Earnest Ice Cream, Vancouver

London Fog

Do you ever argue with family members about where to eat for dinner? well, this is us practically every weekend.  I figured out a compromise.   One person chooses the resto for dinner and another can choose a different place for dessert.  Win Win!

awww! the cutest coolest ice cream truck evah!

Well, today was a double win for me because I got to choose sushi for dinner and also suggested Earnest Ice Cream for their dessert.  Our dinner at Sushi Mania on Main was okay. I didn't like the cramped quarters but the prices were very reasonable.  I enjoyed the assorted tempura and everything was comparable to other Japanese restaurants I usually go to.  Stomach didn't like the resto for some reason (which he couldn't verbalize).  Usually if it's cheap, he likes it.  So I'm wondering what his beef was.  We snagged a table early before 5:30pm. After that it filled quickly because essentially, it seats approx 20 people total in that resto.  I'll only come back if I'm eating out early and I'm in the 'hood.

the Earnest ice cream bar! see that little corner table with the glasses? there's a self-serve filtered water tap.  what a good idea

After dinner, it was a skip and a hop over on to Fraser street for dessert at Earnest Ice Cream, which was on the agenda because the kids totally didn't want sushi for dinner.  They wanted pizza of course.  Earnest Ice Cream was the carrot I dangled to get me some sushi.  And a tasty carrot that was.  It's located on the East Side of Vancouver kind of out of the way of usual high traffic foodie places. In general, this isn't a trendy area of town.  It's next to a Szechuan restaurant, a vegetarian restaurant and The Beehive hair salon near a residential neighbourhood.  This is good, because at least you can find parking nearby.  The kiddies thought this place was a real winner.  We were here around 6:30 pm which is still pretty early.  There were peaks and lulls in the lineup.  But essentially I didn't have to line up at all.  I was a little disappointed that I couldn't actually see the ice cream as usual in many of the places we usually go to. However, the focussed menu helped.  I gave a taste test of: Strawberry Rhubarb and Blueberry just to see.  The strawberry rhubarb had intense strawberry flavour and the blueberry was a beautiful purple.  In the end,  we chose Milk Chocolate, Blueberry and the London Fog (Earl Grey flavoured).

Blueberry Ice Cream on a Waffle Cone

Bib's Blueberry Ice Cream was a radical departure from the fluorescent pink bubble gum gelato she usually demands at ice cream and gelato parlors.  It doesn't matter where we go; she'll ask for bubble gum or cotton candy.  In fact, she chose "that 2000 flavours place mommy" Um no, dear that's 200 flavours! I tell her she can't go to a place that serves 200+ flavours and order the same thing.  There's no point. She should try different flavours.  Or at least try different pink flavours. She is rarely swayed though.

At the Earnest counter, she asked for bubble gum flavour again and I said they didn't have that sort of stuff. I told her she'd like the purple one, which somewhat appeased her.  But she was guarded.  In the end,  I figured she's all about vibrant colour anyway.  It was a good choice for her. Afterwards, she said it was better than bubble gum.   There were blueberry skins all over which of course indicated it was chock full of blueberries!  You can order "kid-sized' ice cream here too. So the Blueberry cone she had is I think kid-sized but it didn't look too much smaller than the adult cones.  Her serving seemed to be bigger and better value than my ice cream in the bowl. That, or we ate our bowls of ice cream so quickly and waited so long for her to finish hers that we thought she had a more generous portion.  Ice cream eating technique may have something to do with this too as with a cone, she's a licker; not a biter.

Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

Bebe ordered the Milk Chocolate Ice Cream.  Upon her first bite she exclaimed "Oh my God!" She said it was the creamiest, richest chocolate ice cream she's had.   She didn't allow Stomach a taste and come to think of it I didn't get to taste any either.  

I thoroughly enjoyed my London Fog.  The Ice cream barista (they serve coffee here too) told me that it was Earl Grey flavoured.   I just ordered it without tasting it prior as I love anything tea flavoured. Now, I didn't think I detected predominant Earl Grey flavour but I saw flecks of tea leaves and I am assuming the colour is the infusion of the tea in the ice cream base.  I'm not a big Earl Grey drinker in any case.  Isn't Earl Grey bergamot? a sort of citrusy flavour? I didn't get that. I felt it was tea-based because of the colour but really it didn't matter because I really like it.  The predominant flavour/texture is cream and any infusions were lost on me.  I think any of their flavours would probably be awesome because their ice cream bases are made from quality ingredients.  You can tell when it hits your mouth.  Full fat. mmmm.

The menu today: Tahitian Vanilla, Salted Caramel, Whiskey Hazelnut, Blueberry, Cardamom, London Fog, Pecan Cinnamon Swirl, Matchstick Espresso Flake, Milk Chocolate, Strawberry Rhubarb, Vegan

I wanted to purchase a pint (or two!) of their Cardamom and the London Fog but I had to go to Shoppers afterwards. :(  Too bad. Maybe next visit. The ice cream comes packed in a glass canning jar, which looks absolutely gorgeous.  The idea of frozen glass was a bit worrisome for me though because I often drop my ice cream containers pulling it out of the freezer door.  Earnest Ice Cream is very good about recycling and all their little tasting spoons are steel (you deposit them in containers after tasting) and if you eat in they serve it in a porcelain bowl.  Their water glasses are made of glass (of course) and when you're done you just leave your dirty dishes in the plastic dish container in the corner near the front. With high ceilings, rustic wood floors and panelling, clean white counters, stainless steel and friendly servers, it was a nice environment.  I think we'll be back soon. 

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