adventures in ice cream

A few months ago, I was chatting with a friend about our impressions of Bi-Rite's ice cream, and she suggested I try Humphrey Slocombe, since I have a penchant for weird flavors.

Last weekend before the Bay to Breakers, D and I went to the city to drop off a bag at a friend's house (since she was feeding us and letting us shower and hang out at her house after the race). It was a pretty hot day so it didn't take much to convince her and her boyfriend to join us for an ice cream run to Humphey Slocombe.

The store is located kind of on the edge of the Mission, at 24th and Harrison, which may explain why the line was not too bad. I tasted the Balsamic Caramel and the Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee, and decided I liked the latter much better than the former. D tasted Cinnamon Brittle and made a face, so we decided on White Miso Pear, Milk Chocolate Passionfruit, and the Vietnamese Coffee that I'd liked. I thought the Miso Pear was so-so (although D liked it) but liked the Milk Chocolate Passionfruit quite a bit, even though it sounds kind of disgusting. It tasted mostly like chocolate, with a tart-fruity aftertaste.

Overall I thought their flavors were more inconsistent than Bi-Rite, but more ambitious. There were several which we actively disliked (Balsamic Caramel, Cinnamon Brittle), but then there were the surprisingly good ones (Milk Chocolate Passionfruit for me, White Miso Pear for D) and the solid "regular" flavors (Vietnamese Coffee). I think I'll have to reserve judgment until I try a bunch more.

I'm most intrigued by the cheese flavors (Andante Chevre Strawberry Jam, Government Cheese) and the meat flavors (Foie Gras, Pistachio Bacon). Others that sound interesting include the Secret Breakfast (bourbon & corn flakes), Green Tea-Black Sesame, the Peanut Butter Curry, and maybe the McEvoy Olive Oil. I quite liked the Honey Lavender gelato I got from Gelato Classico a couple of weeks ago, so I'm also tempted by White Chocolate Lavender and Lychee Rose Petal. Sounds like I'll have to stop by multiple times...good thing it's the beginning of summer.