National Ice Cream Day 2011

(amazing photo from Cafe Mom)

so according to the universe, today is National Ice Cream Day! (thanks to S.F.T. on Twitter for the heads up. somehow i've been so busy to be aware of it this year.

in any case, make sure you check around for some "sweet" deals (<-- pun heavily intended) on the webbernet. in fact, start here: Living Rich with Coupons. also, let us know if you find something else that could be an advantage for your fellow frozen dairy fiends!

you know me, i'll celebrate the day with a tried-and-true, frosty chocolate milkshake when i go to the movies this afternoon!

ice cream on Yelp!

incase you missed it, you can find some really awesome places to try out that might be a little more local to you than what i've been posting so far. check out what's going on over at yelp.com to read and/or to join the discussion about the best places for ice cream-related awesomeness. enjoy!


(photo from: guestofaguest.com)

Millions of Milkshakes

so once upon a time a couple weeks ago, i went to this place called Millions of Milkshakes! and, other than trying to find parking, it was WAY rad! while you can't actually design 1,000,000 or more different types of milkshakes, there are more options than you would possibly have time to try! this is partly due to my favorite thing about this place which is the option of three different bases to start from: plain vanilla soft serve, a non-diary version, and even a VEGAN version! how cool is that?! ...not for me, of course, but now i can take some of my vegan friends along! usually they don't do the milkshake thing.

in addition to these bases, there are tons of options to mix into your shake. there's a station that looks kinda like a buffet of junk foods (along with some fruits) behind glass that you put your greasy index finger on and fog up when you say, "and that... and that.. yeah, and that." here's a poor picture of what it looks like:



and it's loaded with candies and cookies and brownies and whatnot. a decadent selection, to be sure. not only that, but there's an entire menu of pre-designed milkshakes to choose from. this is for people who 1) don't care, 2) are unimaginative, 3) poor chefs, 4) hate life, or 5) want to try something that their favorite celebrity has created. you can get a glance of this menu if you click here. perhaps someday there'll be "the kris.w" shake! ...but probably not.

so by this point, you're probably wondering what the heck i chose with sooo many options available. a valid question with an exceptional answer! i opted for this bad boy right here:



this shake was comprised of..... stand back, please... the non-dairy ice cream (which i was curious about) with Junior Mints and brownies! it was a grand slam of a milkshake, and the non-dairy ice cream was a dream. my esteemed colleague who made the trek with me out to Hollywood to visit this place, opted for a pre-customized shake. it was the s'mores shake. you've probably taken note of the fairly large straw in the photo above, and between my shake and hers, it's no wonder why they offer them so large.

i'm excited to go back to try many more options -- especially since i have the opportunity to make a milkshake out of a Milky Way candy bar! definitely go check it out so that you can get one of the Kardashian shakes and feel just like one of the sisters! (...there are so many jokes i want to make here, but this is a family site.) ENJOY!!

Lake Street Creamery

this truck is nothing short of a miracle. this was my first encounter with Lake Street Creamery and i can already feel that i will hunt them down every weekend. take a look at how cool their setup is. the employees in the truck are even dressed to the theme of this old-timey gourmet ice cream truck! so rad!




you'll probably notice that there isn't the usual photo of my dessert of choice. the short explanation is that i inhaled it before remembering to take a picture -- whatta fool! being a hardcore cream soda fan (i have a collection of bottles to prove it), i selected the "Glazed Donut" float. hopefully you can picture in your mind what an ice cream float would look like in a tall, white, paper cup. so, it's ok that there is no accompanying photo. but let me explain to you what no photo can! this float was comprised of some of the most deliciously unique ice cream i've tasted in a while! imagine taking a plain cake donut (like a plain Entemann's Softee donut) and crumbling it up into vanilla ice cream. that's what was going on. and then! they took a nicely frosted Boylan cream soda and poured it over the ice cream....... yep. now this dessert alone was enough to keep me coming back, but there are a lot of other fantastic things on the menu. and they try to be friendly to your environment! any food truck who refuses to use paper bowls and uses mandatory waffle bowls is ok in my book.

so follow them on Twitter... or literally down the freeway, but make sure you check them out. they're all over the greater Los Angeles area and you can inquire about having them at your special events! if it was good enough for the Mad Men cast, it's good enough for you!

Ben & Jerry's

here's one for the people out of state! this one came highly recommended to me by my sister-in-law who raved about this particular shake. what's nice about it is that there are tons of Ben & Jerry's locations for everyone to head out and try this one... but only if you're a major chocolate lover! this is why i trusted my sis-in-law, because she knows her desserts and definitely when it comes to chocolate! so let me get into this:



now when you head into the shop, you know you're in for good times when ordering a milkshake called Chocolate Therapy. then, you quickly realize you're in trouble once they feel the need to tell you that the employees are trying to petition the company to change the name to "Death By Chocolate"... and the ingredients live up to this. i went from feeling a slight twinge of trouble to accepting certain doom when the girl behind the counter rambled off the ingredients to this shake and i was like a deer in headlights. all i know was that she said "chocolate" several times, so i asked if there was something i can read that had everything listed (also so that i can recite them back to you properly). the correct ingredients are on the website and are as follows: chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookies and swirls of chocolate pudding. whoa! i should also probably mention that there was a pretty dark chocolatey taste to it, so i don't know if there is something i missed that she may have added, but it was pretty fantastic. i will say though, it was a bit thin for my taste. i like shakes thick enough to make your straw collapse, so i'll probably ask for less milk next time i get one... because there will be a next time.

all in all, this was a great recommendation, so i'd highly recommend that you check it out. it seems like it'd also serve as a great way for a guy to improve his lady's mood if he's done something dumb. keep in mind though, i wouldn't recommend this bad boy on an empty stomach! i did that and my blood sugar shot through the roof! then thirty minutes later i crashed so hard i could barely drive. when i was able to, i began scrounging for any kind of protein i could find. fun stuff, people. anyway, go try one.

Pie 'n' Burger

tonight was a night i've been waiting for, for quite some time. i took two of my best friends to one of my favorite eating spots called Pie 'n' Burger in Pasadena. oh man, how i love this place! the meals are definitely something to write home about, but that's not why this blog exists.

so this is a popular spot amongst a number of the dudes i work with. we often manage to sneak away for a lo(ooo)ng lunch every once in a while on Fridays to prep ourselves for a food induced coma. being that i've eaten here several times, i knew better than to stuff myself to the brim (like i accidentally did the first time), but since it was my friends' first time i gave them a fair warning. the reason for this is because once you've thrown in the towel, slumped back into your chair, and unbuttoned your pants to breathe, the waitress takes this as her cue to come drop the bomb "ready for pie??" :0) this is my favorite part.

if you've never been to this mom-n-pop style diner, they will hand you the pie menu complete with seasonal pies, cakes, and even shakes and malts! they all look and sound so good, i have a hard time selecting which one to devour, so i end up always relying on ol' faithful: cherry, warm, a la mode. every time, people! while i have tasted some of my friends' delectable choices, the picture you see above is why i keep coming back (and there's tons of other pie photos on yelp!). this perfectly warmed combination of sweet with a bite of tart is uncanny next to the flaky, buttery crust. and it's LOADED with cherries. and i'm not talking about that toxic glowing goop you generally find in mass-manufactured pies. these pies are definitely made with... love. and while you'd think this is enough to visit for, take another look at that photo above! notice the pie to ice cream ratio. i think the scientific measurement of that portion is called a "heap". it's a vanilla-flavored ice cream that comes out of a giant, brown, cardboard vat. you know, the kind you have to lean into and scoop from your shoulder. so it's not like it's a gourmet ice cream that's made on the premises, but it certainly has a sense of wonderment that reminds me of childhood birthday parties or ice cream you'd get at a carnival. it is delicious. also, the nice thing about this ice cream is that it keeps pretty well while sitting on top of a warm piece of pie. so as long as you dig in quickly, it won't end up a soupy mess to wrestle with your fork... for the most part.

anyway, go eat it. and it's cash only, Sucka!

FAQ #1

Q: what is CaliCreamery about? desserts?? ice cream???

A: heck yes. while CaliCreamery is a blog to inform you about places to find delicious desserts all over California, it is designed specifically for all things frozen dairy! this includes ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato, frozen custard, and all things related!

if you're looking for an amazing quiche recipe, don't look here. if you're looking for a place to meet women, don't look here. if you're looking for some interesting artwork, don't look here.... but check out my other blog for that.

in any case, this is only the first of some of the questions i've been getting about this blog. soon, i'll address another of your questions. be sure to check back and share this blog with anyone you know who might be able to benefit from knowing where to find frozen happiness.

Slater's 50/50

so tonight was the pilgrimage to Slater's 50/50 in Anaheim. it took me a while to get here, but thanks to my brother sending pics to my phone when he goes AND the persistence of a dear friend (and knowing all the right things to say to get me there), tonight was the night that i built an AMAZING burger. i also got to name it, so mine was called The Zoo! i'll let you imagine what it must've been like. and while building your own customizable burger is something to make the venture for, the only way to cap it off is with a customizable milkshake!! (.....if you have room for one.)

the great thing about these shakes is also the worst thing, which is that all the shakes are begun with a vanilla ice cream base (for only 5 bucks). this is great because having a milkshake made with real ingredients makes it real delicious, ALTHOUGH, shakes made with real ice cream tend to thin out much quicker. some people might like that it makes the shake easier to drink, but i like the straw to collapse from the suction against the thickness of it. in any case, what comes next is adding your choice of fifteen different items to mix into the vanilla shake. you can choose as many as you want (for $0.50 each). what you see above was my lovely concoction of pumpkin pie and Nutella! it was quite sweet and rich, i won't lie, but it was pretty fantastic. they throw the real elements right into the blender. so what happened was when i took sips of my shake, i'd get a mouthfuls of vanilla shake, chunks of pumpkin pie filling, and and globs of Nutella every time! it was pretty outrageous. i had some great ideas for other options as well, so i'll definitely have to make some return trips.

(un)fortunately, it looks like there's only one Slater's, but this means you can be certain that quality is maintained at every turn. be sure to click the link above so you can take a look at the possiblities of combinations on the menu!

Bruxie

WELP! i've done it. the blog i've always meant to start is finally underway! for my first post, i'd like to introduce you to the milkshake of the astoundingly popular, Bruxie in Orange County! WOW, this thing was pretty righteous:



so i went to Bruxie a bit earlier this evening with my pal who founded Sasaki Food Time for a frosty treat on such a warm Southern Cali evening. it was a perfect Saturday evening for shorts and Bruxie was a madhouse! we knew we were there for dessert, so J opted for the seasonal shake of the month (which was a fresh California Strawberry shake made with old-fashioned Wisconsin custard), see below:



while it looks and sounds amazing (which Jason can attest that it was), those of you who know me know that i will RARELY pass up a chocolate milkshake. it's my vice! also, you can assume this thing was pretty amazing just in the fact that i took the time to make it my first official post on this blog, even though i consume enough shakes to make the average 5'8'' person end up 316 pounds. it was deceptively frosty given that it wasn't very cold to the touch. in fact, i was kinda bummed when they first handed it to me. i thought it was going to be a little temperate and melty. but, NOPE. what was also nice was that the chocolate flavor was very rich, but didn't taste like vanilla shake mix that had chocolate syrup added like you'd expect at fast food chains like McDonald's. although, i must specify that it is in fact syrup added to the shake, but the shake is made from frozen custard. so it's a different beast altogether. BUT THEN.. to top it off, whipped cream like you never had!... unless you've been to a gourmet place that hand-whips fresh creme. because that's just what it was! not the crap that Starbucks hoses your drink down with that sprays out of a can. i'm talkin thick, rich, vanilla-y creme.

so how does one make this experience better? well you know how much i love to pair things, so my order was accompanied with Bruxie's fresh, piping-hot waffle fries. oh man, get outta here!

new frontiers

some of you will remember when i first started this thing in 2009. back then, it was called The Ice Cream Diet. now i think things are finally getting underway...

updates coming soon! stay tuned!


-k.w