The Great Strawberry Ice Cream Debate
Ciao Bella strawberry gelato, the best.
I like to taste the gin rather than disguise it with sweet mixers so I'm a classic Gin Martini with olives girl but I can be swayed by a Gin & Tonic (Plymouth's). I had a brief flirtation with a Negroni made with dry Vermouth last December and I love sloe gin fruit poured over ice cream.
London: Indian food is awesome here. One of the best restaurants is Diwana Bhel Poori House, Drummond Street in Euston, a wooden-table vegetarian place specialising in Dosas. It's been an institution for over 30 years, frequented by University of London tutors, office workers and foodies alike and it's really cheap.
At the other end of the price scale is the beautifully decorated Rasa Samudra on Charlotte Street where the cuisine is southern Indian: seafood, fish and vegetarian dishes.
For really good Modern British food try Bankside, Southwark Bridge Road, in Blackfriars for traditional dishes like sausage and mash and apple crumble with custard.
Ham with apple & raisin chutney
Two rashers of back bacon, not too thick. The bacon should be chewy and the fat slightly crispy.
porterhouse - the best of both worlds.
i love strawberry ice cream, BlueBell calls theirs "strawberries and homemade vanilla". they are based in texas but now available in about 17 states through the south and some of the southwest. their seasonal peaches and homemade vanilla is very tasty as well. and yes, difficult to mass produce. before they started making it, i had only had actual home made. i think there are so many bad strawberry ice cream experiences out there because strawberries are difficult and artificial flavors were widely used in the past, especially "strawberry" which has no relation whatsoever to the actual strawberry. BTW, BlueBell also has "ultimate neopolitan" which is their straberries and homemade vanilla, dutch chocolate and homemade vanilla. it will change your mind about neopolitan...thanks
I am a lover of chocolate or mint chip almost always when it comes to ice cream. However, yesterday in the extreme humidity of NYC we went out for some gelato, went over to the little stand outside Eli's on Third Avenue, ridiculously expensive, I know, and lo and behold I ordered the strawberry. It just looked so strawberry-y and good and refreshing. And it was. I am a convert. But I'll still order chocolate or mint chip 9 times out of 10.
I would argue that the best ice cream of whatever flavor is first cream, then whatever else is added in. This is why haagen dazs strawberry (ie cream, strawberries, sugar...) was able to sustain me for an entire pregnancy.... The pink stuff that tastes like strawberry jelly doesn't count in the debate. As for what's the best formulation, you can't beat homemade in june with freshly picked berries, unless it's homemade peach in august.
My new favorite Strawberry Ice Cream (as of last year when I threw some lavender in for the first time from my backyard garden), when strawberries are in season, is Strawberry Lavender. Lavender, in moderation, adds a complementary depth to strawberry that cannot be fucking beatin'. Mine is made with half of one whole vanilla bean. I have a recipe if you are interested. Mine is the best I've tasted so far and yes, I can put my money where my mouth is.
I submit that the finest ice cream experience to be had in the United States is the fresh-strawberry milkshake at the Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham, Alabama.
Alabama strawberries!
For you who mentioned Graeter's, you might be in Columbus. If you are, you should check out Jeni's Ice Creams in the North Market, on High Street or in Grandview. If you aren't from there, just GOOGLE Jeni's Ice Cream and try (as quickly as you can possibly get it) her Strawberry Rose seasonal flavor. If is the very last word on strawberry ice cream. It lacks the graininess of Graeters (which I still like) from the over developed ice crystals. In addition, it has just a whisper of rose flavor. Can you think of anything prettier than a strawberry rose?
Okay, good strawberry ice cream is a thing of beauty. One of the reasons Häagen Daz has been so good is they have a thing for Oregon berries which have been mentioned at least twice already. A Ranier strawberry is one of the finest things I've ever tasted. I ate two pints [of berries, not ice cream] the first time I encountered them. I'll do it again someday. Now, I won't be happy until I've had a scoop.
@Wally East: Strawberry mint?!?!?!??!?!
I will devoted this weekend to find this in Manhattan.
Ben & Jerry's strawberry cheesecake = swoon.
As Ed indicated in his most previous comment, the simpler the ingredients the better. Cream, Strawberries, Skim Milk, Sugar and Egg Yolks is as close to home made as you can get in a carton bought from a store.
One of my favorite things is combining fruit ice cream like strawberry or cherry with chocolate. When I worked at a Haagen Dazs back in the 80's, I'd make myself strawberry shakes with chocolate syrup. B&J has since created Cherry Garcia, but the chunks get caught in the straw.
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