Scoopalicious is Growing! Welcome, Patrick!

A few months ago, you may have read a great post by our guest blogger Patrick. A while back, when we realized we were letting a bunch of great events in New York pass us by (um, like meeting Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey, for instance), we realized we didn't want these experiences to go to waste. I thought of the people I knew in New York City, and I immediately thought of the enthusiasm and passion of my friend Patrick. Patrick and I have known each other since grade school, and there are few people that I know that seem to love and live life as fully as Patrick. I talked to Tina and we thought it would be a great idea to have him as our Guest Blogger/New York Correspondent. His first (and highly successful) mission? To an event to meet Nutty the Water Skiing Squirrel!)

Fast forward to February, and it looks like we have made the right choice. Patrick has made such an impression on the Ben & Jerry's PR people that he gets invited to Burlington to be a VIP with a bunch of other food bloggers -- just as I did a couple of years back. He's thrilled, replies "yes," packs his bags to spend a few days up north (and props to him for going from cold to colder in this never-ending winter!).

Patrick comes back from his trip with such excitement, and as I look at the blog that Tina and I love dearly, but have so little time to give as much attention to as we'd like, and we realize, we need this energy back -- hopefully to inspire us as well. We officially ask him to be a member of the Scoopalicious team, and he says yes!

We are so excited to welcome Patrick to the Scoopalicious team and look forward welcoming ice cream season with him. Er, um, who are we kidding?! It's always ice cream season.

P.S. You might see this photo popping up more again on this blog, but it's just so Patrick I couldn't resist using it as his introductory photo!

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.

Liz Lemon. I want to go there.

I have a small crush on Tina Fey. I think she is a smart, funny, intelligent woman. She's gorgeous but humble. She's an excellent role model for young women.

I love her on 30 Rock -- so sad it ended. One of my favorite movies is Mean Girls -- it's so defining of girl culture. (And I am totally thrilled that Fey and her husband are working on a musical of Mean Girls). I couldn't stop listening to Bossypants. In fact, it was one of those books that actually made me want to go to the gym so I could listen and once I was there, I'd do a few more minutes on the stair machine just to be able to listen to a little bit more of the book.

Exhibit A

And you know Tina-of-this-blog (as opposed to Tina Fey) and my love affair with Ben & Jerry's (note exhibit A. I even dress my children to play the part of major fan!)...so when Ben & Jerry's announced Liz Lemon...I wasn't surprised, because while driving to downtown Burlington with some other bloggers and some Ben & Jerry's peeps when I was at Ben & Jerry's last year, I suggested Liz Lemon ice cream. My idea got pooh poohed, but I have a feeling they only did that because it was already in the works -- that, or they had already gotten that idea from tons of other fans. I mean, 30 Rock and Ben & Jerry's is a match made in heaven and Liz Lemon lemon flavored anything is a gimme.

I wasn't upset I didn't get credit for my (and undoubtedly thousands of other peoples') idea for Liz Lemon Ben & Jerry's. In fact, I was incredibly bummed neither of us on the Scoopalicious team could go to NYC for the launch of Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yogurt. This would have been awesome. [Sometimes it's hard to be a blogger from Boston, and not NYC. We couldn't make it down for Jimmy Fallon's flavor launch either, and I ♥ Jimmy Fallon as much as Tina Fey (I always kind of thought they should get married...)] But I digress.

So naturally, I had to buy it when I saw it on the shelf. I'm kind of an ice cream girl above all else (frozen yogurt isn't my frozen treat of choice) but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. It's simply lovely. It's not too tart. In fact, it's incredibly refreshing. The blueberry lavender that runs through it is a sweet treat to offset the lemon. It's creamy and it was a nice change of pace to have Ben & Jerry's without the chunky mix-ins.

Added bonus, it the flavor gives a nod to Jumpstart, an awesome program that Fey is involved with. (Ben & Jerry's site officially says: "We dedicate this lemony-blueberry-y flavor to all the good that both Tina and Jumpstart have accomplished!" but I am not sure exactly what this means besides a "shout out" -- which while seemingly not financial in it's "dedication," at least Jumpstart is getting it's name out there to even more people....

Ben and Jerry's (Part II)

I've decided I am going to spread out my experience at Ben & Jerry's over a couple of weeks so that I don't overwhelm you all with one single post.

As a little background is the history of my 20 or so year love affair with B&J:

Sometime probably between 1988 and 1991: I visit my aunt, uncle and cousin at their house in Marshfield, Vermont and for the first time I am introduced to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. I am too young to appreciate the goodness and focus only on the math: 2 pints/8 people = seemingly not that much ice cream. (Stay tuned: How are those pints manufactured and quality checked?!)

Spring 1994: I take a portrait scuplture class (I make a bust of head) with two friends. We stop before class at Your Village Store and I always buy a Peace Pop. (Stay tuned: B&J's Social Mission!)

Winter 1995: My sister uses her dining points (due to expire if not used) and brings us home cartons of Ben & Jerry's. This is only the second time I remember having Ben & Jerry's. She brings us the now Flavor Graveyarded Cool Britannia.

Summer 1996: I spend the summer in Providence at RISD's Pre-College Program and am thrilled there is a Scoop Shop on Thayer Street. My new partner-in-crime and I will visit often. I will also find it to be totally cool to be able to buy a pint of B&J (with my own "college" dining points) of Low-Fat Fudge Brownie Frozen Yogurt -- and so begins the eating right out of the pint. (Stay tuned: I try my hand at working the Scoop Shop!)

Fall 1997: I start college at Tufts University. I arrive a week early for an orientation for my Tufts/SMFA program. The day most freshmen arrive, my new friend who knows Boston better than I do takes me to Newbury Street for the first time and we enjoy B&J at the Scoop Shop. My suitemates and I get goldfish and one of my suitemates suggests we name them after our favorite B&J flavor. My fish is named Low-Fat Fudge Brownie Frozen Yogurt. He has the longest name of the bunch. (Stay tuned: Let's visit with Marketing!)

Fall 1999: I live in a house off campus with friends, including my best friend I have known since elementary school. Late nights are spent talking over a pint of B&J. A tradition is born between friends that will follow us back to our parents' houses in Connecticut, to our apartments in Boston's North End, and to her apartment in New York City.

Winter 2003: My roommates buy me a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker for Christmas. One of my first purchases following is Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. I am hooked. (Stay tuned: We play in the B&J test kitchen!)

Fall 2006(?): I am asked to be part of a consumer panel testing a new B&J product. It never makes it to the shelves.

Winter 2008: Tina starts Scoopalicious. I join days later. Yet another excuse to both make and eat lots of ice cream, a favorite being B&J.

Winter 2011: I am invited to a B&J event at 30 Rock. Little do I know it is the release of Jimmy Fallon's Late Night Snack. I try my hardest to coordinate getting down there with my sister, but it is very last minute and the trip doesn't happen. When I find out later it was Jimmy Fallon (♥♥♥) and B&J (two favorites) I am pretty bummed I wasn't able to go.

Winter 2012: I am invited to a VIP blogging event and I spend a wonderful two days in Burlington with four other bloggers, the PR Gurus from B&J and Cone Communications meeting numerous smiling employees of B&J as well as B&J themselves. Stay tuned for the event in more detail!

Reviews: Ben & Jerry's Late Night Snack and Clusterfluff

In my last post I wrote about the danger of going to the grocery store on an empty stomach. At right is the result. Three different flavors of Ben & Jerry's!

So Clusterfluff* had real potential to be a favorite. My favorite ice cream sundae at Friendly's is the Reese's Pieces Sundae. Probably my all time favorite ice cream ever was Brigham's short run Fluffernutter Ice Cream. I like peanut butter and fluff in my ice cream. So when I saw Clusterfluff (Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Caramel Cluster Pieces, Peanut Butter & Marshmallow Swirls.) in the freezer cabinet, it went right into the cart. I knew my husband would love it too, so it was for sure a winner.

While overall I thought it was yummy, there were two things that disappointed me...I didn't really see any marshmallow swirls, and in turn didn't really specifically taste them. Perhaps though, I was distracted by my other huge disappointment. I found the "caramel cluster pieces" to have the texture of stale, um, I don't really know. The closest I can come to describe the texture is stale popcorn or ice cream cones.

Of all three, Late Night Snack (Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Salty Caramel Swirls & Fudge Covered Potato Chip Clusters) was my favorite of the three. (Yes, Drea, I finally tried it, and yes, Leah, good choice in favorites!) I loved the caramel swirls in the vanilla base -- I have concluded that I think that vanilla is the best base flavoring for mix-ins. As for the fudge covered potato chip clusters? Yum! I liked surprise saltiness in the sea of sweetness. It was a nice complement.

Maybe I am a little biased because I love love love Jimmy Fallon, who inspired this ice cream. My all time favorite Saturday Night Live sketches is Jeffrey's where Jimmy Fallon and Sean Hayes start laughing so hard in the middle of it...I so wish I could find a video link but I can't! For some reason it's really really hard to come by!) A couple of months ago I was invited last minute to a B&J press release in NYC. My sister and I tried to arrange getting down there, but it didn't happen. They didn't say what for and how long it would be, and the logistics of getting me from Massachusetts, to meet Arianna in Connecticut, to have someone watch baby Violet and finally get to NYC for something that could have lasted five minutes seemed a little much for one day. Later on we found it was a press release for Late Night Snack and Jimmy Fallon was there -- we both knew it still would have been too hard to get to it, but we were SO sad we missed Jimmy!

Anyway, I truly digressed there, but just as I like Jimmy Fallon best, of the three ice creams I tried, I liked Late Night Snack the best as well. Jimmy, I'd be proud to put my name to that flavor, too. Jimmy, though my husband likes you too, he's a fair weather friend, and when push came to shove, he chose Clusterfluff as his favorite of the three.

*Note: Ben & Jerry's site, as I said in my previous post, is kind of frustrating because it is done in Flash rather than HTML. While it's pretty to the eye, it's not searchable and it's not easy to link directly to any of the flavors I write about. If you want to learn more about them, you need to go to their "freezer case" and scroll through to find the flavor you are interested in. Sorry we can't link you directly.