Boston, eh? Professional Forays #15 (J.P. Licks) and #16 (Christina's)

The weekend of April 8-10, I was lucky enough to cover the National Conference for Media Reform in Boston, MA (read my report-back for Ms. here), 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.

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, Emack and Bolio's, 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 reached the same conclusion.


First stop was J.P. Licks, 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.


J.P. Licks does a lot of community work, 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.)

Happy face!

The following night Katie and I walked over to Christina's, 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.

Empty bowl --> sad face.

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?

The overwhelming selection at Christina's.

J.P. Licks, 1312 Mass Ave, 617 - 492 - 1001, open Monday-Friday 6am - midnight, Saturday-Sunday 8am - midnight, for more locations, click here.

Christina's, 1255 Cambridge St, (617) 492-7021

Professional Foray #5, Grom, Bleecker Street, NY

A confession is in order.  This is, and has been, my favorite ice cream (or gelato) in New York since winter.  So this is less of an evaluation than a sticky, approving wink at what I think is so far the top ice cream in town.  I have friends who have come back from trips to Italy raving about this place. 

My first scoops, in winter, were of chocolate and chestnut, a winning combination if there ever was one.  Later on, I came back for spring flavors: ginger, crema di Grom (crema, an eggy custard flavor, with chocolate flakes and crumbled vanilla biscuits), lemon cake, and the flavor of the month, fior di latte with candied cherries and chocolate flakes.  This terribly sophisticated take on Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia did not quite do it for me (I prefer a base with more flavor than just milk), but the crema di Grom was outstanding - lush and full of tasty chunks.  What sets Grom apart is the quality of its ingredients, which manifest themselves in an unbeatable texture.  Furthermore, texture aside, the flavors are also excellent: the chocolate is complex and rich (I always have the regular dark chocolate as the extra-dark chocolate is overwhelming for me), the coffee intense and smooth, the chestnut gentle and well-rounded.

One for each hand.

Anyhow, I returned Friday evening with several friends in a professional capacity (my previous half-dozen visits were sort of an internship, maybe?)  Like the greedy children in Umberto Eco's story, my friend Mara and I decided to get two small cups, so we could try four flavors.  One of our cups was vanilla and chocolate, the other tiramisu and crema di Grom.  The scooper, a very sweet Italian youth who I am guessing is the nephew of a friend of the owner of the franchise and who needed a summer job in New York while he takes the odd English class (his English was halting, to be generous), graciously let us try as many flavors as we wanted as long as we kept smiling at him.  All four flavors were truly, truly excellent - the vanilla/chocolate cup was like the ultimate version of a Mr. Softee swirl, and the tiramisu and the crema di Grom had similar mix-ins, so texturally they were a brilliant complement.

These flavors, and several crazy, crazy Youtube videos, were then savored on a stoop on Leroy street.  All in all, an excellent evening.

Grom, several locations in New York City; this one was at 233 Bleecker St (at Carmine), (+1) 212 206 1738, http://www.grom.it/eng/gelaterie.php, small $5.25, medium $6.25, large $7.25, extra-large $8.25

National Ice Cream Day 2011

By the way, last Sunday July 18th was National Ice Cream Day.  I confess I forgot to observe this holiday with the gravity it deserves, but I did have Ciao Bella cookies and cream gelato the day before and, perhaps because I could secretly sense that Sunday was the big day, I requested a scoop of vanilla gelato to go on top of my iced mocha at Via Quadronno.

How did you celebrate?

To make up for my offense, I am going to begin planning next year's National Ice Cream Day festivities right now. What should I do?  Who wants to join?  Any ideas?

Israel v. P-stine, the three-scoop showdown

I was raised on Haagen Dazs ice cream.  My mom served it at dinner parties, and for years it was Haagen Dazs that set the benchmark for what coffee, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream flavors should taste like.  Throughout elementary school, I started every morning with a diabetes bomb breakfast of champions: a cup of Twinings Earl Grey tea with milk and sugar, topped with a big scoop of Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream, after which I was sent off to the poor teachers at St. Luke's School who had to deal with a little sugar and caffeine-fueled Tasmanian devil.  No wonder I used to get in trouble for attacking other, more passive students. 

This is all to say that I was very sad to hear, when living in Beirut, that the ice cream company of my childhood funds settlements in the West Bank that are an obstacle to peace.  I wonder, and would be grateful to anyone who knows the answer to this, why Haagen Dazs is then able to operate several profitable franchises around Beirut, including one right in front of the Parliamentary building in Place d'Etoile?

However, there is another option, available in the West Bank city of Ramallah: Baladna ("Our Country") ice creams.  Since I was not legally allowed to travel to Israel or Palestine during my time living in Lebanon and Syria, I didn't actually get to go there, even though the woman in the picture looks a lot like me.  I cannot personally vouch for the fact that the texture was slightly gummy, some of the flavors a little too sweet, but the portions generous and the service charming.  They have my favorite policy - the "as many flavors as you want in a cone" policy.  Snickers flavor was delicious, as most peanut butter-flavored ice creams are.  And they were open at 9 am, so it was the perfect cap to a falafel and hummus breakfast.

The local operation

The Baladna selection.  Bubble Gum is not recommended.

Not me.

Starbucks, incidentally, has a similarly bad reputation for supporting Israeli causes, but luckily right across the street from Baladna is local alternative "Stars and Bucks."