Smitten Ice Cream

Smitten Ice Cream - January 24, 2014

You'd think that as much as I love desserts and sweets, I would be more up to date on the latest foodie scene. But it took two friends telling me (coincidentally on the same day) about Smitten ice cream before I was even aware it existed. If you click on the link above in the post title, it'll take you to the Smitten's website and you'll see Smitten's started off when Smitten founder Robyn Sue Fisher decided ice cream was better made using liquid nitrogen for fast, small-batch freezing and achieving a creamy texture. She could make it to order and provide instant gratification with freshly churned ice cream.

There's a Smitten's attached to Whole Foods that just opened up and it was serendipitously located within walking distance from Paul Martin's of the "you have to be out by 6:30" fame so we decided to forego the $9 desserts at Paul Martin's and go check out Smitten Ice Cream instead.

This location had a select number of flavors with the flavor of the month being the Meyer Lemon Gingersnap. I was tempted to try out the chocolate but the salted caramel caught my eye and wouldn't let go so that's what I got. You can order a small, regular or pint. None of us had any intention of ordering as much as a pint since we planned to eat it there but the small looked tiny to me and my friend Karen, like it could barely hold half a scoop of ice cream so we opted for the regular. I mean, c'mon, it's ice cream - why skimp? My cousin Ellen was more prudent and got the small.

The "Brrr" machine - with the help of liquid nitro, churns out ice cream very quickly

The finished product

We ordered separately and didn't know what each was getting but it turns out all three of us ended up getting the salted caramel so, in hindsight, we might've been able to split a pint after all. You can also pair your ice cream with add ins or sauces but I went for the plain version to get the full, unadorned flavor of the salted caramel.

The texture was creamy as advertised and I enjoyed the salted caramel flavor. I definitely want to try the chocolate and vanilla flavors next. Overall, this was good ice cream. I don't know that it was worth $6 for the regular as I'm not enough of an ice cream gourmand to be able to distinguish between a liquid-nitro frozen ice cream versus a pint of premium Ben & Jerry's (sorry, Robyn Sue Fisher) but it was a good novelty experience to try out.

I will say Ellen got the last laugh on me and Karen because the small turned out to be 2 scoops of ice cream and for something that rich and creamy, 2 scoops is plenty. The regular size Karen and I each got was 3 scoops of ice cream and that was a trifle too much, especially since we'd already eaten dinner. Of course, both Karen and I finished our 3 scoops anyway because we paid all that money for ice cream and we didn't want it to go to waste (just to our waists). And this is why we've been friends since college - we think alike.