Nutty the Water Skiing Squirrel Presents...Scotchy Scotch Scotch

Tina and I are always bummed when we get invited to events in NYC on such short notice. We missed Ben & Jerry's events with Jimmy Fallon and with Tina Fey. When we heard about this latest B&J unveiling, we decided we need to get someone to this event...someone that would appreciate free ice cream and a waterskiing squirrel. 

Luckily we found someone and he brought another someone and they were a great choice to send as our proxies...

Without further ado, we want to thank our guest poster, Patrick Langevin, for this awesome write-up and for taking the time out of his busy day to attend this event as our new New York correspondent. And thank you to his date Maggie for keeping him company, enjoying and taking some great pictures (as both the subject and photographer!) Nothing like relying on the the goodness of childhood friends to take care of important ice cream business for us. Thanks, Team FHS! 

I had the opportunity to attend the Ben & Jerry’s unveiling of their new celebrity flavor on Tuesday evening and I had no idea that such sweet hilarity would ensue.

My guest and I arrived at Pier 36 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to find a large pool of water sitting in the middle of the room. Nutty the Water Skiing Squirrel was announced and came out to perform with his trainer. Nutty was quick to hop on his water ski as the remote control boat sped off around the circular pool. Nutty seemed to be a natural on water skis and looked around at the crowd as he daringly skied over the small ripples in the water. Nutty’s final lap was followed by lots of cheers.

The time had come for the big reveal. They played a small clip from the movie Anchorman with Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy giving a news brief about Nutty the Water Skiing Squirrel. The fabric was drawn from the hidden sign to reveal Scotchy Scotch Scotch as the new limited batch Ben & Jerry’s Flavor. Thankfully not a Scotch flavored ice-cream (Although you had the opportunity to have scotch poured over your sample) but a butterscotch ice-cream. Immediately following the announcement a Channel 4 News van drove out from behind the curtain and out came a bevy of Ron Burgundy look a likes with trays full of Scotchy Scotch Scotch samples.

Scotchy, Scotch, Scotch is creamy with ribbons of butterscotch and crispy thin chunks of butterscotch. You definitely need to be a lover of butterscotch for this ice cream but I enjoyed the texture and the butterscotch flavor. The extra crunch from the butterscotch chunks really were what made this flavor stand out. I would have enjoyed a butterscotch ice cream but that extra crunch really brought it to the next level of ice cream fulfillment.

My friend and I sat back by the pool eating our ice-cream while watching Nutty the squirrel perform one last time. Before leaving we had the opportunity to meet Nutty and his trainer. Nutty decided to sit on both of our shoulders to personally greet us before we had to say goodbye.

Only Ben & Jerry’s could create such a unique experience to announce their new celebrity flavor to coincide with the release of Anchorman Two, in theatres in December. I would suggest grabbing yourself a pint of Scotchy Scotch Scotch on your way to the theatre or to eat on the couch while watching the original film.

P.S. Happy Belated Birthday, New York Correspondent! Hope this kicked off your birthday week in high style!

P.P.S. Since this is a new flavor, the B&J Flavor Locator might be of use to those wanting to try Scotchy Scotch Scotch.

Seattle! Boston! New York! Portland (OR)! B&J Truck Tour!

Sometimes our posts are area specific. (Sorry those of you who don't live in the cities listed in the post title...) And sometimes they are a bit late. (Sorry L.A., D.C., Miami, and San Fran...) We are truly sorry about leaving people out at times, but feel free to let us know of something local to you that you may want us to post about!

Anyway, Boston, Seattle, New York, and Portland...there's still time for you ask Ben & Jerry's to stop by your neighborhood so you can get some FREE Greek Frozen Yogurt! It's all about social media these days. Tweet away! Terrence (below) explains how it works in New York City, but it seems to be pretty much the same for Boston, Seattle, and Portland, too.

East Coast, (that's you, New York and Boston) tweet Ben & Jerry's at @BenJerrysEast...

West Coast, (hey...Seattle and Portland, listen up!) tweet Ben & Jerry's at @BenJerrysWest.

For further info, visit the 2012 Truck Tour page.

[Scoopalicious is celebrating National Ice Cream month with a Post-A-Day throughout the month of July!]

Interview with New York's MilkMaid, Owner of MilkMade!

Froot Loop Ice Cream (©MilkMade)

The other day my husband sent me this link. Froot Loop Ice Cream?! Lucky Charms Ice Cream?! Why didn't I think of it and how can I get some? Upon further looking, I found that this was the creation of MilkMade, a small batch ice cream company out of New York. Immediately I pondered the move to New York, just so I could subscribe to their hand-delivered ice cream service. Unfortunately, right now moving to New York for ice cream just isn't feasible, so second best was getting in touch with the the MilkMaid herself and learning a bit about MilkMade.

Scoopalicious: Who are you?

The MilkMade: I'm Diana, the founder of MilkMade Ice Cream.

Scoopalicious: What were you doing before you started MilkMade?

The MilkMaid: Prior to launching the business I was working as a biz dev consultant for small businesses in NY, and had just received my MBA from NYU Stern.

Scoopalicious: How did you start MilkMade?

The MilkMaid: One summer I decided to start making ice cream. I wasn't satisfied with my local pint offerings -- I want a natural product made with local ingredients with unique and sophisticated flavors. I decided I could just make that for myself, so I bought a machine and started crafting 'scream. I began serving to friends, serving at parties, and found that I wasn't the only one seeking a better pint. So I launched MilkMade and have been sharing my creations with New Yorkers ever since.

You can read a bit more about how we got started on our website and in some of our latest press.

Scoopalicious: You source local ingredients -- AWESOME -- since I am assuming there aren't any cows in Brooklyn, how what area defines your "local"?

The MilkMaid: Yes, all of our ingredients are as local as possible. Our dairy is from a farm in Ancramdale, NY, about 100 miles upstate, and all of our mix-ins are sourced from the best local artisan producers in New York and Brooklyn.

Scoopalicious: How did you learn to make ice cream? 

The MilkMaid: I bought a little Cuisinart machine and taught myself. After many trials, I created the right base recipe for MilkMade and I always manipulate that recipe based on what mix-in or flavor add I'm using.

Scoopalicious: Adorable logo. Who designed it? 

The MilkMaid: The logo is the result of a gchat conversation between some MilkMade friends. Instead of a heart, <3, we double scooped, ,<00, and thought it would serve as a perfect logo. We'll know we've made it when Google turns it right side up.

Scoopalicious: (That would be awesome if Google turned it right side up! We'd love that too!) What is your favorite flavor among your creations?

S'Mores Ice Cream (©MilkMade)

The MilkMaid: After crafting almost every new flavor, I declare it my favorite. Recent favorites have been Strawberry Shortcake and S'Mores. 

Scoopalicious: Before MilkMade, what was your go-to ice cream?

The MilkMaid: I started MilkMade because my go to ice creams weren't cutting it anymore for me. My palate had become a bit more sophisticated, I wanted a natural product, and I wanted something locally produced. Nothing quite met that, so I decided to do it myself.

Scoopalicious: Any ice cream making advice for our readers?

The MilkMaid: Get creative!

Scoopalicious: Is it still just you in a kitchen with a single ice cream maker? Do you have help?

EVOO Ice Cream (©MilkMade)

The MilkMaid: I still craft and produce every pint myself in a commercial kitchen. We have some help in the form of friends and interns, and we're hoping to bring some full time help on soon.

Scoopalicious: I notice on your blog you have a flavor a day. How many of these flavors make it past your palette to the customers?

The MilkMaid: The flavors of the day are typically trial flavors for future flavors of the month, flavors for friends or events, or just fun experiments for me. Quite often something makes me go WOAH and I change the planned flavor offerings around to fit it in for our members. 

Scoopalicious: Do customers get any say in what is delivered? For example, can someone with allergies sign up for your service or would they potentially end up with ice creams they can't eat? Additionally, could a customer request something from your blog for their next delivery?

The MilkMaid: We make two flavors every month and announce them to our members about a week before delivery. Members have a choice of which flavor they'd like to order. We always take suggestions, and as you can imagine, people are always willing to suggest an ice cream flavor. if a member has an allergy, we allow them to defer their pint that month and extend the membership a month.

Scoopalicious: Who are your "testers"? Are you hiring any testers?

The MilkMaid: Ha, we don't need to 'hire' any testers, as we have a long and growing list of volunteers. My main testers are my boyfriend, my roommate, and really, anyone who drops by my apartment/test kitchen. I'll often pull out 5 different iterations of the same flavor and ask people to rank them.

Scoopalicious: Do you have plans to expand? Mail order? Local shops?

The MilkMaid: Yep! But we'll always keep it real and hand-craft each and every pint.

Scoopalicious:  We can't wait.

There are many ways you can follow MilkMade and/or learn more:
Check out the website.
Sign up for the mailing list.
Visit the MilkMade blog.
Like MilkMade on Facebook.
Follow MilkMade on Twitter.
Watch as the MilkMaid visits the Rachel Ray Show!
If you live in New York/TriState Area, become a member! (We're totally jealous.)

Thanks so much to the MilkMaid for such a fabulous interview!

Photos and logo © MilkMade.

[Scoopalicious is celebrating National Ice Cream month with a Post-A-Day throughout the month of July!]

Interview with Doug Quint of the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck in New York City

A while back I read about The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck coming to New York. I emailed owner Doug Quint right before my trip to NYC and as luck would have it, he planned to open it my second day in the city. However, monsoon rain and winds in the city prevented Ashu and me from going out and Doug from opening on his opening day. I had to leave the city to head down to New Jersey, and Doug opened his truck without me there. I settled for the next best thing: an online interview with the man himself.

Scoopalicious: Hi! Tell us a little bit about yourself and this new endeavor you have rolling through the streets...

Doug: I’m your typical gay, middle-aged bassoon player who drives an ice cream truck.

I grew up in a small town called Pittsfield, Maine. I moved to NYC for conservatory training at Manhattan School of Music and then continued at Juilliard. I play the bassoon in various orchestras and chamber music groups in both Boston and New York. I just finished all of the course work for my doctoral degree- I’ve been attending CUNY- so I’m about to start writing dissertation proposals. I had an urge to do something different with my life this summer, and the opportunity to drive an ice cream truck came about. How could I turn it down? I decided to create an identity for the truck, and thus the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck was born.

Scoopalicious: Are you our vending ice cream every day, all day?

Doug: I don’t do this every day. I continue as a performing musician, and I need plenty of time to “keep my chops up” with concerts, rehearsals, and practice. In addition there is much to be done to keep the truck menu current, work on scheduling and press, and basic logistical work that I couldn’t do if I tried to operate every day.

Scoopalicious: I read something about you in a New York Times article: "...the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck is driven by Doug Quint, a doctoral candidate in bassoon performance at CUNY. 'The whole Brooklyn Philharmonic season was canceled,' he said. 'I have to get through the summer somehow.'" That answers my question of "What were you doing before you decided to open the truck?" but brings up a whole slew of other questions. First off, do you ever play the bassoon from the truck?

Doug: Ugh, no! Ice cream trucks are a sticky mess. I’m not bringing my bassoon anywhere near one!

Scoopalicious: What was the thought process from "no Brooklyn Philharmonic season" (sorry about that, by the way) to "Let's open a big gay ice cream truck!"?

Doug: It wasn’t quite the linear progression that The Times bit might make you think. Freelancing is always a little slow in the summer, so a “side job” is a natural thing for lots of us. With orchestras saving money by downsizing and some groups canceling entire seasons (like The Brooklyn Philharmonic, as I mentioned to The Times) it seemed as though this summer, in particular, would be a good time for an interesting work endeavor.

Scoopalicious: Who is Ryan Petroff, Little Gay? Does he have his own truck?

Doug: Bryan (not Ryan, you silly) is my boyfriend. He’s the voice of reason in this project, and also the palate behind many of the menu items.

Scoopalicious: [Oops! So sorry, Bryan!] How is business?

Doug: The weather has improved and the press has been great, so things are starting to really pick up. I’m pleased.

Scoopalicious: How has the bad weather this summer affected business beyond the obvious annoyance to both you and I of your kickoff day being postponed?

Doug: It’s true -- people don’t come out for ice cream during monsoons!

Scoopalicious: Sounds like there are some turf wars going on in the city. Have you been negatively affected by this?

Doug: Not in the least. I find most of the vendors to be good guys. They are on their feet, working like mad for very little money. Most want to work with you to increase traffic and get the goods sold. I hear the stories, but really I find that street vendors make an effort to be comrades, not enemies.

Scoopalicious: It also sounds like you don't have a permanent spot. You have been using Twitter quite creatively to let people know where you will be -- how is this working out?

Doug: Amazingly. I tweet the locale and people magically appear. They come to the truck like they have won a scavenger hunt! I also tweet the menu, so many folks know what they want before they leave for the truck.

Scoopalicious: Tell me a bit about your awesome logo and the talented desginer who made it for you.

Doug: Jason O’Malley (www.jasonomalley.com) is a good buddy of ours. When he learned of my concept for the truck he volunteered to work on a logo; I couldn’t have been happier that he offered, because I was one phone call away from begging him anyhow! I knew he’d come up with something that I’d love, and he did it. The logos played a big part in our initial days. Before there was a physical truck we had this catchy design and people took notice.

Above, Doug serves a cone from The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck.

Scoopalicious: OK. We really should talk about the ice cream. Do you carry novelties or just ice cream?

Doug: Just ice cream and occasionally Big Gay Ice Cream Truck t-shirts.

Scoopalicious: Soft or hard ice cream?

Doug: Only soft serve. I love dressing it up.

Scoopalicious: What flavors do you carry? Do you rotate different ones in? Any "Big Gay" specials?

Doug: The ice cream flavors are simply vanilla, chocolate, and swirl. Our topping menu rotates and new things come and go all the time. A big favorite is the ice cream sandwich with a layer of Nutella.

Wow. Yum. Wish I lived in New York City! In the meantime, I'll just sport my new shirt in support! Thanks for the great interview, Doug! And thanks for the use of the great photo and logo!

You can find more about The Big Gay Ice Cream truck (including where you can find it in the city) at the links below:

• blog
  
• twitter (for up-to-date accounts of The Truck's whereabouts -- and you don't even need an account to follow!)
• online apparel shop (so you can have a super cool tee like mine at right!)
  
• online shop for non apparel items
• facebook

[Scoopalicious is celebrating National Ice Cream month with a Post-A-Day throughout the month of July!]

15 Mile Weekend with Two Scoops of Ice Cream

This weekend was quite a crazy one. I went down to NYC on Friday with Kevin to visit Ashu. Saturday we walked up to the Guggenheim and then walked all the way down to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (to see our estimated route, click here). Seeing as we had walked some on Friday and at least a couple of miles today, and our route (especially across Central Park) on gmap wasn't perfect, we estimate about a 15 mile walk total this weekend...so I am not going to feel too badly about the two different ice cream places I sampled this weekend.

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

The reward at the end of crossing the Brooklyn Bridge was a sweet and creamy one. As we walked into the quaint little shop that was once a Fulton Ferry fireboat house, we stood for about 5-10 minutes in line -- a line that was 1. Much shorter than the one we passed at Grimaldi's Pizza on the way to the Factory, and 2. much shorter than the line that was there when we walked out with our ice cream. The line gave us time to take in the atmosphere -- a simple shop that has probably changed little since it was first opened October 13, 2001 (Interestingly enough, the shop was slated to open September 12, 2001, but the events of September 11th inevitably changed that). The focus of this shop is it's smooth, eggless (one might say "Philadelphia Style") ice cream, not the atmosphere in which it sits. The shop though clean, is cluttered with freezers and there isn't too much room to sit down. It is fine this way, as the best way to savor your ice cream is to go outside and enjoy the view of the Manhattan Skyline, and as one most likely does, lament on the broken skyline's missing twin towers.

The eggless ice cream is this way because eggs, owner Mark Thompson believes, give ice cream a "greasy flavor." Instead he uses a Pennsylvania recipe -- a recipe he found sans eggs.With only eight flavors, one isn't overwhelmed with choices, which is a relief this day and age. When I got to the counter I asked for vanilla chocolate chunk, but the kid at the counter told me they were out. Kind of disappointed, but also knowing any of these flavors would be good, I changed my cone to the same as Ashu's -- chocolate chocolate chunk. The ice cream wasn't a disappointment: rich, creamy, and just the perfect amount to satiate my sweet tooth and refuel us for our walk back across the bridge. A taste of Kevin's vanilla was lighter, and just sweet enough. A taste of the vanilla made me wish that they hadn't run out of the vanilla chocolate chunk -- I can imagine that would have been ice cream perfection. But alas, I still can't complain. It was good either way.


Pinkberry

While my passion is ice cream, my husband Kevin enjoys a good hot dog, and Ashu indulged us by taking us to some hot dog hot spots. Friday we found Papaya Dog in Hell's Kitchen as we walked from the bus station to Ashu's apartment, Saturday we stopped at a few street vendors, and today she took us uptown to Brooklyn Diner at 57th Street (where they weren't yet serving hot dogs but we indulged in some yummy breakfast as well as a Christopher Meloni sighting) and then up to Gray's Papaya on Broadway at 72nd to try their world renowned hot dogs and see their big sign in the window that supports Obama (Ashu is a huge fan!).

Alas, I digress. While on our way back from Gray's, we saw a Pinkberry (warning: you might want to turn off the sound; this site is kind of annoying!) and after Ashu's negative raving, I had to try. Though not actually an ice cream, but a frozen yogurt, Ashu tells me this is all the rave in the city and the lines at the shop we passed on Saturday proved case in point.

We walked into the stark, clean, stylish shop. There was one other customer in the shop, but he was gone minutes after we arrived. What I found so strange is that this woman took my order (I was the only one that ordered) and she took my name -- as if she would lose my order in the empty restaurant (Later I saw they had printed a little label with my name and stuck it on my cup -- I guess it would be useful when the shop was busy.) I ordered a original with raspberries ($3.95 plus 95¢ for a topping) and the server actually put my order on a scale! Then she used tongs to carefully place about 10 raspberries on the yogurt. The yogurt was just that: frozen yogurt. It wasn't the sweet, ice cream-tasting soft serve you get when you usually order frozen yogurt. It tasted cultured like actual yogurt that had been frozen. It had a bit of a lemony taste. The best part was the amazingly fresh raspberries. I agreed with Ashu in the sense I couldn't understand the lines. It wasn't that good. But it wasn't terrible. Just not something I would choose again. But as Ashu says "If someone were holding a gun to my head, and telling me to eat it, I'd eat it, but..."

Well, enough of ice cream eating in NYC...

Additional information for this post found in the article "Fire and Ice Cream" from the New York Times, Novemeber 25, 2001.
Thanks to Kevin for such great photos and Ashu for being a great tour guide!

Cones NYC

There was no ice cream making for me this weekend due to the fact that I went to Manhattan to visit my oldest and dearest friend. The one stipulation of my visit though was that we visit at least one ice cream shop in the city. Ashu had done her research and offered me a variety of yummy sounding choices. Our final decision came down to the ice cream shop that fit best in with our plans of gallery hopping in Chelsea. After our art intake, we hopped a cab to Bleeker Street for ice cream at Cones. After some serious tasting (chocolate sorbet, blackberry sorbet, dulce de leche, and zabayone), I finally decided on mint chocolate chip ice cream. Ashu decided on chocolate ice cream. Ashu was so excited for me to try hers that I tried it before tasting mine -- it was fabulous. However, the sweet chocolate flavor left in my mouth caused my first bite of mint chocolate chip to be overwhelmingly minty, and I was a bit disappointed in my choice. However, a few bites later I was back on track, the mint had mellowed, and I was back to enjoying my own choice.

This Argentinian ice cream hot spot lived up to its great reviews. (Only a few of the many reviews -- Google search on "Cones NYC" produced numerous results.) Not familiar with this Argentinian's recipes, I was expecting something in the vein of American ice cream but it was denser -- it definitely reminded me of the Italian gelatos in Boston's North End. (For the difference between gelato and ice cream, you can find a good description here.) The ice cream was rich while light (in texture only. I am sure it was not light in the calorie sense of the word), creamy, and wonderfully sweet.

It was comforting and homey to find the friendly owner working the counter, and thanks to the cold weather outside, the scoop shop was empty except for one other couple, so it allowed Ashu and I to snag one of the two other empty tables. Word to the wise, warm weather visits to this shop probably won't promise seating, but the charming Bleeker Street is the perfect setting for strolling with a cup or cone of ice cream and some window shopping.

[I apologize for the not so great phone photo.]

On a side note, I just found an exciting website (World of Ice Cream) with both commerical and homemade ice cream recipes. Located on Long Island, World of Ice Cream also offers ice cream /gelato making classes.