Tasty Cookies and Amazing Soft Serve at Soul Chocolate

Soul ChocolateLocation: 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.

Soul Chocolate

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.

Soul Chocolate

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.

Soul Chocolate

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

Sweet JesusLocation: 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?

Sweet Jesus

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.

A Couple More Delicious Flavours at Nani’s Gelato

Nani's GelatoLocation: It’s a truck; check Instagram to see where they’re parked
Websitehttps://www.nanisgelato.com

Did I go right back to Nani’s Gelato after trying it for the first time the other day?  Why yes, yes I did.  What can I say; it’s really good.

This time I was able to try two flavours — pistachio, and tahini and black sesame.  Both were absolutely outstanding.

Nani's Gelato

Pistachio is a classic gelato flavour, and Nani’s knocks it out of the park.  It has a vibrant pistachio flavour that, unlike so many other places, actually tastes like real pistachio — not pistachio flavouring.

The tahini and black sesame is just as good, with a toasty, intense tahini flavour, and a restrained amount of sweetness that lets the nutty sesame flavour shine through.

I really hope this place opens a permanent location soon, because I think it’s easily a contender for the best gelato in the city.

Outstanding (and Unique) Gelato at Nani’s Gelato

Nani's GelatoLocation: It’s a truck; check Instagram to see where they’re parked
Website: https://www.nanisgelato.com

Fact: it’s impossible to read this article without immediately being overcome by an extreme desire to go check out that gelato.  High quality gelato with really interesting, Indian-inspired flavours?  Yes please.  Put that in my belly ASAP.

I was hoping to try the pistachio cardamom, but alas, it wasn’t available when I went.  I guess I’ll have to go back — what a hardship.

Nani's Gelato

It’s as delicious as advertised.  The gelato itself is great; it’s rich, creamy, and smooth, with a perfect consistency.

As for the flavour, I got the Carrots and Cream, which is apparently based on a traditional Indian pudding called carrot halwa.  I can’t say I’ve tried that particular dessert, but if this gelato is any indication, it’s good.

I’m not sure what to compare the flavour to.  I guess carrot cake?  But not really.  It has a similar flavour profile to any number of Indian desserts, but it’s also got its own thing going on.  I don’t know.  It’s delicious.  That’s the best way I can describe it.  It’s delicious and you should eat it immediately.

Summer’s Ice Cream: A Toronto Institution

Summer's Ice CreamLocation: 101 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto
Website: https://www.summersicecream.com/

Summer’s is a Toronto institution.  It’s been around since 1984, which makes it one of the oldest local ice cream joints (I think only Greg’s, which opened in 1981, is older).

It’s not a place that I feel the need to check out on a regular basis (I think it’s been something like a decade since my last visit), but if you’re in the area and you’re craving ice cream, it’s fine.

Summer's Ice Cream

It’s better than fine, actually.  It’s a decent step up in quality from most of the stuff you can get at the supermarket, but it’s definitely not on the level of the city’s better ice cream shops.

On this particular visit I got their classic flavour, Toronto Pothole, which is chocolate ice cream with marshmallow and chocolate sauce swirled in, with chunks of almonds and peanuts (though I didn’t notice any almonds or peanuts, and their description doesn’t say anything about chocolate sauce.  Did I get the wrong flavour…?).

Summer's Ice Cream

The flavour of the ice cream is a bit Nesquik-esque, and the texture is slightly gummy, but for the most part it’s rich and satisfying.  It’s nothing too mind-blowing, but it’s certainly tasty enough.