tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89477072696100396502024-03-12T20:28:01.806-07:00Lick Me Everywherean international ice cream blogAnna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-36226731064796536842011-04-20T13:51:00.000-07:002011-04-20T13:51:07.417-07:00Boston, eh? Professional Forays #15 (J.P. Licks) and #16 (Christina's)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The weekend of April 8-10, I was lucky enough to cover the <a href="http://conference.freepress.net/">National Conference for Media Reform</a> in Boston, MA (read my<a href="http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/04/12/mainstream-media-still-a-lamestream-place-for-women/"> report-back for Ms. here</a>), and took that opportunity to sample a couple of Boston's more reputable ice cream joints. In case you had trouble interpreting that first sentence, let me spell it out for you: The weekend of April 8-10, I used the NCMR as an elaborate, foxy ruse to sample a couple of Boston's more reputable ice cream joints.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zRBkZ5x5-A3d7YwN_ErHj4XIA2CPV-y76nW0AHV85qLq9PNpjGZpIjMTttdj6v_sOxSIeXkgLpgkML8VAvUEUK2AqwV6ArQ7FzhBiGdOA9PdX3E43ifhf5XpRenxk-EC64IEQp1l6VDm/s1600/IMG_1310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zRBkZ5x5-A3d7YwN_ErHj4XIA2CPV-y76nW0AHV85qLq9PNpjGZpIjMTttdj6v_sOxSIeXkgLpgkML8VAvUEUK2AqwV6ArQ7FzhBiGdOA9PdX3E43ifhf5XpRenxk-EC64IEQp1l6VDm/s320/IMG_1310.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Boston's ice cream parlors are myriad and mythic: Gourmet magazine recorded eight noteworthy parlors, and it should be noted that one of my NYC favorites, <a href="http://lickmeeverywhere.blogspot.com/search/label/Emack%20and%20Bolio%27s">Emack and Bolio's</a>, got its start here too. Bostonians' appetite for ice cream is also the stuff of legend; a food writer friend of mine, Indrani Sen, has attempted to explain why residents of this wretchedly cold New England city eat more ice cream per capita than anywhere else, and could only conclude that the city's high student population ensures a plentiful supply of young people looking for a cheap date locale. NB: Ben and Jerry <a href="http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/qa/documents/03073228.asp">reached the same conclusion</a>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First stop was <a href="http://www.jplicks.com/ice_cream_about.html">J.P. Licks</a>, since it was around the corner from the Thai place where my best friend Katie and I had dinner. Spring was still in previews, but despite the 40-degree-weather, students were lined up for their cones. Many of them did in fact appear to be on dates, and I was briefly reminded how much of my college-era courtship revolved around ice cream. None of that ended particularly well, but I refrained from telling the young lovers that.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">J.P. Licks does a lot of <a href="http://www.jplicks.com/community.html">community work</a>, which is commendable, but the ice cream - I got Oreo cookie dough and mint oreo - was merely okay. It was very creamy, but as I've whined before, creamy at the expense of flavorful. I should probably give ice cream a handicap since it's clear I prefer gelato to old-fashioned ice cream, but I can't believe that it's impossible to make rich, creamy, American-style ice cream that's also flavorful. I don't see why a high butterfat content should preclude a strong, clear flavor, unless that's chemically impossible (chemists, feel free to weigh in.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1d59Y_u_ts_xHFHMyjThyphenhyphenmOrhOshXCPzdm18T9eEN7AUGv2JYLJGV8zo4wkEUgdyn0GjL3nqpvneHyMTnMSK1WnmPY87pJ5bqKtQAN52kPbO7QZKJYaOUHQakKw0hzZtPMM1sozZlvpx/s1600/IMG_1317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1d59Y_u_ts_xHFHMyjThyphenhyphenmOrhOshXCPzdm18T9eEN7AUGv2JYLJGV8zo4wkEUgdyn0GjL3nqpvneHyMTnMSK1WnmPY87pJ5bqKtQAN52kPbO7QZKJYaOUHQakKw0hzZtPMM1sozZlvpx/s320/IMG_1317.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy face!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The following night Katie and I walked over to <a href="http://christinasicecream.com/">Christina's</a>, in Inman Square, where I also picked up a fabulous little vintage black dress. Christina's is Katie's favorite, and had also been recommended to me by several trusted sources. I sampled their famous Burnt Sugar, which was nice - like a sophisticated, not-as-sweet caramel flavor - and the carrot cake, which did nothing for me (I'd rather eat a real piece of carrot cake.) Far more impressive was the magisterial malted vanilla, a very malty, very vanilla-y flavor that I could honestly eat until I turned comatose. I also got Mexican chocolate, which could have been more chocolate-y, upon reflection (it was very Mexican, in the sense that the cinnamon was prominent), and coffee Oreo, an oft-overlooked combination if there ever was one.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-KEvOIuveitgPt1IhAtBcuOLVVVRtUs6pCIxxoa8jjra7TEmRksOEgoem3STyN823E5C_P74qV7o9_D7niQHJsLbiszSWck9ZqFhWX-wko-qNLfnVz0p8VEbPtK0CmwBNTbrDtSDeNWC/s1600/IMG_1324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-KEvOIuveitgPt1IhAtBcuOLVVVRtUs6pCIxxoa8jjra7TEmRksOEgoem3STyN823E5C_P74qV7o9_D7niQHJsLbiszSWck9ZqFhWX-wko-qNLfnVz0p8VEbPtK0CmwBNTbrDtSDeNWC/s320/IMG_1324.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Empty bowl --> sad face.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While the flavors - especially that malted vanilla - won me over, the texture left something to be desired. It was slightly aerated, as though their freezing machine was faulty or they'd used some fillers or stabilizers that prevented it from being as dense and pure as one (me) would have wanted. I don't know what's stopping them from going all-out on perfection. It could be the jack of all trades, master of none phenomenon: does offering fifty flavors make it impossible to give each one the attention it deserves?</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5b-y1rts2Thsq9o8aaiUAMJXCL_eDUeLV8piBy5ui72kvYpPn9U8mcuhwXiFvqLw4-dsUNGGg9IhrYZzDMPPfhsOatD-RLIcl1EFMubKyYNxvP0GEqBVqiKHSTIA5iYqn9S6Ov5L6SRy/s1600/IMG_1314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5b-y1rts2Thsq9o8aaiUAMJXCL_eDUeLV8piBy5ui72kvYpPn9U8mcuhwXiFvqLw4-dsUNGGg9IhrYZzDMPPfhsOatD-RLIcl1EFMubKyYNxvP0GEqBVqiKHSTIA5iYqn9S6Ov5L6SRy/s320/IMG_1314.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The overwhelming selection at Christina's.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">J.P. Licks, 1312 Mass Ave, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">617 - 492 - 1001, o</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">pen Monday-Friday 6am - midnight, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Saturday-Sunday 8am - midnight, for more locations, click <a href="http://www.jplicks.com/contact_us.html">here</a>.</span><br />
<div class="extra_line" style="margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="extra_line" style="margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Christina's, 1255 Cambridge St, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(617) 492-7021</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
</div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-21446295120139411012011-03-29T20:54:00.000-07:002011-03-29T20:54:02.982-07:00Bye bye, Blue Marble, Hello Steve's<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The Village Voice's Fork in the Road food blog (lots of fun, highly recommended) had<a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2011/03/steves_ice_crea.php"> a piece today</a> on a soon-to-be-opened and highly-anticipated (in this camp) ice cream shop at the former site of what <a href="http://lickmeeverywhere.blogspot.com/2010/07/professional-foray-4-blue-marble.html">I thought was the none-too-spectacular Blue Marble</a> ice cream shop.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCmGpdCejA9QPUg2K8rY7rd40mcGzzVUIMzrnfkahAN9W24XQUX0BdApf8LYCpbvZ49XUouG5rJSPiB5qLzfkwhr2zE_YJonQ451dL335Wfy_vAwcqJRlCPRV4iCPK-_or22PRrE2rX4v/s1600/steveic-thumb-395x341.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCmGpdCejA9QPUg2K8rY7rd40mcGzzVUIMzrnfkahAN9W24XQUX0BdApf8LYCpbvZ49XUouG5rJSPiB5qLzfkwhr2zE_YJonQ451dL335Wfy_vAwcqJRlCPRV4iCPK-_or22PRrE2rX4v/s320/steveic-thumb-395x341.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve's</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Steve's is from Boston, but its new outpost will feature lots of Brooklyn-y products:<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">If ice cream can be said to have a terroir, the new Steve's is definitely that of Brooklyn. The company, which began developing and testing new flavors last year, is creating partnerships with a number of the borough's artisanal producers: to date, Salvatore Bklyn is supplying the ricotta in Steve's strawberry ricotta ice cream, Kombucha Brooklyn's eponymous brew is the base for a kombucha sorbet, and Plowshares coffee stars in a coffee-cinnamon ice cream. Taza, a chocolate company based in Somerville, MA, is also supplying chocolate for both flavors and toppings; its chocolate-covered cacao nibs appear in Steve's dairy-free mint-cacao chip.</span></blockquote><br />
I cannot wait for this wretched weather to disappear so I can throw on a sundress, flip flops and bike on over to Steve's. You can get it by the pint but what fun is that? Not fun. Will definitely let you know what I find.</div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-16171733674426767542011-03-24T20:27:00.000-07:002011-03-24T20:28:10.539-07:00Breast milk ice cream + bioethics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">When the breast milk ice cream story broke, at least half a dozen thoughtful friends sent me links about, urging me to blog it. I would, I thought, eventually, but the more I considered it, the more I realized it was more than a gimmick. To me, it raised a number of disturbing sociological questions -- questions about adventure eating/foodie elitism, what it means that only a woman can provide this ingredient, what it means that it's for sale, what it means for infants, and the choices mothers make. I didn't want to blog about it merely to say "it exists." <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-g3OXDtKR0mLVPm7w0IFMo2cbCB8fVTv1uTZFPZJvaO50oSDAfmfHlvGgs9WkexrMnGUIQzhLef9eGLD5qBTYJbk4SNMoFYMA0rkT_HatS-2B5qOJQsn9BxgDLfH4rUCROS3ReEfNJ8o/s1600/Salon+Ice+Cream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-g3OXDtKR0mLVPm7w0IFMo2cbCB8fVTv1uTZFPZJvaO50oSDAfmfHlvGgs9WkexrMnGUIQzhLef9eGLD5qBTYJbk4SNMoFYMA0rkT_HatS-2B5qOJQsn9BxgDLfH4rUCROS3ReEfNJ8o/s1600/Salon+Ice+Cream.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Luckily, Sarah Hepola, a great editor at Salon.com, assigned me what became this piece on "<a href="http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/03/10/twisted_ethics_of_breast_milk_ice_cream/index.html">The Squirmy Ethics of Breast Milk Ice Cream</a>." In it, I discuss how a commercial market for human milk might impact women and what its relationship might be to other industries based on the commodification of intimate functions: surrogacy, sex work, the organ trade. Hope you enjoy.<br />
<br />
</div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-39235272754023805072011-02-21T19:24:00.000-08:002011-02-21T19:24:54.090-08:00Where does "brain freeze" come from? Or, why we get ice cream headaches.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdu51F2F-3Kp2CCnXpViwwQ5LsIiRIs0mD8-OlevguR5Iu0sfXr04jOIQiGy0cZqhxE7X2zhOCw7mftZhLAqnzsYFw4DStG0BEemTw5JvjJfMhFuSPRtPVrWjGqoSFsZaGin80AV7sV4qd/s1600/xlarge_icecream123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdu51F2F-3Kp2CCnXpViwwQ5LsIiRIs0mD8-OlevguR5Iu0sfXr04jOIQiGy0cZqhxE7X2zhOCw7mftZhLAqnzsYFw4DStG0BEemTw5JvjJfMhFuSPRtPVrWjGqoSFsZaGin80AV7sV4qd/s320/xlarge_icecream123.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
A site called io9 explains that <a href="http://io9.com/#%215765743/why-your-bodys-survival-strategies-cause-ice-cream-headaches">brain freeze is an evolutionary tactic</a>.<br />
<blockquote> Blood rushing through the extremities cools down, and when it comes back to the body, it cools the rest of the system. The body has negotiate a way to keep blood flowing to the fingers, toes, and nose, while protecting itself.</blockquote><blockquote>.... </blockquote><blockquote>Ice cream headaches don't usually happen in cold weather, but they are bound up with the body's response to it. When people eat ice cream, it chills the area around the head, and the blood vessels constrict. This constriction is painful - it's the same thing that causes intense and debilitating migraines. </blockquote>But fear not:<br />
<blockquote> It doesn't do damage and lasts only a few minutes. Still, people don't like discomfort with their desserts, and they've found a few ways to avoid it. One is to, yes, eat more slowly.</blockquote>I always know it's &%$#@!ing cold out when I laugh and get brain freeze from the cold touching my teeth. It's about that temperature right now in New York. And speaking of laughing, you know what is really not funny? The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/21/AR2011022104733.html">whole Gaddafi family</a> and how they are massacring their own citizens.<br />
<br />
</div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-63114446739958004932011-02-07T15:05:00.000-08:002011-02-07T15:05:21.780-08:00Warning: the Kellog's Ice Cream Sandwich Pop Tart is not an ice cream sandwich<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Djk2ue3GbJTdI36Y8S5odTqKNHLwJzVaQ7KaPbw03HwScdNODA1pnXw09bsv9JrwruJIeO-EPAl5TABSDSUNvg81dIfPNL57-B8doFuc95I1WjbQoem6CXz9CJot2UErFwmVNvTa5RWT/s1600/Pop+Tart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQMJ0PKOpiIGuNNSmWKmwKZR9xJiEIc5lUQNylLRiIgXgqOllcLNt_MHs-hr9KXXKBElqNvyUOoXk_lRR_sT8lre-2yyG-f7WZz44hhYoyTDFr7Ar3GL6Mg1vl5cRlwNfOAmfThvgxaP-/s1600/Pop+Tarts+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQMJ0PKOpiIGuNNSmWKmwKZR9xJiEIc5lUQNylLRiIgXgqOllcLNt_MHs-hr9KXXKBElqNvyUOoXk_lRR_sT8lre-2yyG-f7WZz44hhYoyTDFr7Ar3GL6Mg1vl5cRlwNfOAmfThvgxaP-/s320/Pop+Tarts+box.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from The Impulsive Buy</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
That takes some chutzpah, doesn't it? Calling yourself a "rainbow cookie ice cream sandwich" and harkening back to Ye Olde "Ice Cream Shoppe" when in fact you are nothing but a hot, toasty Pop Tart? At first I got terribly excited. Finally! Someone has taken Pop Tarts and married them with ice cream. This long-overdue marriage has been consummated. <br />
<br />
But before I could load Freshdirect.com to try and order them, I discovered the truth. They are just an ice cream sandwich-flavored Pop Tart. What a letdown. Also - what a dumb concept. An ice cream sandwich is a form, or a method, of delivering ice cream. It is not actually a flavor. In fact, they come in many flavors, as the guys over at <a href="http://lickmeeverywhere.blogspot.com/2010/08/professional-foray-10-melt-bakery.html">Melt Bakery</a> could attest. According to the <a href="http://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/wordpress/2011/02/07/review-kelloggs-ice-cream-shoppe-frosted-rainbow-cookie-sandwich-pop-tarts/">review</a> on <a href="http://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/wordpress/">The Impulsive Buy</a>, they taste more like cake. Sad. An excerpt from the review:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">Obviously Kellogg’s can’t put actual ice cream inside their Pop-Tarts, yet have set themselves the task of making the brand taste as much like ice cream as possible, so I was curious about how they’d accomplish this. The answer, it turns out, is “just cram a whole mess of frosting up in there.” It really tastes more like marshmallow or cake frosting than ice cream, which is not such a bad thing. The rainbow sprinkles further put me in the mindset of cake, to the point where “Ye Olde Birth-day Cake” would probably be a more accurate brand name than “Ice Cream Shoppe.” </div></blockquote><br />
"Obviously"? Why is it so obvious that Kellogg's can't put actual ice cream inside their Pop Tarts? Why don't they put some actual ice cream in their Pop Tarts and then sell them in the freezer aisle? Kellogg's execs, if you're reading this, you can thank me later, with cases and cases of free Pop Tarts ice cream sandwiches.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Djk2ue3GbJTdI36Y8S5odTqKNHLwJzVaQ7KaPbw03HwScdNODA1pnXw09bsv9JrwruJIeO-EPAl5TABSDSUNvg81dIfPNL57-B8doFuc95I1WjbQoem6CXz9CJot2UErFwmVNvTa5RWT/s1600/Pop+Tart.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Djk2ue3GbJTdI36Y8S5odTqKNHLwJzVaQ7KaPbw03HwScdNODA1pnXw09bsv9JrwruJIeO-EPAl5TABSDSUNvg81dIfPNL57-B8doFuc95I1WjbQoem6CXz9CJot2UErFwmVNvTa5RWT/s320/Pop+Tart.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from The Impulsive Buy</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-55576720878484990722011-02-04T14:11:00.000-08:002011-02-04T14:11:43.971-08:00Tomorrow is International Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I just found out about this holiday: <a href="http://icecreamforbreakfastday.blogspot.com/">International Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day</a>. I think the title explains a lot. Please observe it - if you check the blog, you can find different places that are celebrating. Here's a little about the <a href="http://www.itzahckret.com/oregon2.html">history</a> of the holiday, which began in 1997. <a href="http://mollymoonicecream.blogspot.com/2011/01/celebrate-international-eat-ice-cream.html">Molly Moon's</a>, a homemade ice cream shop in Seattle, is offering fresh waffles or hot oatmeal with scoops of ice cream. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile, there is a REVOLUTION GOING ON IN EGYPT AND I CAN'T THINK ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQ-j6ZNZvedZNPC2YchQC-hTfJmQXuk8FY0tlIA44DMBgiDj_moNAn-LFwtWF4RSiunx4j2P-YevMJR1RX37yeKDA4HZzfGHgmIt6i6lsxhKoO-rUeyQjj_FzH4VQ7Jcelxrho84KxMda/s1600/1170516711_framu-M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQ-j6ZNZvedZNPC2YchQC-hTfJmQXuk8FY0tlIA44DMBgiDj_moNAn-LFwtWF4RSiunx4j2P-YevMJR1RX37yeKDA4HZzfGHgmIt6i6lsxhKoO-rUeyQjj_FzH4VQ7Jcelxrho84KxMda/s320/1170516711_framu-M.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br />
</div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-59764409950976072992011-01-26T19:35:00.000-08:002011-01-26T19:36:56.838-08:00The Lick Me Everywhere Stimulus Plan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Last night's SOTU was not only kind of a snooze, it also missed the mark. America doesn't need another Sputnik moment. It needs more ice cream shops - ice cream shops that sell delicious flavors like Gingerbread Crumble, Burnt Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Oats and Walnut. Ice cream shops that buy from local farmers, that employ local people, and that use American-made equipment. That is how we will win the future!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That's the message I took from Kendra Baker and Zach Davis, the founders of the <a href="http://thepennyicecreamery.com/">Penny Ice Creamery</a> in Santa Cruz, who <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/central-coast/ci_17189282?nclick_check=1">sat with Michelle Obama </a>at the SOTU address last night. Here's their sweet little video, in which they thanked the politicians who made their $250,000 loan possible by voting for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/AmWjlA9FlAo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
So I say, more artisanal ice cream shops, less defense spending. I wonder if I could get elected on this platform.<br />
<br />
</div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-45967752443802351052011-01-25T18:39:00.000-08:002011-01-25T18:39:15.394-08:00Top Chef: Just Desserts finalist joins LA Creamery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1ZBR340jHqPXvQABN2dbuL_Y71Xs0IYcL-vkr8dU7WYqkzw4QgScggIZexI4Wt3vBUNIC7mfvcc8_rNFQUfRnCWcAKuKEAXbCuxl3k8oJF1TPbWWlrJKOHKjYjT4o5kGeKh3RZaLUbiQ/s1600/Danielle+Keene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1ZBR340jHqPXvQABN2dbuL_Y71Xs0IYcL-vkr8dU7WYqkzw4QgScggIZexI4Wt3vBUNIC7mfvcc8_rNFQUfRnCWcAKuKEAXbCuxl3k8oJF1TPbWWlrJKOHKjYjT4o5kGeKh3RZaLUbiQ/s1600/Danielle+Keene.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She looks nice. Photo courtesy of LA Eater.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
LA Eater reports that chef Danielle Keene is joining the artisan ice cream shop LA Creamery as Corporate Pastry Chef. Here are some of the new flavors allegedly in the works:<br />
<br />
Hot Chocolate flavored with chili powder, cinnamon, vanilla bean and cocoa nibs; Milk Chocolate Chai flavored with black tea and seven spices; Sassafras flavored with sassafras bark; Honeycomb ice cream layered with handmade honeycomb seafoam candy; Roasted Banana made with fresh bananas roasted with brown sugar and butter until caramelized, then blended in a lightly flavored rum base; and a non dairy Chocolate Sorbet made with bittersweet chocolate, sugar and water.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7iAg2GSZAUA47T98QGKwyTdN_LGEpDouAb50s0FEFOj7y4w12P8PKFQy_bP_HT2ZJEqKiyK77yWLKxMzJJq6-vomC3hYcVvHPkuQ2HaEnvIiKYKn5easnZK528tk4csk41chY4oltsAGx/s1600/Chai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7iAg2GSZAUA47T98QGKwyTdN_LGEpDouAb50s0FEFOj7y4w12P8PKFQy_bP_HT2ZJEqKiyK77yWLKxMzJJq6-vomC3hYcVvHPkuQ2HaEnvIiKYKn5easnZK528tk4csk41chY4oltsAGx/s320/Chai.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>None of those strike me as too original but the Milk Chocolate Chai could be interesting. Speaking of which, here's a <a href="http://poetryoffood.com/stories/scoop/anna-louie-sussmen/my-cup-of-tea">link to my world-famous chai recipe</a> and an accompanying article on <a href="http://poetryoffood.com/">Poetry of Food</a>. </div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-62200901563595108442011-01-17T12:51:00.000-08:002011-01-17T12:51:50.012-08:00Cold Stone Creamery = Fancy Ice Cream?I'm not sure what his go-to ice cream is, but Dow Jones newswriter Al Lewis sure threw me a curveball when it turned out the "fancy" ice cream he describes in a recent <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_17105217">article </a>was actually Cold Stone Creamery. By "fancy," does he mean "expensive"? Or "overpriced"? Or maybe "gross"? According to Lewis' article, Cold Stone's sales grew over 20% from 2005 to 2007, but then plunged over 11% in 2008. The president of Cold Stone, Dan Beem, onto a bus, and hit 16 cities in an effort to figure out how to keep the franchises profitable in a dismal economy. A few of the solutions they've hit on:<br />
<br />
<span id="redesign_default">"Next month, Cold Stone is rolling out warm treats to counter the cold weather: brownies, churros and funnel cakes. Come Spring, it will add yogurt to compete with the frozen-yogurt craze that Pinkberry has re-ignited."</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kMo85TAT1fL9Zv96fhN2yXJ5YGJs5jZaEsP73QwBVpLHd06ZBYcEmOuDWo8jkuKuo_lwtlWTynt9S8grXNQEirewnjQHk-yvM4HX8gWhZu_h2JSmvCBWhNbJ4LqAK9RuuPGCxwA_nAS1/s1600/cheesecakeFantasy_sm.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kMo85TAT1fL9Zv96fhN2yXJ5YGJs5jZaEsP73QwBVpLHd06ZBYcEmOuDWo8jkuKuo_lwtlWTynt9S8grXNQEirewnjQHk-yvM4HX8gWhZu_h2JSmvCBWhNbJ4LqAK9RuuPGCxwA_nAS1/s200/cheesecakeFantasy_sm.gif" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Cheesecake Fantasy" Signature Creation from Cold Stone Creamery</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
It's not clear whether or not any of those execs tasted the ice cream. If so, they might have figured out why sales are dropping.<br />
<br />
Incidentally, Cold Stone, which bills itself as "<a href="http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/index.html">the ultimate ice cream experience,</a>" was the subject of a recent nightmare had by a friend of mine. After he awoke sweaty and trembling (ok, I made that part up), he wrote me to say: As in real life, it's a cavernous nightmare of overpriced ice cream -- people mashing ghastly things like cookie dough and tomatoes into boysenberry sherbert, that sort of thing. Dream-Me was so revolted by the whole spectacle that I just stole as much cookie dough as I could and then got kicked out of the shop.<br />
<br />
I shared my own experience with Cold Stone, whose ice cream I found to be heavy, too sweet and pretty tasteless:<br />
<br />
The last (and only) time I went to Coldstone Creamery was in 2003 when I was an intern at Vogue. It had just opened, and CN had just moved to Times Square, and all the girls were talking about incessantly. I suggested to the other interns that we go after work one day, a suggestion greeted with open horror because (I had forgotten) never would any of them have permitted something so caloric within two hundred feet of their starved, sad little bodies. I convinced one reasonable colleague to accompany me, at least, and I ordered some abomination that, since you mentioned it, probably included cookie dough. I did not steal it. I do remember it being overpriced.<br />
<br />
The worst part about this whole excursion was that, unlike your dream, it really happened.<br />
<br />
Anyone out there have a Cold Stone experience, real or imagined, delicious or dreadful, to share?Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-43128195230251208052011-01-05T15:43:00.000-08:002011-01-05T15:43:30.142-08:00Pint-sized Haagen Dazs pintsThe Daily News <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2011/01/05/2011-01-05_as_food_costs_rise_retailers_keep_prices_stable_by_shrinking_package_sizes_quant.html">reports today</a> that as commodities prices rise, food companies are shrinking package sizes. Not like the smaller cap on Poland Spring bottles that saves plastic, but actually quantitatively less food. Small children in America already grow up with our confusing non-metric, or customary, measurement system, and now to confuse them further, a gallon is 59 ounces, according to Tropicana, and a pint is 14 ounces, if you trust Haagen Dazs. I <a href="http://lickmeeverywhere.blogspot.com/2010/07/israel-v-p-stine-three-scoop-showdown.html">never trusted them</a> much to begin with.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRtIPsxpeSBUdi1eMMwKgd3WqmlriAi62c_EtvbkyQHRFjE870qGK1QKgIKLTA-7NX_XaxqEIiJDy_2k2C-nPNrhO2DKncNaHkCdfTcO_4-XNOb6wmpoK0CuP6md2-Vj3uMWjI2bjPCSAr/s1600/alg_haagen_dazs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRtIPsxpeSBUdi1eMMwKgd3WqmlriAi62c_EtvbkyQHRFjE870qGK1QKgIKLTA-7NX_XaxqEIiJDy_2k2C-nPNrhO2DKncNaHkCdfTcO_4-XNOb6wmpoK0CuP6md2-Vj3uMWjI2bjPCSAr/s320/alg_haagen_dazs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monaster News, via the Daily News</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-62128091201633710842011-01-04T14:48:00.000-08:002011-01-04T14:48:45.989-08:00Best lead sentence of the year, so farFrom the Bellingham Herald, a newspaper in Washington. Oh boy.<br />
<br />
<div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">"Despite temperatures below freezing Sunday night, Jan. 2, a hungry man stole an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and scarfed it down, according to police.<span>"</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span> </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span>I really love "...and scarfed it down, according to police." I wonder if "scarfed" was the word used in the police report. </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><div id="story_text_top"><br />
Adam S. Wilgus, 24, the culprit, later told officers "he didn't have enough money to pay for the cake and was hungry. He also told officers he had eaten the cake while he was driving and had thrown the box out the window..."<br />
<br />
The story continues:</div><div id="story_text_remaining"><br />
"The 10-inch, round cake, which was worth about $24, was chocolate and vanilla with fudge and cookie crumbles on the inside, said the Dairy Queen's area supervisor and former cake manager, Amanda Armstrong."<br />
<br />
Wilgus, whose last known address was in Blaine, was booked into Whatcom County Jail for investigation of theft and an unrelated warrant for disorderly conduct."<br />
<br />
He's behind bars. You are safe. For now. </div><span><br />
<br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/01/03/1798514/man-steals-ice-cream-cake-from.html#ixzz1A6rJ27vS" style="color: #003399;">http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/01/03/1798514/man-steals-ice-cream-cake-from.html#ixzz1A6rJ27vS</a></span></div></div><span><br />
<a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/01/03/1798514/man-steals-ice-cream-cake-from.html#ixzz1A6r69HHY" style="color: #003399;"></a></span></div></div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-29527296018221942462011-01-04T14:41:00.000-08:002011-01-04T14:41:36.941-08:00Two of my favorite things, together: David Hasselhoff + ice cream<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-381CKbEbLJqXrn4xCdeeBNOrfbUdMvQoTD4zpvjwjfZZeo1WQ9uwN1jrmr1bGvNjmAfMwjFgKYCbjdawapxVHEZwNVRWac2j3neQmGQM7-ZLnQzWUOWvZq5Cf9K0h5vReCx0y9WDFSL/s1600/FP_6433262_ICON_Hasselhoff_Bondi_08_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-381CKbEbLJqXrn4xCdeeBNOrfbUdMvQoTD4zpvjwjfZZeo1WQ9uwN1jrmr1bGvNjmAfMwjFgKYCbjdawapxVHEZwNVRWac2j3neQmGQM7-ZLnQzWUOWvZq5Cf9K0h5vReCx0y9WDFSL/s320/FP_6433262_ICON_Hasselhoff_Bondi_08_13.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by ICON/Fame pictures, courtesy of Celebrity Smack Blog (whatever that is)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Some things were destined to be together, and <a href="http://www.celebritysmackblog.com/2011/01/03/david-hasselhoff-promotes-ice-cream-not-booze/">David Hasselhoff + ice cream promotion</a> are certainly two phenomena that fit together so naturally that one wonders why this didn't happen, say, 20 years earlier when he was actually on TV. <br />
<br />
For me, he was more of a draw before he went gray and when he looked like he could truly save me if I was to start drowning. Now he looks like one of those grandpas who's gearing up for a 5K but will probably not make it past 50 meters. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUyoCBpT3TBUJsQIjFDP2IPnP4Icn_93e-ue-vSQZe99YGF7UmAy2BzsaWncMh9yx-sbXrVK0hBzJA3hO4NAzpEJWHTGpep3mVloMC5jiWrgShyphenhyphenmM13n0aM4TZOgONFW_CrAk3bctGRZt/s1600/FP_6431297_ICON_Hasselhoff_Bondi_03_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUyoCBpT3TBUJsQIjFDP2IPnP4Icn_93e-ue-vSQZe99YGF7UmAy2BzsaWncMh9yx-sbXrVK0hBzJA3hO4NAzpEJWHTGpep3mVloMC5jiWrgShyphenhyphenmM13n0aM4TZOgONFW_CrAk3bctGRZt/s320/FP_6431297_ICON_Hasselhoff_Bondi_03_13.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Always and forever The Hoff.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>That said, he clearly has not lost his touch with the ladies, or at least the Australian ladies. Or at least the Australian ladies who dressed up in red swimsuits to impersonate Baywatch lifeguards for the sake of promoting a mass-produced "tangy fruit product" (ask Unilever about that one) called "<a href="http://www.unilever.com.au/brands/foodbrands/streets_products/Splice.aspx">Splice</a>."Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-59111360906530977062011-01-03T09:35:00.000-08:002011-01-03T09:40:00.504-08:00Anorexic model tasted ice cream before she died<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqVM2mxRZlzHNLc3C1SUsAlT24rdWa3DkKMI4XiYpExf6_5kDr-CIigtb46XnQRUUa7rGWBV_DSoW4PXp4utewz7qN4CcTohuAj2-Hoh8Zo-59Hm4-TUOaPeUCidaOKt49Og8p1EVv22e/s1600/Isabelle+Caro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqVM2mxRZlzHNLc3C1SUsAlT24rdWa3DkKMI4XiYpExf6_5kDr-CIigtb46XnQRUUa7rGWBV_DSoW4PXp4utewz7qN4CcTohuAj2-Hoh8Zo-59Hm4-TUOaPeUCidaOKt49Og8p1EVv22e/s320/Isabelle+Caro.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From her blog</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Last night my mom told me about a news story from last week that I had missed, about the death of Isabelle Caro, a French fashion model who struggled with anorexia from her earliest days. It was a very, very sad story to begin with, but what truly touched me, and not simply because I'm obsessed with ice cream, is that according to the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/world/europe/31caro.html">New York Times obituary</a>, she wrote on her blog:<br />
<br />
“I still eat almost nothing, but I’ve stopped vomiting,” she said after her photo shoot for Nolita. “I have started to distinguish tastes of things. I have tried <a class="meta-classifier" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/ice_cream/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="More articles about ice cream.">ice cream</a> — it’s delicious.” <br />
<br />
This comment reminded me, in some strange way, of the two people who held hands before they jumped out of the burning World Trade Center building. A small human gesture to which we can all relate, against a background of something much larger and much less comprehensible. <br />
<br />
I looked on her blog and couldn't find that entry, but it did make me think about the way certain foods serve different intellectual/physical roles. Ice cream, to an anorexic, is absolutely forbidden. It is decadent, full of sugar and fat, one of the world's most popular treats, never to be savored. And in denying one's self that luxury, the anorexic can find a deeply satisfying sense of power. Curious how I know these things? I used to have my <a href="http://www.observer.com/node/38180">own issues</a>. I never had enough discipline to be anorexic but like a lot of young women growing up surrounded by fashion magazines etc I also associated my self-worth with my appearance. It's still not easy to enjoy ice cream 100% without any guilt, but luckily I'm pretty active and try and ride my bike places and not eat too much other junk food. Anyway, my condolences to Ms. Caro's family.Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-32169879953147317982011-01-03T09:22:00.000-08:002011-01-03T09:22:02.515-08:00Update: It is winter. That means chestnut ice cream at Grom.It is winter. There was a blizzard. Michael Bloomberg did not handle it well. <br />
<br />
That is the bad news.<br />
<br />
The good news is that Grom's marron glacé flavor is back. It is best paired with the regular chocolate ice cream (not the dark chocolate sorbet; that flavor is for masochists and sophisticates). Also be sure to ask for the chestnut flavor first because whichever flavor you request first they will give you a bigger scoop of that one.Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-44541318041679832872010-12-29T08:53:00.000-08:002010-12-29T08:53:23.797-08:00Iran penetrates the Green Zone...with ice cream<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgU7jZLPcU4ZxiSMuWH7RG6GGi68SPRcHaV15YM9Dw4gyMTYjlR3YTjQD678BfNlEGhy7OgfBmyUGxDoX0HdC8bCa7cgez1LhXcLxIyFFjUnvR8TbqlZeWMk4_0koDv12B8LksQOxYjqC/s1600/Iranian+IcePack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgU7jZLPcU4ZxiSMuWH7RG6GGi68SPRcHaV15YM9Dw4gyMTYjlR3YTjQD678BfNlEGhy7OgfBmyUGxDoX0HdC8bCa7cgez1LhXcLxIyFFjUnvR8TbqlZeWMk4_0koDv12B8LksQOxYjqC/s320/Iranian+IcePack.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Liz Sly, Washington Post</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Liz Sly, formerly of the Chicago Tribune and now with the Washington Post, did a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/19/AR2010121903166.html?referrer=emailarticle">fun little story</a> last week about IcePack, an Iranian ice cream chain making headway in Iraq - in the Green Zone, no less. I'm not sure that a few ice cream stores, albeit ones from a chain that claims to "<a href="http://www.icepackco.com/about_us/bakhtiari/">exalt the name of Iran and reinforce Iranian Identity</a>", truly represent a big Iranian challenge to America. Wasn't there some kerfuffle about a nuclear program? Or something?<br />
<br />
My other issue with this story is that I don't see a single description of the ice cream's taste or quality. I don't even know whether this is soft-serve or scooped! Nor can this information be garnered with certainty from Icepack's throwback <a href="http://www.icepackco.com/products/icepacks/">website</a>, where the four specialties on offer are named the "Multi Fruit", "Multi Mix", "Ice Pack" and "Special Ice Pack". They are largely distinguishable in the photos by the fact that they come in different styles of paper cup.<br />
<br />
Still, it's good to know Iraq is gaining enough relative security that people can go out and enjoy ice cream. This is a recurrent trope in the works of a few other contemporary writers on Iraq, such as the feminist scholar <a href="http://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff37137.php">Nadje Al-Ali</a> and the blogger <a href="http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/">Salam Pax</a>, who often mention Iraqis going out for evening ice creams as a sign of normalcy and peace.Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-49243503593022421562010-12-06T08:06:00.000-08:002010-12-06T08:11:22.095-08:00Professional Foray #14: DC does gelato, and how: Dolcezza, Dupont CircleDC does a few things right. Museums. Air quality. Indian food, namely at <a href="http://www.rasikarestaurant.com/">Rasika</a>, where I had quite possibly the best Indian meal I've ever had. Chinese food, humor and politics are not its strengths.<br />
<br />
Gelato, it turns out, is. Dolcezza, of which there are <a href="http://dolcezzagelato.com/">three locations</a> in the DC area, is some of the finest gelato I've tasted in America, on a par with Grom or Cones. The location near Dupont is clean, mostly white, intimate and rustic, like the sophisticated little cafes that dot the historical town centers of the wealthy cities in northern Italy. It's owned by an Argentine woman, Violetta Edelman, and her husband Rob Duncan, who source everything from local farmers. You can read their Michael Pollan-esque odes to their farmer friends on their website. Almost everyone gets described as "some of the nicest folks we know."<br />
<br />
Irrespective of how kind the farmers are, and how much Violetta and Rob adore them, this is some spanking good gelato. My friend Liz and I had the ginger cardamom pistachio, the pumpkin spice (with nutmet, allspice, clove, cinnamon and ginger), and the chocolate with ancho, chipotle and cinnamon. The pistachio flavor was particularly unique, reminiscent of mann w' salwa, a cardamom-pistachio flavor I'd heretofore only eaten in the <a href="http://lickmeeverywhere.blogspot.com/2010/07/goodbye-axis-of-evil-hello-great-satan.html">Middle East</a>, where that combination is used often in nougat candies. As in most cases, the addition of ginger made it even more delicious. The pumpkin flavor features locally-grown Crookneck pumpkins, a sweet variety of squash they bake with spices before folding it into cream sourced from a Pennsylvania dairy.<br />
<br />
I'm nearing my wit's end with the preciousness of local this and small farmer that (even though I prefer to shop, eat and generally live that way, I'm tired of talking and reading about it all the time), so I won't dwell further on how great all of these efforts are. The important thing is taste, and this gelato tastes wonderful. It's creamy and light on the tongue, goes down easy, and you don't need to drink a lot of water while you eat it, which is how you know if it's too rich or heavy. I was able to go to dinner a half-hour later, and eat another giant Indian meal. And if Dolcezza wasn't closed by the time we finished, I would have had another cone. Dolcezza, 1705 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC, 202 299 9116, www.dolcezzagelato.comAnna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-78790883038133242692010-11-22T16:53:00.000-08:002010-12-06T07:14:36.428-08:00Professional Foray #13: Sorry Grom (and sorry readers), I'm back - with a new NYC favorite, Maialino<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6dSVlfk8_qC-H0aqwrimikfPW3sTAxDijeh15AbO3UaFYQJ9CJv_hThBOgjQBceNfrmc3KIHLnD7bb1v-3V4GB3e8Lo4jxJfMgpOtk3YwKSppagft2cNsyr70EtTqR-carzTKN_qscfY/s1600/47465_1606371721789_1311036198_1629471_5730318_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6dSVlfk8_qC-H0aqwrimikfPW3sTAxDijeh15AbO3UaFYQJ9CJv_hThBOgjQBceNfrmc3KIHLnD7bb1v-3V4GB3e8Lo4jxJfMgpOtk3YwKSppagft2cNsyr70EtTqR-carzTKN_qscfY/s320/47465_1606371721789_1311036198_1629471_5730318_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Kelly O'Connor from Maialino's Facebook page</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Readers, if there are still any of you left, I'm sorry. I've neglected you (but not ice cream) for a long time.<br />
<br />
However, someone has brought me back into the fold. And her name is <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-year-of-the-pastry-chef">Jennifer Shelbo</a>, pastry chef at <a href="http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/maialino/">Maialino</a>.<br />
<br />
Friends, this is the best gelato in New York. Not only is the texture perfect - and I mean spot-on, no margin of error, to the .0001% perfect - her flavors are wildly good. It's creamy, but light on the tongue and melts instantly in the mouth, bum-rushing the palate. After a very, very good meal (and a wonderful evening at the theater - run, don't walk to catch Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones in "<a href="http://www.daisyonbroadway.com/">Driving Miss Daisy</a>") I had the bruschetta di canella (Italian for "cinnamon toast"), chocolate, and almond straciatella. The cinnamon is a pale, delicately flavored cinnamon gelato with crunchy bits of cinnamon-y cracker-y stuff on top, like the topping on a great muffin, sprinkled on the gelato. The almond was amaretto flavored, with wisps of great dark chocolate woven through. The chocolate was complex and richly flavored without being heavy, dense or overwhelming. Because of its effortless texture, it went down easy.<br />
<br />
Contrast this with, for example, the chocolate at Grom, previously my contender for best New York gelato. I don't know if I should admit this but the last time I had a taster of the dark chocolate, I puckered my mouth and said "I'm just not strong enough for that." See, I don't want to move into a mindset where the gelato and I become adversaries. No, I'd rather the gelato to be my intimate confidante. And at Maialino, I think I've found my new best friend.Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-64140868768208029122010-09-27T16:43:00.000-07:002010-09-27T19:03:16.437-07:00More medicated ice cream...this time with weed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWAjlyDy-Z5sblm955dZ_0IN7UOCn91d3mMOwGrPOCvAXaUw0kgqJUofCpiUnSysqYKTvWv9f2ceccNMaG-D3F0Mt_BB_F0eHh4vvWuWz7I212v5CzpKAh4Gm39LwurGILUetV1ZAG1a9N/s1600/chronic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWAjlyDy-Z5sblm955dZ_0IN7UOCn91d3mMOwGrPOCvAXaUw0kgqJUofCpiUnSysqYKTvWv9f2ceccNMaG-D3F0Mt_BB_F0eHh4vvWuWz7I212v5CzpKAh4Gm39LwurGILUetV1ZAG1a9N/s1600/chronic.jpg" /></a></div><br />
You know what I always say - "Ice cream. Good for what ails you." Are you getting older? Try <a href="http://lickmeeverywhere.blogspot.com/2010/09/to-anyone-who-thought-unilever-was-not.html">anti-aging</a> ice cream. Recovering from <a href="http://lickmeeverywhere.blogspot.com/2010/09/ice-cream-treats-cancer-maybe.html">chemotherapy</a>? Ice cream. Perhaps you're afflicted with the ailment of not being stoned? Let's review the options...there's...oh hey! Look at that! Ice cream. Creme de Canna, which also makes a small selection of cookies in flavors like chewy molasses and chocolate chip, has a <a href="http://cremedecanna.com/order-online/ice-cream">line of gourmet ice</a> creams in Bananas Foster, TripLe Fudge Brownie and Straw Mari Cheesecake. Each pint is $15 and "contains 2-4 doses."<br />
<br />
Healthzone.ca reported:<br />
"It's made with organic local strawberries and a Grand Marnier reduction,” says Jonathan Kolodinski, owner of the licensed dispensary.<br />
<br />
Um, and drugs, buddy!<br />
<br />
The article also notes that the ice cream is "available only to card-carrying medical-marijuana users." Uh-huh. They're not passing the spoon.Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-3375143997814171432010-09-24T05:22:00.000-07:002010-09-27T16:24:57.113-07:00Ice cream treats cancer! Maybe!I just came across this old article from a March issue of The Scientist. The writer Katherine Bagley <a href="http://www.the-scientist.com/2010/3/1/24/1/#ixzz0h8FhEuog">describes an effort</a> by scientists to isolate milk proteins that can help patients recovering from chemotherapy and insert them directly into...<a href="http://lickmeeverywhere.blogspot.com/2010/07/proustian-moments-2-from-mona-damluji.html">strawberry ice cream</a>. Yes.<br />
<br />
She writes:<br />
<br />
"One protein in particular, lactoferrin, has been shown to inhibit tumor growth, promote intestinal cell growth, and regulate immune response in the intestine (<i>Biochem Cell Biol</i>, 89:95–102, 2002). The scientists reasoned it could therefore help patients receiving chemotherapy, which can damage normal cells that multiply quickly, such as infection-fighting white blood cells, known as neutrophils, and intestinal cells."<br />
<br />
One of the doctors involved explains why ice cream was the most suitable delivery mechanism for lactoferrin:<br />
<br />
"Palmano considered incorporating the bioactives into a liquid drink or yogurt, but in the end, ice cream won out. “Creating a frozen product meant we didn’t have to worry about the bioactives’ shelf life,” she says. “Plus, people going through chemotherapy typically lose their appetite. Why not give them a treat like ice cream?""<br />
<br />
<div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
While it's not yet on the market, it is being tested by patients who are "required" to eat ice cream every day:<br />
<br />
"The scientists worked with New Zealand’s top ice cream manufacturers to create six tons of strawberry-flavored ReCharge. They then made a placebo ice cream with the same taste, color, and calorie count. ReCharge started its Phase II clinical trial in October 2009, in which 200 prechemotherapy cancer patients will be required to eat 100 grams of either ReCharge or the placebo ice cream each day. <br />
“It has been a wonderful ride creating this product,” says Geursen. “We don’t know if ReCharge will work—it is always a challenge going from mice to humans—but we are keeping our fingers crossed.”"<br />
<br />
I just raised the question in a <a href="http://lickmeeverywhere.blogspot.com/2010/09/to-anyone-who-thought-unilever-was-not.html">previous post</a> about anti-aging ice cream, why not deliver vitamins via ice cream? This is an entirely feasible and worthy undertaking. Maybe I should petition Solgar and Grom to do a collaboration. <br />
<br />
<br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.the-scientist.com/2010/3/1/24/1/#ixzz10RtLlYQn" style="color: #003399;">Sweet relief - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences</a> <a href="http://www.the-scientist.com/2010/3/1/24/1/#ixzz10RtLlYQn" style="color: #003399;">http://www.the-scientist.com/2010/3/1/24/1/#ixzz10RtLlYQn</a></div></div><div><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.the-scientist.com/2010/3/1/24/1/#ixzz10Rsqw02b" style="color: #003399;"></a></div></div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-54312470120117659882010-09-24T05:08:00.000-07:002010-09-24T05:08:47.035-07:00Brainfreeze does not cause long-term brain damage<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjEn1difrNbZuAkphEerPYGSV79J_Lr4EF9eoxvXH-Ua0R-aRRh8CCCeP6PseffTLWrpK4Oo_XiEC8vPibbylpFzxSviIH9az7BcqjG338Zz9FEmPX3u6770ggZJ2Twk7GQ298BqmHu6e/s320/frozenbrains.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getty Images</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjEn1difrNbZuAkphEerPYGSV79J_Lr4EF9eoxvXH-Ua0R-aRRh8CCCeP6PseffTLWrpK4Oo_XiEC8vPibbylpFzxSviIH9az7BcqjG338Zz9FEmPX3u6770ggZJ2Twk7GQ298BqmHu6e/s1600/frozenbrains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Did you really think it did? I've never heard that before. Luckily a writer at Popular Science has cleared all of this up for us with this <a href="http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-09/q-can-%E2%80%9Cbrain-freeze%E2%80%9D-cause-long-term-brain-damage">helpful post</a>, in which he first describes the two theories of how and why one gets brainfreeze (or an "ice-cream headache"):<br />
<br />
"First, let’s get one thing straight. “This condition is referred to as an ‘ice-cream headache,’ ” says Stacey Gray, a sinus surgeon at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. “It’s a very technical term.” Although there’s no published paper saying as much, a milkshake slurped too quickly probably does not actually lower brain temperature. Besides, Gray says, the temporary pain can’t do any harm because it has nothing to do with the brain.<br />
<br />
There are two schools of thought on what causes the ice-cream headache. The drink may chill the air in your sinuses and cause the blood vessels in the nasal cavity near your forehead to constrict, creating pain similar to a migraine. Or perhaps it touches off a branch of the trigeminal nerve in your mouth, triggering a pain response in the nerve that’s responsible for facial sensation."<br />
<br />
Later he quotes a doctor explaining why lowering brain temperature temporarily is not a big deal:<br />
<br />
"“Even if the patient wasn’t anesthetized, at that temperature they would be in a noninteractive state, unable to sense stimuli or produce a response,” Tamargo says. “But once you warm the brain up, it picks right up from where it left off. It’s not harmful at all.” So whether your brain is frozen or not, if you can handle a little pain, slurp away."<br />
<br />
Have you ever heard of this before? Long-term brain damage? Seriously?Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-60568031617209989682010-09-19T15:37:00.000-07:002010-09-19T15:39:16.949-07:00To anyone who thought Unilever was not intent on world domination: anti-aging ice creamUnilever, the <a href="http://www.unilever.com/brands/foodbrands/heartbrand/index.aspx">biggest ice cream manufacturer</a> in the world (so I guess it doesn't need to intend to dominate the world; it already does), makes Ben and Jerry's, Magnum, Cornetto, and is sold in more than 40 countries. As if this wasn't world-dominate-y enough already, they're also planning to research <a href="http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/offbeat/anti-aging-ice-cream-explored-dpgonc-km-20100918_9700301">anti-aging ice cream</a>. It will apparently contain anti-oxidants. Ampere Life Sciences, based in San Jose, California, will carry out the research over a period of five years, Fox reports.<br />
<br />
I don't know how a few anti-oxidants are going to mitigate the effects of all the sugar and fat that make your skin age and give you heart disease, but it seems they know the answers. Speaking of which, why haven't they fortified ice cream with vitamins yet? Why do cereals come fortified, but not ice cream? Why shouldn't I have ice cream with vitamins for breakfast? I demand answers.Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-76415294437128865772010-09-19T14:24:00.000-07:002010-09-19T14:24:30.558-07:00Professional Foray #12, Cones gelato, Bleecker St, NY<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Happy news, dear readers! I'm moving into the Bermuda Triangle of gelato - the rocky zone bordered by Bleecker Street, Carmine Street and 7th Avenue South, home to no less than three of New York's top gelaterie (Grom, l'Arte del Gelato and Cones) and one of my favorite Italian ice shops (Rocco's pasticceria). Luckily I've got a fifth-floor walk-up, so hopefully the running up and down the stairs a few times a day will balance out the ice creams I'm sure I will eat a few times a day. As a friend who knows me too well asked, when I told him where I was moving: "looks cute.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> is the kitchen going to be big enough for you, or do you plan to cycle through the </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">ice</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="il" style="background-color: #ffff88; color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">cream</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> shops for your daily nutrition?"</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On that note, I headed to <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/cones-new-york">Cones</a> with my wonderful friend/real estate broker <a href="http://www.corcoran.com/agents/Listings.aspx?userid=ACRYSTAL&region=NYC">Adam</a>, to sample their wares for the first time in a decade. Cones opened when I was in high school, and it was the first gourmet gelato shop in the neighborhood. There was Moondog further north on Bleecker, and Bleecker St. Pastry and Rocco's selling icies, but there was nothing like this before - soft, very sweet and intensely flavored. My best friend at the time, Emma Feigenbaum, fell hard for their Dom Perignon lemon sorbet. She was always a woman of expensive tastes. I liked the almond, if I remember correctly, but I always thought the flavors were a little too sugary, and attributed it to the proprietor's Argentine roots (desserts come very sweet in South America). </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YVXlOO17GgwzzqPjkMBjGJPDuVxWFxCoGUN_pdACLAW3cNFHeawXFKvvTbL3gDUv5_RlZ79lW6ixsbaBaB_cXEuG47iVGEF_6jOFA4qLaJsb7EC0bfZuBI36yBtrBsI8D_MqN1U4KZcp/s320/photo(5).JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold the halo of cinnamon</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YVXlOO17GgwzzqPjkMBjGJPDuVxWFxCoGUN_pdACLAW3cNFHeawXFKvvTbL3gDUv5_RlZ79lW6ixsbaBaB_cXEuG47iVGEF_6jOFA4qLaJsb7EC0bfZuBI36yBtrBsI8D_MqN1U4KZcp/s1600/photo(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I tasted the almond, for old time's sake, and the corn, of which I had heard legions. I really, really love corn - I can eat about a half-dozen to ten ears in a sitting - and corn + sugar + cream + a sprinkling of cinnamon could only turn out well, my instincts told me. As I tasted and surveyed the lay of the land, indecision settled over me like a cloud. There was also a chocolate flavor with white chocolate chips, and a maté flavor that the scooper told me was similar to green tea. Could I taste just one or two more? No. A firm "no." I had reached the two-taste maximum, and with the owner standing by, there was no bending the iron-clad rule. I stalked the freezer cases, still unsure of what to get. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"If she has this much trouble choosing an ice cream flavor, imagine what she'll be like when it's time to choose an apartment," an older man nearby commented to Adam. We swiftly corrected him, noting that it was taking me about twice as long to select my cone as it had to choose an apartment. In the end, I settled on chocolate with white chocolate snow (little chocolate shavings) and corn, sprinkled with ground cinnamon. The corn was exceptional, delicate and sweet, like a frozen version of <a href="http://www.experience-san-miguel-de-allende.com/atole-recipe.html">atole</a>, the Mexican corn drink made with corn flour, vanilla, milk and cinnamon. The chocolate was less impressive - not dark or chocolate-y enough, and the white chocolate shavings were too small to taste but large enough to make the ice cream texture gritty. Since it's around the corner, expect updates soon. 272 Bleecker Street, 212-414-4795, 1 scoop $4.75, 2 scoops $5.75, 3 scoops $7.</span></span>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-54435632442021375382010-09-19T13:43:00.000-07:002010-09-19T15:55:24.057-07:00Professional Foray #11, Emack and Bolio's, Houston Street, New York<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="color: black; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Zagat's, the <a href="http://www.scooponcones.com/scoops/EmackBolios_SoHo.html">Scoop on Cones</a>, and my friend Oscar all think this is some of the best ice cream in New York City. Is it? They definitely have<a href="http://www.emackandbolios.com/icecream2.htm"> ground-breaking flavors</a>, and for someone whose benchmark is Cookies and Cream, I was delighted to hear from the proprietor that E & B were the first company to put Oreos into ice cream, in 1975. "That's why it's called 'The Original Oreo,'" she explained. </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since 1975, the instinct to throw Oreos into ice cream has gone unrestrained, resulting in such triumphs as peanut butter Oreo, and my favorite, Grasshopper Pie: mint chip ice cream - WITH OREOS. I am so, so grateful to this company for replacing the "or" (as in "mint chip or mint Oreo?") and replacing it with that vastly preferable conjunction, "and." The chocolate is very rich and tasty, as is the Cosmic Crunch - vanilla ice cream, caramel swirl, chocolate chips, walnuts, and cookies. The "Deep Purple" black raspberry flavor is also divine - much more flavorful than the wan, rather artificial stuff I'm used to seeing.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">You may have noticed I'm dodging the aforementioned question. It may very well be the best ice cream in New York, and I appreciate that they were using non-hormonally-charged milk way before anyone else, but my book, it's slightly too rich. It is super-premium ice cream, meaning it has a butterfat content of, most likely, above 14% (the <a href="http://www.idfa.org/news--views/media-kits/ice-cream/ice-cream-labeling/">International Dairy Foods Association</a> doesn't have specific guidelines on this, but this is commonly accepted), much higher than the 5-8% that's normally found in gelato. And I, my friends, have been eating a lot of gelato lately. When it came time to take charge of my double-scoop cone of Original Oreo and Grasshopper pie, I was barely equipped to handle it. </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was like training for a marathon by running around the Central Park reservoir once a week for a month. I just wasn't ready. My body couldn't take it. The ice cream felt dangerously rich; I could hear it whispering for an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/31/business/fat-times-are-over-for-premium-ice-cream-makers.html?pagewanted=all">angioplasty</a> as it slid down my throat. I needed gulps of water between bites. But that said, it sure tasted great. And I've been back - training, as it were - several more times since then. </span></div>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-92191261352507068612010-09-18T17:44:00.000-07:002010-09-19T10:24:00.482-07:00NYT spotlights the helados of Buenos Aires<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3I7Gtyyeysivnvxk3gDrcvR5yiYHqrl3qG7nVvcthimyjQ26S8_mFo10gawWpGtg98s9CDrMR2_gxJv8InbGtEp57dbzrhsexU1jxgcJ_XebfMA4p5cKcZwSygLIDQc7gaEP__nlGxLw/s1600/Chocolate+dulce+de+leche" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3I7Gtyyeysivnvxk3gDrcvR5yiYHqrl3qG7nVvcthimyjQ26S8_mFo10gawWpGtg98s9CDrMR2_gxJv8InbGtEp57dbzrhsexU1jxgcJ_XebfMA4p5cKcZwSygLIDQc7gaEP__nlGxLw/s320/Chocolate+dulce+de+leche" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horacio Paone for the New York Times</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Man, I wish I'd gotten to this place before I had to read about it. I've been hearing about <a href="http://www.persicco.com/index1.html">Persicco</a> (watch out for the crazy techno runway-show intro) for years, from my friend Massoud, who told me that by running an ice cream blog and not featuring Persicco, I'd "lost the plot already," in his words. Luckily the NYT has thoughtfully found the plot, with a <a href="http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/travel/19journeys.html?pagewanted=all">great story</a> about dulce de leche ice cream, in its myriad forms, available in all the grand heladerias of Buenos Aires. In fact, a chain called Chungo's won for best dulce de leche ice cream, not Persicco, but they all sound pretty good to me. How about this one?<br />
<br />
"During Freddo’s heyday in the ’80s and ’90s, the company began offering crema tramontana — which contains dulce de leche jam and specks of malted chocolate ball."<br />
<br />
Malted milk ball...someone needs to bring that back - and not Ciao Bella, which is straight up disgusting these days.<br />
<br />
Update: Corinne Masucci, a BA native, reports that they deliver til midnight. Damn.Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8947707269610039650.post-62590844590389600032010-08-29T15:43:00.000-07:002010-08-29T15:43:15.227-07:00Pregnant nuns shill gelato<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdCDLq8-Q_JWZqxocX_b1HfdvHFVX3pYsltRJCFJsjqO28BojtZVYLxmIGnkHdauGaGaP3-HWR7L7zHAFUAaDzXUMDFm8UmQ_vi2OB5mBtPQh1g6x5f-aQTH713eunxrbVsJW4e7kEqVB/s1600/Pregnant+Nun+Antonio+Federici+gelato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdCDLq8-Q_JWZqxocX_b1HfdvHFVX3pYsltRJCFJsjqO28BojtZVYLxmIGnkHdauGaGaP3-HWR7L7zHAFUAaDzXUMDFm8UmQ_vi2OB5mBtPQh1g6x5f-aQTH713eunxrbVsJW4e7kEqVB/s320/Pregnant+Nun+Antonio+Federici+gelato.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The esteemed Daily Mail of London </span><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1307140/Pregnant-nun-ice-cream-ad-faces-ban-Catholic-outcry.html?ito=feeds-newsxml"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">brings us news</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> that Italian gelato company </span><a href="http://www.antoniofederici.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Antonio Federici</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> has offended Catholics by using a pregnant nun, with the tagline "immaculately conceived," as its poster girl. The firm "said the adverts celebrated the ‘implied forbidden Italian temptations’ of the ice cream," according to the article. I can see how this might be offensive to Catholics, several of whom have had trouble resisting the forbidden temptations of, say, young male parishioners. </span>Anna Louie Sussmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759909474716097654noreply@blogger.com1