Ice Cream Review – Page 13

Tasty Soft Serve at Bartley’s Dairy Bar

Published on October 1, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 853 Dundas Street, Woodstock
Website: https://www.facebook.com/BartleysDairyBar/

Since I was in Woodstock anyway (for completely rational reasons), I figured I’d see if there was anything else worth checking out in the area. Bartley’s Dairy Bar — a dessert shop that specializes in soft serve ice cream — fit the bill nicely.

They serve the usual assortment of sundaes, dipped cones, and Blizzard-like concoctions, along with scooped ice cream and frozen yogurt. I kept things relatively simple and ordered a hot fudge sundae with vanilla ice cream.

It’s actually quite good — the ice cream was creamy and delicious. I’d say it’s about on par with Tom’s Dairy Freeze.

I kinda wish I had just ordered the ice cream on its own, however, because the hot fudge sauce wasn’t the best. It was basically fine, but it was way too sweet. It’s a bit of a throat-burner.

Roasted Marshmallow at Greg’s Ice Cream

Published on September 18, 2019September 18, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 750 Spadina Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Gregs-Ice-Cream-441306159216990/

I’ll always have a soft spot for Greg’s. I’ve been going there since I was a kid, and they’re still pumping out some of the best ice cream in the city.

It’s hard to go wrong with anything here, but their roasted marshmallow is pretty much ice cream perfection. Unlike some other roasted marshmallow flavours (Ed’s, I’m looking squarely in your direction), it tastes exactly like a roasted marshmallow — but in ice cream form.

The texture is slightly gummy (and no, this isn’t just because of the marshmallow — all of their flavours are slightly gummy), but it’s otherwise rich, creamy, and perfect. And that flavour is phenomenal. It’s intense but not overwhelming. It’s so good.

Solid Ice Cream at 00 Gelato

Published on September 16, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 370 King Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/00gelato/

Not everything needs to be (or can be) a home run. Sometimes it’s fine for a dish to be solid — perfectly tasty, but nothing too mind-blowing.

That’s 00 Gelato in a nutshell. I don’t think anyone’s going to call it the best gelato in the city, but it’s quite satisfying.

The place is a bit odd. It’s in a closet-sized spot on King, and it’s basically just a gelato counter in a doorway. It seems super makeshift, but it’s been popping up for the last few summers, so it’s permanent enough.

I had a scoop of the Ferrero Rocher, and it’s good. The gelato itself is rich and creamy, and the flavour is quite nice. It’s a bit too sweet, but it otherwise does a great job of capturing the Ferrero Rocher flavour, right down to the crispy wafer bits.

Tasty Cookies and Amazing Soft Serve at Soul Chocolate

Published on September 5, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 583 Gerrard Street East, Toronto
Website: https://www.soulroasters.com/

Soul Chocolate is a delightful chocolate/coffee shop on the east end that has some seriously satisfying chocolate soft serve. Like, ridiculously satisfying.

I also tried the chocolate chunk cookie, and that’s very good too — it has a nice chewy texture, a sweet buttery flavour, and a whole bunch of great quality chocolate chunks. It’s lightly sprinkled with just the right amount of salt to offset its sweetness.

As delicious as the cookie is (and it’s extremely delicious), it’s overshadowed by the phenomenal soft serve.

Seriously: this stuff is pure magic. It’s perfectly rich and creamy, though it’s the intense chocolatey flavour that really makes it stand out. It’s got that bold flavour that you only get from great quality dark chocolate, and it’s amazing.

It actually reminds me of the thick, rich drinking chocolate that they serve at Soma — only it’s ice cream. If you’re thinking that sounds delightful, you are correct. It is delightful. Extremely delightful.

The Truth About Milkshakes

Published on September 3, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 25 The West Mall, Etobicoke (inside Sherway Gardens)
Website: https://www.sweetjesusicecream.com/

I’m just gonna say it: milkshakes are for jerks.

Well, okay, maybe that’s not true. Milkshakes are perfectly delicious, but generally speaking, if I’m going to eat ice cream, I want to eat ice cream. I don’t need to drink it.

Still, I don’t mind a milkshake every now and then, and since I’ve tried all the cones at Sweet Jesus, I figured sure, why not?

I got the Peanut Butter, Pretzel & Chocolate Hazelnut shake, which features “vanilla soft serve, peanut butter sauce, caramel sauce, whipped cream, hazelnut-chocolate sauce, salted pretzel crumble.”

Yeah, it’s a lot of stuff. And it’s quite tasty — it tastes pretty much exactly what you think it’s going to taste like based on that description.

I find a lot of milkshakes to be unpleasantly thick; if I have to struggle to suck it up through a straw, then what’s the point? Just let me just eat it with a spoon. This, on the other hand, was easily drinkable. It was the perfect consistency, though I suspect milkshake aficionados might find it too thin.