any boston style icecream places in la?

[adamgoodjunk]

you know, something like heralds, jp licks, or toscaninis. NOT gelatto. NOT persian ice cream. NOT coldstone creamery. NOT gorganzolla icecream.

i looked through some of the icecream threads here, but was was not sure if any of those places fit the bill.

[mcsmcs]

As a former Bostonian, who worked at the Central Square Toscaninni's one high school summer, I've often mused about why there isn't the same kind of ice cream shop culture out here. I think if Toscaninni's opened a store on, say, Robertson, they would mint money.

My theory, though, is that ice cream doesn't really work in a car culture. The point of Herrell's, Toscannini's, and don't forget Christina's in Inman Square, Cambridge, is that you can pop in, get a cone to go and walk with it. It's not nearly as pleasant if you have to circle for parking, and it's impossible to eat a cone while you drive.

On the other hand, the baskin robbins and ben and jerry's outposts out here do okay, as far as I can tell. And witness the huge opening of the gelato place in silverlake. So who knows.

In answer to the poster's question, Fosselman's is definitely the closest ice cream I've found to the Boston experience.

[adamgoodjunk]

fosellman's is 30 miles away from me! ok, i am just gonna have to wait for toscaninis when i go to boston this xmas, and i don't care if it's 20 below zero...

[jackattack]

To adamgoodjunk:
I hope you don't live TOO far from Manhattan Beach. A branch of GLACIER ICE CREAM is set to open there, and it is just the stuff you are looking for!

www.glaciericecream.com

[SecretAsianMan]

I wholeheartedly agree with Fosselman's in Alhambra as well as Bert and Rockies in Claremont. Both evoke that old Beantown flavor.

B and R's sundaes are excellent!

[adamgoodjunk]

Thanks for all the interesting replies. "Real" (by bias of course) icecream is the ONLY thing I'm homesick for in Boston. I will check out Boule's ice cream (I love their macarons btw) and also Bennetts. By the way, ice cream is not just a summer thing in Boston. You would be shocked at how busy the ice cream places are in the dead of winter.

[chica]

You should also try Fosselman's. The place has its lovers and haters, but since you're on a trek for good ice cream, you might as well give it a try and give your opinion.

[DanaB]

I second the recommendation that you check out Scoops -- while I don't believe they work on the "mix-in" model, they have high quality, creative and tasty ice cream.

Scoops
712 North Heliotrope Drive
LA CA 90029

Here's a link to a recent thread:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[Moomin]

Little known, but oft quoted, fact (at least in the vicinity of the Charles River): Bostonians consume more ice cream per capita than any other geographical group on earth.

And on the "Boston Style Ice Cream Places" note, both my wife and my sister asserted, repeatedly, that Scoops reminded them of JP Licks. Your mileage may vary on that one depending on the array of flavors available for the day...

[BenNLC]

I'm originally from Mass, and back in high school I used to be a scooper at Herrell's ice cream in Northampton (it was the flagship shop, as it was the one Steve worked out of, although he still maintains STRICT control over the quality at the Boston-area locations.)

I'm probably a little biased being that it's my home-town ice cream store, but many New England ice cream connoisseurs will agree it's in a class by itself. The man practically invented gourmet ice cream in the 70's with flavors like Heath Bar Crunch, and there are other newer flavors like Burnt Sugar and Butter which I can't find anywhere else. (Although Steve Herrell pretty much invented the smoosh-in, and unlike Coldstone, he still makes plenty of flavors that have stuff pre-smushed, like the aforementioned Heath Bar Crunch).

The Ice Cream at Boule on La Cienega is one of the few places in LA that rivals Herrell's creativity in the flavor dept (albeit with more gourmet ingredients like Earl Grey and Rose Petal). But overall, the base consistency of Boule's ice cream still can't hold a candle to the Herrell's. Herrell's ice cream is just the richest... high butterfat, low air content (no air pockets!).

Bennett's is OK but it's like going to EPCOT center for Italian food after you've been to Naples. LA has several good gelato places and I even appreciate Pinkberry for what it is, but still I have yet to find an ice cream place that can compete with back East. I'm looking forward to going to Northampton over thanksgiving and getting a malted vanilla cone (my favorite flavor).

[ragazza]

What exactly is "Boston" Ice-cream?

[monku]

Good question. Wonder if anyone ever asks for LA style ice cream.

[CynD]

Herrell's (not "Heralds") is a small chain in MA (Boston, Cambridge, Northampton, all in MA) making small batch, high butterfat, extremely high quality, ice cream. If I'm not mistaken, Steve Herrell (the Steve in the Steve's ice cream chain that was bought out by Heidi's) was the first to offer the mix-ins that Cold Stone now offers. But this is chain talk and belongs on a different board.

[jackattack]

He didn't ask about "Boston Ice Cream" but rather "Boston-style Ice Cream Shops".
In Massachusetts, all summer long families pile into the truck and head off to the favorite ice cream stands. I don't know what would compare to it out here. Piling the kids into the SUV and headin' to Chuck E Cheese?
Except on free cone day, you just don't see lines of people waiting for a scoop of Baskin Robbins. But a half-hour wait is not unheard of for ice cream back east, at a shack where you can see the cow's roaming in the distance. A shack with four service windows, a line 25 people long at each window, and 15 high-school students inside scooping away madly while the owner's grandma is mixing up a batch of her own homemade hot fudge.

Bennett's Ice Cream in the Farmer's Market on Fairfax is probably as close as you'll find to New England ice Cream out here. There's also Bert n' Rocky's out near Claremont College. And give Fosselmann's in Alhambra a try...it's not Richardson's or Herrell's or Ron's Gourmet or Lizzy's....but it's a lot better than Cold Stone and 31 Flavors.

Check out all the ice cream near Boston:
www.bostonplus.com/icecream.html

One of the best, check out the "cow to cone" video here:
http://www.richardsonsicecream.com/in...

[ragazza]

ohhhhh gotcha. my mistake- my fiance is from a small town in Mass. and all summer Twistie's, Summer House, and the Pink Elephant all offer soft serve, and lines of people wanting ice cream on a humid new england night. havent found anything like that here.

[RSMBob]

I'm no "Boston" ice cream expert, but if you can venture into Orange County, there's a hidden gem of a place call Hans' Homemade Ice Cream in Santa Ana on Bristol just North of South Coast Plaza that sounds like what you are looking for. High buttefat, fresh made ice cream, lots of flavors as well as great ice cream treats.

[miffy]

isn't herald like coldstones?