ice cream Archives

In Dessert

Summer’s Ice Cream: Fresh, Homemade Ice Cream Since 1984

August 8, 2017

Summer’s Ice Cream Shop in Yorkville invited me to try their ice cream the other week and since I consider ice cream a major food group, I obviously obliged!

Summer’s Store front

Summer’s is a family-owned ice cream shop that’s been making homemade ice cream since 1984. Tucked away on Yorkville Avenue, it’s a great place to catch a break from the Toronto heat (and stilettoed ladies with tiny dogs). They have 24 flavours that are made in small batches daily. Since the shop was crammed with customers, it was difficult to take a photo of all their offerings. Instead, I decided to include a preview of their top flavours along with a recommendation of the type of person I think would enjoy them…

I apologize for the photos, they don’t have the most blogger-friendly lighting. For the full list of flavours, check out their website.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie: this is their most popular flavour, it has homemade brownies and rich fudge in Summer’s signature chocolate ice cream.

Pairs well with: that friend that never disappoints. They’re always down to grab beers, they actually carry cash, and they pick you up when you’re down (in life, beer pong, etc.)

Birthday Cake: chunks of real birthday cake swirled in vanilla ice cream

Pairs well with: that gal/guy that LOVES red velvet. And probably Taylor Swift.

Toronto Pothole: Almonds, marshmallows, peanuts, chocolate chunks

Pairs well with: the life of the party. Whether it’s keg stands or spontaneous karaoke, this person is full of surprises that will leave you with a stomach ache from laughing too hard (or drinking too much).

This girl is stressing hard about picking a flavour…

Yes…I was being judged by many passersby as I attempted to take this shot. Do it for the Gram right? That English butter toffee swirl though…

I tried a scoop of their Almond Butter Toffee in a freshly made waffle cone. The ice cream was made up of a creamy almond base with bits of toffee, crunchy almonds, and an English butter toffee swirl. It was very delicious. I wish I took the time to savour it but unfortunately I had to gobble it quickly as it was melting in the 27 degree heat. I don’t know what this choice says about my personality, but please feel free to slide your psychoanalyses into my DMs.

If you need a break from the boujee-ness of Yorkville, I recommended stopping by Summer’s Ice Cream. I rode the TTC in sweltering heat to try a scoop and I’d do it again. If you knew me and my low tolerance for the Toronto transit system, then you’ll know that means Summer’s is worth it. And if you’re unable to come by the store, their pints are sold at several retailers across Ontario like Loblaws, Sobey’s and Rabba’s. The Summer’s team was kind enough to let me take home a pint of their Pistachio ice cream. It reminded me of marzipan and was very tasty with some shaved coconut and berries.

Whoops I wasn’t able to take a picture of my delicious homemade sundae – the aesthetics weren’t “right” (which means I ate it before I could take a picture, sorry I’m only human).

Address:
101 Yorkville Ave, Toronto, ON

Website: https://www.summersicecream.com/

In Canadian

Cows: Ice Cream at Niagara on the Lake

August 24, 2014

Cow’s originated from Prince Edward Island on the East Coast of Canada. They have 10 locations across Canada, but mostly in Tourist areas. When I was at Niagara on the Lake, a small town close to Niagara Falls our tour guide suggested we check out Cow’s as it is quite popular.

There is also a Cow’s in Whistler, BC…but I have no idea why I never go to Whistler when it’s so close to Vancouver. They are best know for their ice cream and their hilarious merchandise like t-shirts and keychains. Readers Digest even calls them the Best Ice Cream in Canada.

Who doesn’t love shirt with puns and cows that make lots of references to pop culture?

When we came here, there wasn’t a long line up, which was great! But then again, not that many people get ice cream before lunch.

Their board with the cow shows you what flavours they currently have. There’s around 20 flavours to choose from.

If you get yours in a cone, you have 4 kinds to select:

Plain
Chocolate
Chocolate + Sprinkles
Chocolate + Nuts

Peanut Butter Cup Cup with a plain waffle cone ($4.25) was what I ordered. I love peanut butter, so this was the perfect flavour for me. It was decent ice cream but it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had.

If you are at Niagara on the Lake and need a tasty treat, definitely check out Cows.

We Rate Cows:

Address:
44 Queen
Niagara-on-the-Lake

Website:
http://www.cows.ca/

In Canadian

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory: Rocky Ridge Ice Cream Bars

August 19, 2014

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory recently launched their new line of Rocky Ridge Ice Cream Bars in their Robson location. It’s a perfect summer treat when you know we’ve had a crazy heatwave in Vancouver for the past few weeks.

Ice cream, ice cream, we all scream for ice cream.

The Rocky Ridge Ice Cream Bars will be rolling out to other stores soon, but so far the Robson location is the only one.

You will find the Ice Cream Bar section at the back of the store. Each Rocky Ridge Ice Cream bar is $5.99.

The 9 flavours you can choose from are:

Almond Summit Ridge
Candy Coated Ridge
Rockslide Ridge
Toffee Slab Ridge
Pay Dirt Ridge
Purest Ridge
Cougar Ridge
Mint Avalanche Ridge
Mystery Ridge (Flavour of the month)

For myself, I had a tough time deciding, which one to choose.

Candy Coated Ridge is what I chose since it looked really cute and colourful.Plus, any kid would choose this! I can be a big kid too. Perfect for all.

They have their signature logo on the front which is made out of all chocolate.

When you bite inside, you have their vanilla ice cream in the centre, then the 2 layers of chocolate and the candy coating on the outside. It really reminded me of the Magnum ice cream bars because of the thick chocolate crust.

Mystery Ridge is their secret featured ice cream bar that changes every month. For August, they had dark chocolate and coconut. M loved it because it wasn’t overly sweet and the dark chocolate was a nice touch with the coconut bits.

Cougar Ridge has white chocolate and peanut butter blended together to create the pieces surrounding the bar.

Mint Avalanche Ridge has the same milk chocolate coating around the vanilla ice cream. This one has minty chocolate and chocolate chips around the edges.

Pay Dirt Ridge has golden graham cracker and cheese cake goodness surrounding the bar.

Overall, the bars are quite rich and it’s quite hard to eat all in one sitting. I am not a huge sweet tooth, so I would prefer the Purest Ridge Bar so more vanilla ice cream ratio.

We Rate Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory:

Address:
1017 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.rockychoc.com/

In Food for Thought

32cm Twist Ice Cream Cone in Myeong-Dong, Seoul

August 10, 2012

Wandering around Myeong-Dong in the middle of a monsoon was not a smart idea, you get really soaked from the rain even if you have an umbrella. It’s a great area to find face masks, dirt cheap jewelry and awesome food. In the middle of Myeong-Dong, there is an area with a small ice cream stand under the Matching Mole pub. They have a tall 32 cm ice cream for 2,000 won ($2 CDN).

I passed by it with Kirsty and I had to go back later in the evening to have a snack.

Chocolate and Strawberry Twist Cone was definitely cool! It wasn’t too sweet and the flavours blended well together. What sucked about it was that the cone was kinda stale. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it because I’ve never had anything like it!

Overall, if I was to get a 32cm ice cream cone, I would still do it even if the cone is stale. I get excited by new things too easily. There are various locations in Seoul where you can find this. The price can also differ too.

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