My favorite word with respect to wine and food is “artisanal.” It is
what I seek and what I am passionate about. One of my favorite
artisanal subjects is ice cream. Though I love broccoli, I wish it had
the power to satisfy the way ice cream does – although on a guilt
factor, broccoli is the clear winner. However, back to ice cream –
there are some original houses (really, palaces) of ice cream in the
San Francisco Bay Area.
Many of my favorite creameries
are in San Francisco and, curiously, are within a dozen blocks of each
other. You could do an ice cream crawl if you wanted to try some
curious, compelling and simply amazing flavors – flavors that I have
not seen elsewhere. If you want to do this on foot or by public
transport you could take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), exit at 16th
Street Station, go one block west to Valencia Street, take a left and
go toward 17th Street (go to the west side of street) – you will see
Bombay Ice Cream. Bombay Ice Cream is an homage to the Indian
subcontinents and I take deep pleasure in unlocking many of its
wondrous flavors. I love their Cardamom ice cream; it is fragrant.
Equally, I love their Lychee and Kesar Pista (saffron and pistachio
flavors, and their rose and a saffron rose are flavors you don’t see
every day. Ask for a sample to discover your own favorite.
Next on your ice cream crawl, go to Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop (go
south on Valencia to 18th Street, turn right and go almost to Dolores
Street). Bi-Rite gets its base from the Straus Family Creamery (a dairy
well known for its organic products). Bi-Rite Creamer adjusts its
flavors seasonally. Here are a few of my favorite flavors: Roasted
Banana, Strawberry Balsamic, Crème Fraîche (which I keep asking when
they will get in again), Honey Lavender, and my paramount favorite,
Salted Caramel. Salted Caramel (two polar opposites) results in a
flavor that is sweet and yet tempered; the salt brings the caramel to
its highest and most appreciable level. The artistry of the ice cream
is evident not just in the taste, but also in the presentation – for
example, the mint chip seems like each chocolate morsel was
individually hand-cut. Bi-Rite is small, but luckily Dolores Park is
nearly diagonal – so there is plenty of room to enjoy your ice cream
and an amazing view of the City. I go to this creamery often because it
is quite proximate, and their Salted Caramel is such a compelling
flavor. Get one scoop and ask for two flavors.
For the last stop on your ice cream tour, go to Mitchell’s Ice Cream
(go back to Valencia Street – you can walk or take the #26 Valencia bus
to Duncan Street. Once at Duncan Street, go west to Guerrero and
Duncan). Mitchell’s Ice Cream is famous for its tropical fruit ice
creams; they are unusual and pleasing. They have Avocado (yes,
avocado!), Buko (baby coconut), Langka (jackfruit) and Macapuno (sweet
coconut). Mitchell’s also has some non-fruit flavors that are equally
interesting and delicious – I love the Caramel Praline, Mexican
Chocolate and Caramel Bliss. You’ll simply have to sample these to
discover your favorite.
For the extreme crawler, venture out of the city and over to a
California classic: Fenton’s Creamery in Oakland. This creamery offers
a yesteryear feel and has been operating since 1894; it’s my favorite
spot on a hot East Bay night. The sundaes are decadent – if you like a
hot fudge sundae, try their crowd-pleasing Fudgeanna. Their ice cream
is a simple pleasure – I recommend you try Cream Caramel Almond Crunch
and Cookies and Cream – rich, deep and fulfilling.
All of these creameries reflect individual passions of both the
business owners and their customers – served one scoop at a time, and
guilty pleasures without the guilt.
Fenton’s Creamery & Restaurant
4226 Piedmont Avenue
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 658-7000
Bi-Rite Creamery
3692 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Bombay Ice Cream
552 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 861-3995
Mitchell’s Ice Cream
688 San Jose Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 648-2300