foie gras ice cream at scoops

[kevin]

has anybody had it. sounds like it was mentioned on chowhound before but haven't tried it.

how is it? price? (is it around 6 dollar scoop rather than the usual 2 or what)?

and taste?

thanks.

[SauceSupreme]

I would definitely try foie gras ice cream. After all, I've had and enjoyed durian ice cream.

[risottoman]

Tai showed me the lobe of foi gras and it was genuine, from Canada, and cost over fifty dollars. It was massive, about the size of a small, flattened cantalope.

ARG! I had a pint of it saved up and my parents ate half of it without me knowing! I don't think he'll be making it for a while...but stick around, you never know with scoops.

[jenn]

We tried the fois gras ice cream---made a special trip for it since like all his stuff, it was a one time thing. If I recall correctly, the elder pup chose it as his flavor. I agree with the person who said it was like ducky butter. Having had real fois gras, I am confident that it was fois gras and not liver---once you have had fois gras, you know the difference.

if vegans are going to protest by not going to scoops, they are foolish. Tai won't change what he wants to do and they will miss out on the best assortment of vegan ice cream on the planet.

[Frank_Santa_Monica]

Does anyone know if he uses a fancy shmancy ice cream maker, imported from Milan or some cool place like that? Does he have some special technique?

[risottoman]

I got a pint of that ice cream in my freezer from a couple weeks ago. Waiting for a special occasion to bust it out.

It tastes like ducky butter ice cream. It would pair with a multitude of other ingredients.
He does not import his ice cream! He makes it all in house, using his own recipes and techniques.

[Moomin]

Foie gras wasn't bad, but it was very mild. Yes there was quite a bit of real foie gras in it, but it was completely (thankfully) smooth, no chunks. And, yes, it was a normally priced scoop ($2 for two scoops of a single flavor). Tai will make ice cream from pretty much ANYTHING that his customers bring in. Today he had fresh limes and mint from a patrons garden... so there was a spectacular lime-mint on the menu.

Next on the agenda for the truly wierd... he recently was given a fairly substantial quantity of high quality caviar. This Saturday he will be featuring "Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sea Salt, Caviar Frozen Mousse."

Who knows. If I haven't sated myself totally at Bulgarini, I might stop by and try it.

[oro3030]

I talked to Tai about it last weekend. I didn't get to try the ice cream unfortunately but it was normally priced and he did indeed use real foie gras.
He said he poached the foie gras and it basically just melted into the liquid. he said the flavor wasn't that intense - that he only used a small amount.

As for the Vegan reaction, he sounded pretty defiant to me - I don't think he will change at all.

It's pretty ironic that he probably has the best vegan ice cream in the city. I guess the Vegans will have to make a moral calculation as to whether to frequent his shop.

[Itslikeimsayin]

I was hoping this thread was about Tai stuffing a tube down my throat and filling me with ice cream 24 hours a day.

[PayOrPlay]

LOL! Post of the week!

[slacker]

Ok that just sounds repulsive. On many levels.

[Dommy]

Actually, he admits it was kinda a faux pas in today's L.A. Time's Food Section listing the best ice cream shops in the city. He noted that MANY of his customers were upset and made it seem like he may think twice... Chowhound also got a shout out in the blurb too! :D

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/...

[notmartha]

Thanks for the link. Surprised it doesn't have Dr. Bob's ice cream on the list.

I don't know about foie gras ice cream. Doesn't sound that appealing, never mind the moral debate.

[katkoupai]

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. Foie gras ice cream doesn't sound appealing to me. I like fruity flavors. :) However, it's an interesting addition that I'm sure is unique to Scoops.

[kevin]

wasn't what's his name, myer's doing foie gras ice cream at sona a few years back too. and maybe bastide too back in the early days???

[katkoupai]

I don't know. It seems like it would be a flavor to appear and disappear, but not stay on a menu. That's only a guess on my part. Maybe it will stay at Scoops. :)

[kevin]

oh, and for anyone that tried it at Scoops, the foie ice cream, was it the regular 2 dollar price, or pricier? and more importantly wasn't possibly not made of actual foie gras>

[Pei]

I was also going to suggest that it might not actually be foie gras. Imagine the expense, just to make a product that inherently dulls the flavor of the ingredient because that's what happens when something is frozen.

It would me much smarter to use a less expensive (and less controversial) liver.

And it doesn't seem contradictory at all to serve both vegan and foie gras flavors. His business survives on economics, not morals.

[ipsedixit]

I'm with you notmartha ...

I've tried foie gras ice cream previously (not at Scoops), and have found it odd, at best, and disgusting, at worst.

This really is one instance where the adage of "I like spaghetti and I like ice cream, but not spaghetti ice cream" really, really rings true.

[notmartha]

Agree.

I am not sure if this is part of the trend to have luxury ingredients in everyday food, like caviar on pizza, truffles with mac and cheese.

Seems to be a waste of good ingredients.

[sel]

I guess that means that I won't get to taste the foie gras flavor. Well it probably would have been only a taste anyway and not my selection for a scoop - at Scoops!

Thanks for the heads up; I'm off to pick up the Times!

[kevin]

catering to all types of customers.

not necessarily a bad business plan.

unless you specialize, and you're always going to alienate someone.

[eatdrinknbmerry]

I myself am dying to try this flavor. Last time i was there they did not have that. My gf ended up getting a riesling/cherry ice cream which was nice. the owner changes the ice cream weekly, maybe even daily. a link to it:

http://oishiieats.blogspot.com/2007/0...

[djquinnc]

I tried the foie gras ice cream and yes, it was quite subtle, not repulsive at all, but not compelling enough for me to get the whole scoop. Yesterday, a nice scoop of strawberry/balsamic vinegar coupled with a scoop of marscapone was the perfect cool down in in the afternoon. I give him props for going out on a limb, because often, they work. I welcome the olive oil back again, but caviar! LOL The oil and salt alone was sublime and I could have consumed an entire pint of it -- different that Batali's at Otto NYC, but just as delicious.