavor.  It needed toppings, sprinkles at least!

For a place that is all about customizations, I'm surprised they haven't added toppings, or at least a few additional flavors.  This was an incredibly unremarkable cone.

Chocolate Chip Cookie.  $1.25.

Besides ice cream, I also seem to eat a lot of cookies.  I don't actually even like cookies that much, but Ojan does, and I'm always trying to find ones he likes.  I read good reviews of The Melt's cookies, and they were displayed prominently in front of me in the shop, so I figured we needed to try them.

They offer only one variety, chocolate chip.  Baked fresh in house daily.  Not bad for a grilled cheese shop!

I tried a few bites of it at room temperature first.  It was fairly soft, not cakey-soft, but not crispy either.  A good consistency.  It was loaded up with seemingly high quality chocolate chips.  Nice buttery taste.  Average thickness.  Not mind blowing, but not bad.  Just a good standard chocolate chip cookie, and it tasted very homemade.  I ate the second half after warming it up in the toaster oven, since a warm cookie, particularly one oozing with melty chocolate, is always better than a cold one.  And I may or may not have topped it with some whipped cream, just because.  I liked it much more warm.  I of course brought one home for Ojan as well, and he really enjoyed it, exclaiming that it was rather amazing how something so simple could make him so happy sometimes.

The cookies were a large size, and cheaper than what you find at most bakeries.  Ojan loved these, and although I wouldn't necessarily want another, he'd happily eat more.

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