Best ice cream in Seattle

[richards1052]

I know I might disturb a hornet's nest with this question but...I'm an ice cream lover & have tried almost every kind in Seattle that I can find. Here are my favorites:

Dahlia Bakery

toffee crunch

chocolate malt

ice cream sandwiches

Fran's

all of it

These ice creams are heavenly. Rich in butter fat, creamy and just plain devestatingly good.

Does anyone else make ice cream that's worth trying?

[skyflyer3]

I really love Olympic Mountain, but I think it's only sold at restaurants. But for me, better than ice cream, is Bottega Italiana's gelato. Sign me up for the lemon any day. Much better and more authentic - to me, at least - than Gelatiamo, Procopio, Dolce Vita, etc. By the way, has anyone tried the new gelato place in Fremont?

[Foodie-Girl]

Gelatiamo.....if gelato counts ((-:

[kiliki]

Fran's.

For an out of town ice cream experience, my favorite is the raspberry and blueberry ice cream and shakes at the Cascadian Farm stand on Hwy 20 just east of Rockport. They make the ice cream from the organic fruit they grow right there and it is delicious.

[22tango]

Frans!!! (yummmy!) And Gelatiamo.

For fresh, super creamy ice cream at great prices out on the Eastside, you can't go wrong with Vivian's Pride ice cream sold at Theno's Dairy on the Redmond-Woodinville road. Mmmmmm...

[LaurieA-B]

Previous gelato thread. I haven't tried the ice cream from Dahlia yet, but I love everything else there and now I definitely will.

Since Wally's Scoop closed, is there a real ice cream parlor in Seattle any more? You know, with goopy sauces, whipped cream, maraschino cherries? (Something besides Baskin-Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery.)

(By the way, perhaps the "best ice cream" thread isn't the appropriate place to mention this--but there's now a Dairy Queen open in Westlake Center. I am pleased with this as every now and then I get a serious craving for a cherry-dipped cone or Peanut Buster Parfait.)

[richards1052]

Previous gelato thread.(By the way, perhaps the "best ice cream" thread isn't the appropriate place to mention this--but there's now a Dairy Queen open in Westlake Center. I am pleased with this as every now and then I get a serious craving for a cherry-dipped cone or Peanut Buster Parfait.)

And you admit something like this in THIS forum of all places??

When I was a kid, Dairy Queen was IT for ice cream. So glad the world has brought us new options (though I DO understand the strong hankerings of childhood).

[MsRamsey]

Since Wally's Scoop closed, is there a real ice cream parlor in Seattle any more? You know, with goopy sauces, whipped cream, maraschino cherries? (Something besides Baskin-Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery.)

The only one I can think of is Baker's on Lake City Way, but it isn't all that pleasant a place.

I've been a life-long Baskin Robbins diehard, but it's gone way downhill. Everything tastes like chemical.

[tsquare]

Since Wally's Scoop closed, is there a real ice cream parlor in Seattle any more? You know, with goopy sauces, whipped cream, maraschino cherries? (Something besides Baskin-Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery.)

The only one I can think of is Baker's on Lake City Way, but it isn't all that pleasant a place.

I've been a life-long Baskin Robbins diehard, but it's gone way downhill. Everything tastes like chemical.

Maybe Luna Park?

[reesek]

Since Wally's Scoop closed, is there a real ice cream parlor in Seattle any more? You know, with goopy sauces, whipped cream, maraschino cherries? (Something besides Baskin-Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery.)

husky deli makes their own ice cream. i've only had the strawberry but it was gigglingly good. sweet creamy fresh berryliciousness.

[richards1052]

I just checked out Beecher's new ice cream offering at their Pike Pl. store. Vanilla & it's terribly underwhelming. Don't waste any effort to try it. It was pallid. Very low butterfat content (possibly watered down with milk or at least something less potent than cream). THe ice cream is served so cold it's almost frozen solid. Seattle offers so many medoicre ice creams--do we really need yet another?!

I've never tried anything else at Beecher's. If the ice cream is any indication their cheese may not be much good either (though I haven't tried it myself).

[LEdlund]

I also tried Beecher's ice cream over the weekend. The consensus of the group I was with was that the flavor was quite good but the consistancy was not creamy enough. My mom said it reminded her of old fashioned ice milk with the crystals in it. It didn't do our sour cherry pie justice.

On the other hand the cheese curds and butter were fantastic as always.

[LaurieA-B]

I've never tried anything else at Beecher's.  If the ice cream is any indication their cheese may not be much good either (though I haven't tried it myself).

Beecher's specializes in cheese. That is their reason for being. As has been reported many times here, their fresh cheese and butter are delicious, and I am looking forward to trying the aged cheeses when they are ready. I suggest you do not make assumptions about all their products based on a single tasting of the ice cream, a new product that may improve.

[richards1052]

I've never tried anything else at Beecher's.  If the ice cream is any indication their cheese may not be much good either (though I haven't tried it myself).

Beecher's specializes in cheese. That is their reason for being. As has been reported many times here, their fresh cheese and butter are delicious, and I am looking forward to trying the aged cheeses when they are ready. I suggest you do not make assumptions about all their products based on a single tasting of the ice cream, a new product that may improve.

Let's hope the ice cream does improve. There's a lot of room for that.

Looks like I struck a nerve with a Beecher's lover.

I'll have to try their cheese sometime since you say it's so good.

But I've got to say, it's not hard to make great ice cream, you just have to use the best ingredients & not try to water it down to lower costs or make it lower fat for whatever other reason. I think Beecher's is adulterating the ice cream (I don't mean they're adding fraudulent ingredients, but rather that they're not using all the ones they should). It's just out & out lousy & I find it odd that they'd put out a product that inferior (unless of course they think it'll sell only to the undiscriminating tourist audience).

[passionforfood]

I just wanted to add a comment about Beechers Ice Cream, it is my understanding that yes there focus is on Cheese, but also providing a "clean" product. Perhaps outcome of the product has something to do with trying to offer a clean product at a resonable price. Not sure just a thought.

[MsRamsey]

What does "clean" mean? Organic?

[wesza]

Since Wally's Scoop closed, is there a real ice cream parlor in Seattle any more? You know, with goopy sauces, whipped cream, maraschino cherries? (Something besides Baskin-Robbins or Cold Stone Creamery.)

The only one I can think of is Baker's on Lake City Way, but it isn't all that pleasant a place.

I've been a life-long Baskin Robbins diehard, but it's gone way downhill. Everything tastes like chemical.

I have been going to "Baker's" in Lake City for years, My Grand Children consider it their favorite place. The Ice Cream Sundaes, Floats, Shakes, Malts, Italian and Regular Ice Cream Soda's have been consistantly superior.

They make a traditional "Monte Cristo" Sandwich that is one of the best anywhere. There 1/2 Burger with Grilled Onions is terrific, the hand Cut Fries are always prepared to order plus the Soups, Breakfast, Lunch and Diner Specials are traditional and appearently from Scratch.

I was introduced to "Baker's" by my friend who originally enjoyed it when it was located in "Pikes Market" they started business in 1929, prepare hand dipped chocolates and still make their Cinnamon Buns with Rasins. I'm not sure but it may still be operated by the Original Owners, generally there's a Grand Ma, Daughter or Grand Daughter on duty.

I'm curious why MsRamsey whose opinion I respect feels that "Baker's" isn't a pleasant place. I have always been treated very well there, and recently had a delicious lunch there with Jason [Faichai].

Irwin

[MsRamsey]

I find it dingy and dirty, is basically why.

[tighe]

Since going to school in Boston, I've felt spoiled for ice cream. The seriousness around and pervasiveness of good ice cream there rivals the coffee culture here. Nothing I've had in Seattle really compares to the best of what Boston offers.

That said, I've gone to Cold Stone Creamery (yes, it's a chain) twice recently and think it's as good as anything I've had in town. They do the whole mix-in thing and use used good quality ingredients. I don't believe there are any in Seattle-proper; the ones I've been to are in Issaquah and Southcenter respectively.

Edited July 12, 2004 by tighe (log)

[LEdlund]

That said, I've gone to Cold Stone Creamery (yes, it's a chain) twice recently and think it's as good as anything I've had in town. They do the whole mix-in thing and use used good quality ingredients. I don't believe there are any in Seattle-proper; the ones I've been to were in Issaquah and Southcenter respectively.

There's one on the corner of 5th and Olive (?) at the bottom of the Medical/Dental building (yes, I do have to walk by it on my way to Weight Watchers each Wednesday) and I think there is one in Fremont too.

[Placebo]

The ice cream situation at Beecher's has been a bit rough. Part of the problem has been that it's very difficult to find a place that will make clean ice cream mix to order in the pretty small quantities that we need so we got started probably two months later than planned and have had little time to work the kinks out of the process (something that's still ongoing). By clean I mean using organic and rBST-free dairy products, no artificial anything and no stabilizers other than egg yolk. So, no guar gum or the like, which means that it crystalizes a lot faster than most other ice creams. The aim was to have the most simple ingredient list possible and to go for that old-fashioned feel. As I said, we're still working the kinks out of the process. In the next week I'll be working more on running times with our machine to try and work on the texture a bit more.

As for the extreme coldness I think we'd slipped behind on production so you probably got some that hadn't had enough time in the serving freezer to warm back up to serving tempareture. We've got a better back-stock of the stuff now so it's getting appropriate warm-up time and should now be getting served at a more friendly temperature. I've been in contact with Gus, the owner of Toscanini's in Boston (my very favorite ice cream since I was a wee tyke) and hope to get some advice from him on it but I suspect that as long as we remain free of gum or other non-egg stabilizers there will be crystalization issues. Dear lord what I'd do for a cone of Toscanini's right now.

In any case, the ice cream is a late addition to the line and is still a work in progress. At this point the cheese and butter is where the action is really at. Thanks all for the input - it's always good to get feedback from knowledgable customers.

Edited July 14, 2004 by Placebo (log)

[phaelon56]

I regret that I went through the market area too late in the day on my Seattle cisit last week - Beecher's was already closing and I couldn't try any of the cheeses.

I did stop at Gelatiamo on my last day to sample some gelato. The prices were quite reasonable relative to portion size but what i tried was a mixed bag. The mango was fruity enough and the espresso flavor had enough of a coffee zing but neither had as creamy a texture as I'd hoped for. The third scoop (at the bottom of the dish) was the hazelnut and it was very, very good. Perhaps the texure was better because it had warmed up a bit and was the last of the three scoops to be consumed? It may also be that the intense flavor bursts or hazelnut were so pronounced that it had extra impact. Not really sure but it is an enjoyable stop when in the neighborhood.

[kiliki]

I was kicking myself last weekend for forgetting to bring a cooler with me in the car on the way back from a backpacking trip in the North Cascades. We stopped at the Cascadian Farms stand and I enjoyed a delicious raspberry chocolate chip cone but could not purchase pints or quarts of my other favorite flavors, blueberry and espresso, since they would have melted without my cooler.

[reesek]

That said, I've gone to Cold Stone Creamery (yes, it's a chain) twice recently and think it's as good as anything I've had in town.  They do the whole mix-in thing and use used good quality ingredients.  I don't believe there are any in Seattle-proper; the ones I've been to were in Issaquah and Southcenter respectively.

There's one on the corner of 5th and Olive (?) at the bottom of the Medical/Dental building (yes, I do have to walk by it on my way to Weight Watchers each Wednesday) and I think there is one in Fremont too.

there is one in fremont...connected to the PCC building.

i think their stuff is a little too buttery tasting. it tastes fresh, but less of cream, and more of butter - imo.

maybe i should try it again...

[braincell]

I was driving through Duvall one weekend, and stopped to get coffee at a place that had ice cream from a local dairy. It was REALLY good. I can't remember the name--but Duvall is VERY small, so it shouldn't be hard to find. It's next to the Duvall Cafe.

There's also the dairy off of Redmond-Woodinville road. I can't remember the name of that one either. But they also have some very good ice cream.

I recommend stopping by either one of them when you're in the neighborhood.

--braincell