Ben and Jerry’s “Candy Bar Pie”, currently a Scoop Shop exclusive flavor, recently tempted me during a visit to a New York City Scoop Shop. As a chocolate, peanut butter, and candy bar lover, when provided the opportunity to experience an ice cream defined as “Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Fudge Flakes, Chocolate Nougat & Sweet & Salty Pretzel Swirls”, I simply couldn’t resist. Upon first glance at the 2 “scoops” provided to me by the staff member, the dessert's shape struck me as a bit unusual; it appeared to be more of rounded mound of yellow and light brown ice cream forced into a wax paper cup than a traditional spherical scoop. Upon closer inspection of my new dessert, my attention was immediately diverted to what appeared to be the “Pretzel Swirl” on the very top of my ice cream; a streak of very fine yellow-brown crumples rippled across the rounded mound. Salivation ensued.
On first bite, the Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Base immediately registered on my palate, the exact same base that defines and allows “What a Cluster” and “Peanut Butter Cup”to excel in the peanut butter genre of ice creams.. Further gustatory inspection revealed a new element, though: a strong inclusion of pretzel flavor that starkly constrasted with the peanut butter flavor. This Peanut Butter-Pretzel union was very similar to "Chubby Hubby", as the peanut butter-pretzel taste induced a similar euphoric sweet-salty coma of bliss. However, the pretzels' powdered and swirled form in Candy Bar Pie certainly enhanced the overall flavor, and allowed pretzel to be widely distributed across the bite, an element that lasted throughout the dessert.
On second, third, and fourth bite, several other elements began to present themselves. First, this ice cream was very close to its melting point, and actually began to melt within minutes of sitting down in the eating area of the Scoop Shop located on the 4th floor of the 34th Street Macy's in Manhattan. If you are planning on bringing a pint home, I would not expect solid results. Pun intended.
Two additional elements that became clear, which I did not experience in the first bite, were the inclusion of a nougat swirl and chocolate flakes. The nougat swirl's texture and consistency reflected ice cream more than it did a traditional Ben and Jerry's "swirl". Like the Peanut Butter base, the Nougat presented a rich, creamy, and dense foundation, though it strongly conveyed a distinct nougat flavor. On the other hand, the fudge "flakes" offered a unique and much-needed texture to the dessert. They proved slightly more substantial than their title; a more accurate definition would be "pieces", as they are simply pea-sized to dime-sized fractions of Ben & Jerry's classic "fudge" chunks that are found in many of their other flavors. Their presence brought a physical robustness and substantiation to this flavor that, again, was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, this scoop would be nothing more than a soft candy bar filling, a euphoric paste that would be too tempting to eat with maximum speed. In terms of flavor, the fudge flakes' conveyed minimal chocolate elements with each bite, and merely provided a whisper of chocolate.
As my infiltration into my mound advanced, an unexpected pattern began to develop: each successive bite proved to be distinct from the last. One bite would be pretzel-peanut butter, the next nougat-peanut butter, the next peanut butter-chocolate-nougat-pretzel, and so on. Because everything is similarly shaded a light brown, very little preferential selection was possible. Each bite proved a mystery. A game of ice cream roulette. A game I recommend any peanut butter dessert fan, Chubby Hubby fan, or general Ben & Jerry's fan play soon, as this certainly is one of Ben & Jerry's finer flavors.
Where Winston Found It: 34th St Macy's Scoop Shop in NY, NY
Winston's Grade: B
Two additional elements that became clear, which I did not experience in the first bite, were the inclusion of a nougat swirl and chocolate flakes. The nougat swirl's texture and consistency reflected ice cream more than it did a traditional Ben and Jerry's "swirl". Like the Peanut Butter base, the Nougat presented a rich, creamy, and dense foundation, though it strongly conveyed a distinct nougat flavor. On the other hand, the fudge "flakes" offered a unique and much-needed texture to the dessert. They proved slightly more substantial than their title; a more accurate definition would be "pieces", as they are simply pea-sized to dime-sized fractions of Ben & Jerry's classic "fudge" chunks that are found in many of their other flavors. Their presence brought a physical robustness and substantiation to this flavor that, again, was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, this scoop would be nothing more than a soft candy bar filling, a euphoric paste that would be too tempting to eat with maximum speed. In terms of flavor, the fudge flakes' conveyed minimal chocolate elements with each bite, and merely provided a whisper of chocolate.
As my infiltration into my mound advanced, an unexpected pattern began to develop: each successive bite proved to be distinct from the last. One bite would be pretzel-peanut butter, the next nougat-peanut butter, the next peanut butter-chocolate-nougat-pretzel, and so on. Because everything is similarly shaded a light brown, very little preferential selection was possible. Each bite proved a mystery. A game of ice cream roulette. A game I recommend any peanut butter dessert fan, Chubby Hubby fan, or general Ben & Jerry's fan play soon, as this certainly is one of Ben & Jerry's finer flavors.
Where Winston Found It: 34th St Macy's Scoop Shop in NY, NY
Winston's Grade: B