READER REVIEW: Omari's Review of Market Pantry Tin Roof Sundae

I love tin roof sundae so much that I used to make them myself. I used to buy vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and peanuts and I would make myself a sundae. So I picked this flavor up as it is much more convenient than buying the ingredients separately. There is something so delicious that comes from minimal ingredients. Here is the description on the box, "Tin Roof Sundae Ice Cream: Artificially Flavored Vanilla Ice Cream with Fudge Swirl & Fudge Covered Peanuts."

Since I have already talked about everything except for the peanuts in other reviews then this is going to be short. This has a mild vanilla flavored ice cream with a very typical fudge sauce. I like chocolate covered peanuts and the ones in here are just as good as any other that I had before. Interesting to note was that the peanuts were not distributed evenly enough in the container that I bought. Since this occurred with mix-ins in another Market Pantry ice cream that I bought, I wondered if I did something or if it was like that beforehand. Because of this uneven distribution, I would get a bowl that had little to no peanuts and another that was chock full of peanuts. This flavor was not bad but I definitely had better namely Publix Premium Limited Edition Tin Roof Sundae which I wish they would bring back.

Where Omari Found It: Target
Omari's Grade: B

READER REVIEW: Derek's Review of Haagen Dazs Pralines & Cream

Nothing is more infuriating to me than flavors only offered at select stores. Typically I try to stay away out of fear that I will fall in love with said flavor and have to go out of my way to stock up. Given the outstanding reviews I have seen for Haagen Dazs Pralines & Cream, I couldn’t resist stopping into a Walgreens for the first time in my life to snag a pint. This concoction is described as “our signature vanilla ice cream swirled with ribbons of golden caramel and sweet, nutty praline pecans.” I’m not a fan of nuts in ice cream and caramel is typically my least favorite add-in, so Pralines and Cream was starting at a disadvantage. Alas, I trust the reviews of my ice cream cohorts so this pint wasn’t even in my freezer for a day before I dug in.

The first layer showcased all this pint had to offer as most rarely do. My fear of this pint not living up to its rave reviews was quickly put on the backburner with the gooey caramel swirls and pecans calling my name. I delve into the rich, creamy vanilla base that has made Haagen Dazs famous. As expected the vanilla is on point and provides that sweet yet mellow background perfect for playing-off and enhancing mix-ins. Avoiding the caramel swirl proves to be impossible because of its prevalence on the surface. The caramel is undeniably sweet, but it perfectly melds with the vanilla base. Aside from 2nd Street Creamery, this is one of my favorite caramels to date. The dense nature of the swirl provides a molasses- like texture that allows for only enhances the caramel.

After the initial layer is gone, the pint begins to showcase the pecans. These praline additions are sweet just like the caramel, but the combination of the sugar coating and salty pecan provides a different type of sweetness to the pint as a whole. The pecans are fully covered in a sugar coating which amplifies the crunch of each nut providing the perfect change of texture needed to offset the rest of the pint. The caramel and the sugary pecan coating have managed to meld together in a few small puddles, creating a pool of seemingly nothing but gritty brown sugar. This unforeseen phenomena may be my favorite part of this delectable creation.

The mix-ins are abundant throughout and truly make this by far one of the best offerings made by Haagen Dazs. Even if you don’t necessarily like vanilla or caramel or pecans, this is a must try. At 270 calories per serving this pint will more than satisfy your sweet tooth cravings without some of the ridiculous caloric values seen in peanut butter or chocolate foundations.

Where Derek Found It: Walgreens
Derek's Grade: A

REVIEW: Private Selection Carrot Cake (Seasonal Offering Limited Edition)

Seasonal selections are always welcomed on this blog, and after trying Southern Recipe Banana Cream Pie a few months back, coupled with my infatuation with carrot cake, the decision to try Private Selection's latest limited edition was an easy one. Nearly all of their offerings revolving around cake, such as German Chocolate Cake and Southern Red Velvet Cake, were able to secure high scores using the simple concept of taking a capable premium base ice cream and combining it with a succulent swirl and real cake pieces. Only sticking around Kroger's freezers for a few months, their newest Carrot Cake flavor takes a decadent carrot cake ice cream with swirls of sweet cream cheese blended with pieces of carrot cake and pecans. I've missed out on the Ben & Jerry's Carrot Cake creation of the past and Blue Bunny's 24 Karat Carrot Cake wasn't quite up to my standards, so I'm looking to see how Private Selection's entry stacks up.

The 210 calories per serving comes as a bit of a surprise seeing as how this isn't inside a pint-sized portion, but Private Selection always manages to pack in the denseness despite being in a bigger container. Pulling back the lid revealed a pastel orange base riddled with pieces of pecan, while effectively hiding the chunks of cake and swirls of cream cheese beneath. Transferring the ice cream from the carton to a bowl allowed me to feel the balance of the dense, yet fluffy ice cream that makes up this base, something that all of Private Selection's flavors seem to have. After taking my first bite, my first impression comes from the sweet spiciness inside. Almost similar to the spices that comprise a pumpkin-inspired flavor, the original taste is finally replaced by the familiar taste of carrot cake on the back end.

Much like they were used in Pumpkin Pecan Spice from Blue Bell, Private Selection has also used the nut to include inside their carrot cake base. The influx of pecans add a crunchy texture, that breaks down into a soft, chewy feel, all the while releasing a complimentary flavor to the spiced ice cream. As is the case with nearly every cake-inspired selection, the actual hunks of carrot cake would be the most important factor of this flavor. The pieces included in this carton were some of the most impressive I've found. These managed to remain soft and chewy, avoiding the soggy feel you'd expect after sitting inside ice cream. The taste of authentic carrot cake added to the artificially flavored base and bits of pecan create an incredible combination.

The finishing touch of this flavor comes from the swirls of cream cheese frosting that makes its way through the other ingredients. Although not overly thick, the sweet taste of icing adds the perfect parting gift to this phenomenal flavor. Because of the large amount of ingredients involved, there weren't many bites that didn't have nearly every component involved. Private Selection's Carrot Cake ended up being the best flavor I've found from them to date, slightly ahead of Southern Red Velvet Cake. I would advise tracking down a carton before the holidays are gone.

Where I Found It: Kroger
Grade: A

READER REVIEW: Steve's Review of Blue Bell Rocky Mountain Road

I'm not the biggest fan of Rocky Road ice cream, as the traditional combination of a chocolate base, chopped walnuts, and marshmallows comes off as a bit too basic for my mix-ins craving palate. But the description of Blue Bell's Rocky Mountain Road piqued my interest, since it seems to offer more than the basics. Blue Bell describes this flavor as A rich, dark chocolate ice cream combined with dark chocolate-coated peanuts, milk chocolate-coated pecans, white chocolate-coated almonds, and roasted walnuts, all surrounded by a flavorful marshmallow sauce swirl, and since I am a sucker for chocolate-coated nuts, well, I just had to indulge!

Tearing off the lid, I was greeted by a reasonably appealing sight: Chocolate ice cream with a generous swirl of white marshmallow. However, there was no evidence of the four different types of nuts that the description promised. Not to worry! As soon as my spoon slid in to the ice cream, a profusion of nuts was revealed, with the great bulk of them being the chocolate-covered varieties rather than the plain walnuts! Even better was the taste. Rather than the feared bland ordinary rocky road concoction, my mouth experienced the joyous sensation of chomping through dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate coated nuts. The barrage of chocolate covered nuts never let up, top to bottom the container was full of them!

Furthermore, the profusion of these candied nuts blended very well with the base ice cream and the marshmallow swirl. The swirl was provided in just the right amount: Enough to add a nice sweet marshmallow flavor to the predominantly chocolate taste, but not too much so as to overwhelm it. Also, rather than being the advertised dark chocolate, the base had the look and taste of a lighter milk-chocolate ice cream, which I found very agreeable, as it contrasted nicely with the richer candy-chocolate taste of the nuts. Bottom line: If you like lots of chocolate-coated nut mix-ins, you can hardly do better than Rocky Mountain Road!

Where Steve Found It: Winn-Dixie
Steve's Grade: A

READER REVIEW: Steve's Review of Blue Bell Spiced Pumpkin Pecan (Holiday Favorite Limited Edition)

After having sampled Blue Bell's Christmas Cookies and Fudge Divinity, I felt compelled to give yet another one of their Holiday seasonal flavors a try, so say hello to Spiced Pumpkin Pecan. The container promised a spiced pumpkin ice cream with sugar-coated pecans and rich cinnamon-honey-praline sauce. Since I love every single ingredient mentioned, I couldn't wait to dig in!

Peeling back the lid, I was greeted by a pleasant sight: the base ice cream, rather than looking like a vanilla with some kind of pumpkin flavoring feebly mixed in, had the rich brownish-orange look of pure pumpkin. Even better was the sight of a thick dark honey-colored ribbon of cinnamon that was pooling plentifully on the surface. Digging in, my spoon quickly encountered the crunch of the pecans. However, at first glance these pecans were disappointing: Instead of the larger, whole-sized pecans Blue Bell mixes in to their Pecan Praline flavor, these were the smaller pecan pieces that characterized their Fudge Divinity offering, pieces that added little to that flavor's taste. But this initial evaluation proved to be misleading: Biting in to the ice cream, I quickly realized that the sugar-coating on these pecans makes them a very welcome addition to Spiced Pumpkin Pecan's taste. Still, the real reason I polished this tub off in record time is the fantastic base and copious cinnamon swirl. The base ice cream has a rich, nutmeg-pumpkin flavor definitely evocative of a good pumpkin pie filling. Complimenting this perfectly is the thick cinnamon ribbon that does indeed combine both honey and praline flavors. As can be seen below, this ribbon is provided in a generous quantity that drenches the ice cream and pecans making each spoonful a blissful treat. I am not sure that even this picture does justice to the sheer quantity of cinnamon swirl, as my spoon constantly broke through what appeared to be a solid ice cream surface into yet another rich subterranean pool of sauce.

I highly recommend Spiced Pumpkin Pecan to anyone with a sweet tooth aching to be satisfied with a smorgasbord of pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, pecan, honey, and praline flavors. At this time of the year, it hit just the right spot! But a warning: If you are in more of a savory mood, pick something else, as this flavor is sweet with a capital "S".

Where Steve Found It: Winn-Dixie

Steve's Grade: A

READER REVIEW: Steve's Review of Blue Bell Fudge Divinity (Holiday Favorite Limited Edition)

In the past, I have loved Blue Bell's Christmas season offerings, and when I noticed that they added a new one, Fudge Divinity, well, I just had to try it. The Informant's official review was complimentary, which piqued my interest, and I was especially intrigued by what a "marshmallow ice cream" might taste like, as i could not recall every having eaten this flavor of base, from Blue Bell or any other ice cream company. Combine this with the promise that Fudge Divinity contains roasted pecans and a milk chocolate swirl and I was primed to dig in.

Opening the lid, I noticed what looked like a typical vanilla-fudge type ice cream: An off-white colored base with a few swirls of chocolate syrup. Digging my spoon through the mix did reveal the pieces of roasted pecan and more milk chocolate swirl, which improved the visual aesthetics of the ice cream, but for someone who craves big chunks of mix-ins, not very impressive. However, what turned out to be quite impressive was the taste of Fudge Divinity once i got around to transferring some from spoon to mouth. The roasted pecan pieces were plentiful, as were the ribbons of milk chocolate. Even better, the milk chocolate ribbons blended very well with the ice cream and nuts, achieving a taste synergy I doubt could have been achieved had Blue Bell used one of their thicker, chewier fudge sauces instead. Best of all was the base: I am not a very big fan of marshmallows, as i find their taste too sweet and their texture too sticky and fluffy for my palette. And, I feared Blue Bell might try to pass off a vanilla base with a hint of marshmallow flavoring as a "marshmallow ice cream". But my goodness! Blue Bell has managed to create a base that is definitely marshmallow through-and-through, and yet has the rich, creamy texture of an ice cream, not the fluffy stickiness of actual marshmallow. From the first spoonful, I was taken aback by the rich flavor of this base, so much so that I actually preferred scoops that were almost all-base to ones that were mixes of the base and the nuts and chocolate sauce!

Overall, Fudge Divinity is a tasty treat. You really do get the experience of eating a good piece of fudge divinity candy. That said, I do have some qualms that prevent a top-level grade. Since the pecan pieces are small, they don't really add much flavor, rather they serve as a kind of crunchy experience in the mouth. Blue Bell should have used larger pecan chunks, of the kind they use in their Pecan Praline flavor. Also, I'm not sure why this flavor is in the Christmas lineup, as it doesn't seem to have much seasonal relevance. I couldn't help but notice that Fudge Divinity has taken the place of their awesome Gingerbread House flavor in this rotation, and it suffers by the comparison. And finally, I still prefer ice creams that are loaded with mix-ins, and this isn't one of those. For those reasons, I will eat several tubs of their A-graded Christmas Cookies before I revisit this flavor. Still, well worth the 3200 calories I gained by eating the tub.

Where Steve Found It: Walmart
Grade: B

REVIEW: Blue Bell Spiced Pumpkin Pecan (Holiday Favorite Limited Edition)

A few weeks ago, Blue Bell gave the go-ahead that their Holiday Favorites lineup was going to begin hitting grocer's freezers. Although not new to the brand itself, the first I was able to get my hands on was their Spiced Pumpkin Pecan. Sharing the same bright orange shade as their Southern Peach Cobbler, as well as the patented metallic gold lid, this flavor revolves around a much different concept.  Blue Bell has opted for the approach below.

Using three ingredients that I've yet to have tasted in any previous Blue Bell flavors, I'm coming into this one blind. They've decided to stick with the proven formula used in most of their other flavors. Blue Bell brings a high quality base with the pumpkin ice cream, a crunchy mix-in in the form of sugar-coated pecans and a finishing swirl of cinnamon-honey-praline sauce. For a flavor containing all these components, 190 calories per serving seems to be on the lower side.

Removing the golden lid, a khaki colored Pumpkin ice cream littered with the sugar-coated pecans create a luscious looking first layer. Resisting my scoop more than a standard Edy's or Blue Bunny flavor, the denseness of Blue Bell's ice cream lands somewhere amongst the middle of ice cream manufacturers, but remains thick enough to stay relevant in the rankings. As I begin to scoop the ice cream into a bowl, the cinnamon-honey-praline sauce looks to be the most impressive part of the trifecta.

Grabbing some of the pumpkin ice cream first, I'm surprised by the amount of spice used. The familiar notes of cinnamon and nutmeg are powerful, but aren't too overwhelming to ruin the overall flavor. The thick, yet still fluffy ice cream takes a while to melt down in your mouth, allowing the consumer the chance to appreciate all the reasons why we love pumpkin. The sugar coated pecans are worked into nearly every bite, giving the ice cream a tremendous texture. Much like the aromatic, candy-coated nuts sold from street-side carts, the coating gives the nuts a crunchy outside, breaking away into a chewy pecan inside, which compliments the pumpkin ice cream perfectly.

The final component of Spiced Pumpkin Pecan comes in the form of the cinnamon-honey-praline sauce swirl. Larger than their standard swirls, the influx of ingredients in this swirl must have resulted in a larger quantity as well. Although it takes some concentration to identify all the individual components, the end result plays well with the pumpkin ice cream and coated pecans. Blue Bell takes an interesting approach to pumpkin ice cream, perhaps the most unique thus far, but yields some impressive results in the process.

Where I Found It: Super Wal-Mart
Grade: B

REVIEW: Blue Bell Fudge Divinity (Holiday Favorite Limited Edition)

When I think of the best flavor combinations offered by Blue Bell Creamery, their Holiday Favorite collection immediately comes to mind. Featuring flavors like Banana Nut Bread, Christmas Cookies, Gingerbread House, Spiced Pumpkin Pecan and Peppermint, almost every single selection has received top marks from me, so you can imagine my excitement when Blue Bell announced they’d be adding another member to the lineup: Fudge Divinity. Although I’m not sure how this particular combination ties in with the holidays, marshmallow flavored ice cream, roasted pecans and milk chocolate sauce were more than enough to have me off looking for this latest release.

All of Blue Bell’s options seem to come in below the 200 calorie per serving threshold, but Fudge Divinity manages to come in right at 200 calories per serving, which is surprising considering there aren’t any large, dessert-like mix-ins. The marshmallow flavored ice cream used in here isn’t one that I’ve experienced from Blue Bell before, but one I’m very excited about trying. After getting rid of the gold lid, the first layer looked promising. While it was almost impossible to miss all the roasted pecans littered about, I was able to secure a bit of the base to serve as my first taste. Much like I’d imagined, Blue Bell does a pretty nice job with this uniquely flavored ice cream. The texture is thick and slightly sticky, while the taste is sweet and easily identifiable as marshmallow.

The bits of roasted pecans were enough to add a little crunch to most bites, but as nuts in ice cream often do, don’t really add much by themselves. Luckily, Blue Bell has finished off this flavor with one of their thick, visually appealing swirls. Forgoing the option for some overly decadent fudge sauce, Blue Bell instead chooses milk chocolate. This decision results in an equally impressive looking swirl without overpowering any taste buds when combined with the already-sweet marshmallow base. Instead, the smooth, milk chocolate only compliments the other components. While the overall experience was pleasant and I really enjoyed the creativity with Fudge Divinity’s base, it still wasn't able to compete with some of the other options in this Holiday Favorite lineup.

Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: B

REVIEW: Greenfield Sticky Pecan (Sticky Bun)

After an impressive introduction to Greenfield Ice Cream Company with their PB 'n Chip, Pistachio, Cinnamon flavors, we were ready to review some more from this New York based creamery. "Imagine if you can, rich vanilla ice cream with lots of candied pecans and a cinnamon swirl with Crown Maple Syrup drizzled throughout." That sentence alone from Greenfield's website left no doubt as to which flavor we'd be trying first when our latest order arrived. Donning the authentic Crown Maple seal, Sticky Pecan (or Sticky Bun as listed on their website) is inspired by one of our favorite pastries and looks like it can live up to the hype after lifting off the lid.

The first layer showed off plenty of the candied pecans, cinnamon swirl, and once we tasted the vanilla ice cream, the Crown Maple Syrup showed itself as well. As we worked our way towards the bottom of the pint with our gold tasting spoon, things got even better. The candied pecans grew larger and more plentiful as each bite seemed better than the last. At a precise 252 calories per serving, over a 1000 calories for the whole container kept us from killing the whole pint, but we wanted to.

While we were infatuated with the candied pecans and the cinnamon/maple syrup swirls, the vanilla bean base is what makes Sticky Bun so effective. With a foundation like this, it would be hard to mess up with mix-ins, but when a company pairs high-quality, well thought out additions with an already capable ice cream, you get a top scoring selection such as this one. Greenfield's Sticky Pecan was certainly deserving of an A and we're sure some of the other pints in our package will end up with the same top score.

Where I Found It: Greenfieldicecream.com
Grade: A

READER REVIEW: Elliot's Review of McConnell's Olive Oil & Salted Almonds

Ever since McConnell's became available locally I've been on a mission to try as many of their ultra-premium pints as possible, and inspired to learn as much as possible about their product and process. The predominant approach taken by companies in the ice cream industry is to create buzz through the use of catch phrases, fancy packaging and clever marketing. It is increasingly important to me to try to see past that by looking under the hood at more objective measures whenever such information is made available. The folks at McConnell's are very open about their process and their products.

Olive Oil and Salted Almonds features ingredients entirely from the central coast of California. The Olive Oil is from an Arbequina Olive orchard in the Santa Ynez Valley. Arbequina is a Spanish olive cultivar - very fruit-forward, tropical and not peppery, and as I found, great for ice cream. The almonds come from a nearby orchard, making it a local, Santa Barbara flavor. I hadn’t experienced creamy until I tried this stuff. The Olive Oil and sweet cream base was tremendously rich without being at all greasy. The Olive Oil taste was fruity and tangy, not overpowering, and most noticeable to me on the back end of each bite. The salt roasted almonds balance out the impossibly creamy, fragrant, olive oil tinged base.

McConnell’s had this to say about their Olive Oil and Salted Almonds flavor, “OO&SA, is really emblematic of who McConnell's is as a brand and our almost 70 year history on the Central Coast. Things like local ingredients, sustainability, organics, etc. (grass-grazed...) - these are all great concepts the retail food industry has come around to over the last 10-15 years. In the case of McConnell's, these are foundation concepts that were a part of things from day one, when Gordon and Ernesteen McConnell realized, purely as a result of where they lived, that they could access amazing ingredients year around. It wasn't marketing back then. It was pragmatism!”

“Olive Oil and Salted Almonds is a great, Central Coast story in that is embodies everything that makes McConnell's a special product. Again, we're a dairy, not an ice cream company, and this is important, because it allows us to take this amazing bounty from our "backyard" here in California, and make this singular product, truly from scratch. It's a cool thing to be able to do.”

Percentage overrun gives you an idea of how much air by volume you're getting (more overrun is more air). McConnell's has an overrun of less than 10%, which is about as low as is possible before texture is compromised. It is something most brands will tell you is not achievable or scalable. While most producers use a batch freezer in to maximize scalability, McConnell's uses a continuous freezer. The method they use is sometimes referred to as a modified French pot process. They start by making their own base mixture, which most companies do not - again, McConnell’s is a dairy. The base starts out in a larger tank and is fed into a machine that freezes as much as they wish to freeze as they go. It produces a more consistent product and allows them to control overrun.

McConnell's Olive Oil and Salted Almonds is truly artisan ice cream. I love this flavor. I find myself daydreaming about what more this Santa Barbara dairy has in store for us.

Where Elliot Found It: Straub's Market

Elliot's Grade: A

REVIEW: Blue Bell Banana Nut Bread (Holiday Favorite Limited Edition)

From as far back as I can remember, banana nut bread has regularly graced our kitchen counter. It seems to just be common practice among my family to pick up a loaf when visiting any specialty shops or open markets. Through the different artisan varieties I tried, I grew to love the moist, sticky pastry. Coupled with my new found love for banana ice cream, I was more than excited to see Blue Bell had rolled out their Holiday Favorite, Banana Nut Bread. With one of my all time favorites, Christmas Cookies in July, brandishing the same red ribbon, this yellow pail is in good company.

I would have probably been satisfied with the simple combination of banana ice cream and banana nut bread pieces, but after reading the description above, the addition of roasted walnuts, as well as a smooth cream cheese frosting swirl should have no problem securing a top spot in the rankings. Flinging the gold lid aside, the first layer is the color of pastel yellow with bits of the banana nut bread and roasted walnuts breaking the surface.

As I piled scoop after scoop into a bowl, I couldn't help but be excited. The bread pieces were big and abundant, the walnuts filled in the empty space, and the cream cheese frosting looked able to deliver the knockout blow. I grabbed a bit of the banana base to sample first. The consistency of the banana ice cream was as to be expected from Blue Bell. Lacking the denseness of a super premium ice cream, the light fluffy feel doesn't have the gumminess that seems to be the demise of other lighter calorie options. This base is the same one used in Blue Bell's Banana Pudding, so naturally my taste buds are expecting vanilla wafers and whipped cream to follow. But fortunately for them, they're about to get banana nut bread instead.

Before the bread is introduced into the conversation, I begin running into the bits of chewy walnuts. Creating the same flavors found in Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey, the soft texture of the walnuts contrasts nicely with the flavorful banana base. But both the ice cream and nuts can't hold a candle to the banana nut bread to come. These dice-sized cubes are one of the densest mix-ins I've found in a carton of Blue Bell. The chewy, firm feel of the bread creates an incredible texture, especially when enveloped with banana ice cream. Every bite bursts with sweet spices and banana flavoring.

Not only does the bread have built-in flavors, but because of it's porous nature it's also soaked up some of the smooth, banana ice cream as well. Blue Bell rounds out this holiday favorite with a petite ribbon of cream cheese frosting. Swirling about inside, this is easily overlooked with the potency of the other main contributors, but adds some serious sweetness, as well as another contrasting flavor when it ends up on your spoon. Besides Blue Bell's Key Lime Pie, I haven't regretted investing in an half gallon container and this is no exception. I wouldn't hesitate picking up a big pail of this if you run across any.

Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: B