Friends,
I once worked at a shop that served 32 flavors of ice cream.
The most popular flavor? Vanilla.
That killed me. Vanilla? Why would people choose something so common and ordinary when you can try something new and different?
There's a couple of new places that are after my own heart in that regard.
At Countertop Creamery, I sampled basil ice cream, which was unusual and delicious. But my favorite flavor was Campfire Vibes. Owner Travis Briggs makes ice cream with homemade graham crackers and chocolate chunks. He toasts and scorches marshmallow fluff before swirling it into said ice cream. When he serves a cone, he spears a marshmallow with a toothpick, perches it on top of the scoop of ice cream and used a culinary torch to set the marshmallow on fire. That aroma is that of childhood cookouts.
Take THAT, vanilla.
A few blocks down the road from where I visited Countertop Creamery, I headed to the upscale pizza shop Wildflour. It was serving up a delicately flavored lemon frozen custard drizzled with homemade black raspberry jam and sprinkled with a few flakes of sea salt. It took me back to the lemony-but-not-sour desserts I had while traveling around the Amalfi Coast in Italy.
Take THAT, vanilla.
Here's one on my radar that I haven't done yet, but it's on my list: Schutt's Apple Mill, 1063 Plank Road in Webster, is hosting Flights and Flowers from 5 to 8 p.m. every Saturday night in the summer. Enjoy a flight of 5 ice cream flavors and cut your own bouquet of flowers for $15. Sounds like the perfect evening to me.
My last thoughts on ice cream: July is National Ice Cream Month and Sunday is National Ice Cream Day, just in case you need an excuse to indulge. And go ahead and have vanilla, if it makes you happy.
Got a favorite ice cream place to recommend? Drop me a note at tracys@gannett.com.
Event of the week
Woodcliff Hotel & Spa and Living Roots Wine & Co. will pair up to present a three-course outdoor wine pairing on the grounds of Woodcliff beginning at 6 p.m. on Aug. 7.
The evening will begin with sparkling wine and appetizers by the property's pond, which offers a spectacular view. The three-course menu from Woodcliff’s Chef de Cuisine Ashley Perez will include squid ink rice cake with grilled octopus and prawns; char siu duck with bok choy and rice noodles; and truffle beignets with white peach. Living Roots sommelier Nick Lemesis will present the wines including dry riesling, pinot gris and shiraz.
Tickets are $117 per person purchased in advance on Resy. Cancellations will be accepted until noon Aug. 6 for a full refund.
Find more summer food and drink events here. And if you have an event you think is worth mentioning, send it to me at tracys@gannett.com.
Scroll down for this week's food headlines and I'll see you next week!
Tracy Schuhmacher, food, drink and culture reporter
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