Nora has returned from a rainy but ice cream-filled week in the Deering section of Portland, Maine and the moment has come to post the results of Part II. Thanks go to Clara for her detailed notes, to Nora for her documentary photographs and Maeve for her dedication to finding the perfect cone. The girl's first stop was Jet Video, the local post office, video store and ice cream parlor that features Gifford's ice cream. Couldn't we all use a place like that? The girls both went for a flavor called Mississippi Mud (coffee ice cream with a fudge swirl and crumbled chocolate cookies) with Maeve adding some chocolate moose tracks to hers (a Maine favorite with chocolate ice cream, Reese's cups and fudge). According to Clara, Jet Video has the biggest, cheapest "kiddie cone" around. This stuff got the highest rating of "marvelous" for creaminess and "great" marks for cone, texture, and sweetness (no toppings were needed) for an average of 1.8.
Next in line was Maple's Organics, the local gelato maker (again, I think we need a "local gelato maker" in Lebanon Township). This was so good that they actually got it twice - this first time at Whole Foods. The girls loved the creaminess of the gelato (marvelous apparently). Nora had chocolate and Maeve had chocolate plus some raspberry sorbet. Creaminess was again "marvelous" and marks were in the "great" range for everything else for an average of 1.75. For the second tasting, they went to the company store where Nora had vanilla chocolate fudge caramel swirl (whew!) and Maeve had the same with a scoop of milk chocolate orange thrown in - what a combo. The creaminess this time dropped off a bit to a still-respectable 1.5, but the cone was merely "good" (Clara says that they have home-made cones that really taste like waffles but thinks we're all too used to the mass-produced kind). "Marvelous" marks for texture brought the average score to a "great" 2. Final comnined score from two tastings: 1.8
The last stop on this leg of the Official Survey to sample the Smiling Hill Farm product. Clara says that this is fabulous ice cream produced by a local dairy. They bought some at a stand next to the local pizza place, Sian's, where everyone got their own pizzas and watched a kid being trained to make them. Nora ordered a dish of rainbow sherbet and Maeve got a chocolate cone. The creaminess was a 1.5 and everything else rated "great" across the boards for an overall score of 1.8.
The results of the Official Ice Cream Survey Part II? Wait just a minute. How can it be?! Is a three-way even tie possible?! Has someone tampered with the results?! Is all Maine ice cream approaching truly marvelous?! Apparently it is. The experts have spoken.
Next stop: The Hamptons
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1 comment:
Great Blog! Except I'm not an ice cream eater and I will be glad when the focus gets back to some entrees and main dishes. Maybe I should not have read the whole blog in one sitting. I will be curious when you post some receipes. Maybe some of your favorite simple/practicle dishes to go along with the foods that you find eating out. What's the ultimate Bridge dinner your dreaming up this year?
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