What is your favorite flavor at SCOOPS?

[fdb]

Went there for the first time. Tasted quite a few flavors and got two scoops--Brown Bread & Pistachio w/ Rose Water! Yum! Bought a pint of Lychee/Guava sorbet to take home. Have to go back to try more. What is your favorite flavor?

[fdb]

I had their cinnamon/peanut butter for the first time yesterday. It was amazing! What a genius Tai Kim is!

[bluemonster]

I'm still thinking about the salted dulce de leche that I had last weekend. Yuuummm!

[nomo_fan]

I just had their pistachio lemon, and it was the best flavor I've had there.

[kevin]

what about the beluga caviar and oysters flavor

or the foie gras flavor, anyone know if he's bringing those back?

any of the horchata flavors are really good, and the jim bean and vanilla is boozily delicious.

[avena]

what are their hours?

[tannazie]

not sure when they open (noonish? 11ish?) but they close at 10. closed on sundays.

[SCgolf]

M-Sat 12:00 - 10:00
Sunday 2:00 - 6:00

Those guys NEVER pick up their phones!!! ~ too many peeps asking 'what flavors are in...'

Parking isn't the best but LACC is building a structure next door and they'll allow parking evenings and weekend. Food Network was filming a pilot @ Scoops last week... and with the tour buses that comes through this place is gonna be CRAZY.

[SauceSupreme]

If you go just one block west on Melrose, there's a building (laundromat?) with a parking lot and it's easy to walk. Really cool mural, too.

[Frommtron]

Genius. Thanks for sharing that.

[tannazie]

oh, he's open on sundays now? fabulous! i had no idea!

[AquaW]

My absolute favorite has to be with pear with walnuts & gorgonzola (with little chunks of gorgonzola mixed in) -- such a wonderful combo!

But brown bread is a reliable plan B for me ;)

~H.C.
http://la-oc-foodie.blogspot.com

[choctastic]

I love the brown bread but as of today, my new favorite is cashew banana. Yum! also loved the vegan oreo, but what's not to like about that. Gelato in the SF bay area is 4x the price and not nearly as fun, though it can be pretty good. They had chocolate peanut butter too; had to restrain myself from getting that as well.

--oh yeah the pistachio fig is pretty good too. Had that a couple of weeks back.

[Qwendy]

Mmmmmm, Scoops! I love the Vegan flavors, and I'm a carnivore! Chocolate peanut is very chocolate and peanuty and tastes nothing like a Reese's thank heaven! The Coffee Banana was great, I love his uses of spices like Cardamom, Saffron etc, I'd kill for the Pastachio/Saffron someone else mentioned -- must go tonight to see what's happening! I liked the Olive Oil as a foil for a chocolatey one, and the fruity flaves generally don't really do it for me, but they hardly ever do. But I'd try the lychee guava anytime!

[Gohantabeyoka]

Anybody know what some of Mr. Kim's Bukowski-themed flavors are this week? I can't make it to SCOOPS till Saturday afternoon and need a heads-up on what to expect. Thursday was Chinaski's b-day.

[George]

Last night, Saturday, the shop had literally sold out of almost all the ice cream flavors by around 9 pm when I arrived. And they weren't being replaced. Good sign really. I was able to score the Bacon Caramel however, and some Pomegranate Poppy Seed. They didn't have Lavender (see above), they had Goat Cheese Lavender!
A table of Korean guys outside smoking cigarettes while they ate their Bacon Caramel ice cream summed up my feelings on this: "This guy's a genius."
It's like you have a plate of pancakes and some bacon and the maple syrup and butter from your pancakes melts onto your bacon and .... but it's ICE CREAM.

[fdb]

While I like salty caramel, I can't imagine bacon caramel. Does he use real bacon or is it some kind of essence?

[Moomin]

He uses bacon grease to caramelize the sugar. No bacon is left in the finished product, just plenty of drippings. It generally doesn't taste of bacon, just like a very greasy caramel ice cream... but individual flavors have been known to vary from visit to visit, so it may have been smokier last night.

[fdb]

Bacon grease....now that makes sense....

Went back today and tried a few interesting flavors:

Chai
Green Tea/ Horchata
Coffee Cinammon (this was my favorite)
Apple Mint (very refreshing)
Goat Cheese/Lavendar (this didn't work for me 'cuz I don't like cheese)
Lingonberry/Balsamic Vinegar (delicious)
Almond/Fig/Orange Water (very rich)
Chocolate (I liked it with the sugar sprinkles)

Other available flavors:

Cappucino
Vegan Oreo
Banana/M & M
Strawberry/Lemon
Mango/Guava
Lichee/Orange
....and a couple that I don't remember!

[tannazie]

i think i personally had something to do with the sellout! i organized a bake sale that went on outside scoops (myspace.com/nocookieleftbehind), and with a nod on dailycandy and one on kcrw's Good Food that morning, we were really happy with the turnout (about $950 in baked goods sold!), and were able to bring all sorts of residual business to Scoops and the City College Cafe next door. Although I'm sure the fact that it was 500 degrees out on saturday wasn't too bad for business either.

Since I spent about 6 hours in the sun outside scoops and ducked in a few times, I can tell you some of the flavors from saturday:
- pear sake sorbet
- bacon caramel (as mentioned)
- white chocolate sea salt
- coffee ginger (a favorite for me, my mother, my dad!)
- passionfruit mango sorbet (i think)
- black sesame

and yes, i totally agree that he is some sort of genius, not to mention one of the most selfless, unpretentious shop owners this city has seen.

[fdb]

Man! All these interesting flavors! How many tastings can you get? I stopped at 4, but was really hoping to try them all.

[Woolsey]

I asked once how many I could taste and was told something along the lines of, "Until you're satisfied." So one can basically taste all the flavors before deciding, or at least that's how it's always been when I've visited.

[fdb]

Fantastic!!! Is there anyway to find out what flavor Tai's making in advance?

[Woolsey]

Not that I know of. I haven't even found a website - I don't think there is one. One could try calling the store, but I don't know if they'd read off all fifteen or so flavors over the phone.

[bijoux]

white chocolate + black sea salt. wow.

[unocal]

tonight i had the brown bread w/ cappuccino...ummmm what a good flavor combo. i like how the grape nuts from the bb gave the capp that extra oomph. i really like the brown bread, although it is not something i would normally go for. but that's the beauty of scoops. i've only been here one other time (last week) and had the vanilla, cinnamon and something else which was heavenly. i can't remember what the other flavor i had was, but i know i enjoyed it. i'd like to have a sit down w/ the owner; does anyone know where this guy learned his craft? maybe he needs an apprentice ;) btw has anyone tried that new place across the street called luck something? it seems like a vegetarian type spot, but looks interesting...

[foodientraining]

I went yesterday for the first time. I had the Chai and Avocado Banana. Both yummy. I will have to hit them up again next week.

[tannazie]

I think the story goes that Tai started at Calarts, and while there, got into food art, and from there went to culinary school -- not sure which culinary school though.

And as far as the place across the street, it's called Pure Luck and it's a beer-pub with vegan foods. I wrote more about it (and have a couple pictures) here:
http://tannazie.blogspot.com/2007/07/...

[Normal Garciaparra]

Tai Kim went to Western Culinary Institute in Portland, OR circa 2002-2003 where he developed his love, passion and craftsmanship of ice cream.

[Amella]

Avocado honey!

[kevin]

peach and cardammon acxtually almost anything with cardammon is pretty good stuff.

[katydid13]

Banana Wasabi!

[Moomin]

For somebody who lives in Santa Monica, I'm over at Scoops way more than is really good for me. Here are some of my memorable ones:

The Good:
Tamarind Date
Pabst Blue Ribbon and Avocado Sorbet (this is the best ever)
Thai Iced Tea
Red Wine Sorbet
Pistachio Rosewater
Olive Oil Sea Salt
Banana Oreo
Salted and Buttered Popcorn
Chai

The Not So Good:
Bacon Caramel
Bloody Mary
Foie Gras
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sea Salt, Caviar
Tomato
Coffee

[duke_of_mildew]

I actually liked Bacon Caramel (they had it the past Saturday)

[tatertotsrock]

DARN!!! The reason I got hooked on SCOOPS was because someone had told me about the Bacon Caramel and I went hunting for it...3 x in one week...a good excuse to keep going back...I've never been there when they've had it. Guess I'll just have to keep going back.
Just like "Moomin", I live a ways away from Scoops but always make up a reason to go there...tonight I have to get to Wilshire and Fairfax...guess where I'm going on a detour tooooo...yuummm

[duke_of_mildew]

Try going on a Saturday... they tend to do the more "experimental" flavors then.

[moeberg]

i thought the idea of bacon caramel was actually better than the execution.

just enjoyed a little strawberry madeira this afternoon.

[emily]

Black Tea Cloudberry!

[kevin]

the horchatas here are pretty good,

the jim bean/mint was great.

coconut is always good.

oh, yeah, that dill and mascarpone was really good too.

can't wait for the foie gras flavor to show up again.

[Woolsey]

So far, Zabaglione Chestnut has been the winner, with Dill & Mascarpone and Mint-Jim Beam (the flavor of a real mint julep) vying for a close second.

[silverlakebodhisattva]

me: black currant basil
Chowspouse: chocolate chipotle (runner-up for me)
Pup: coconut orchata

[Diana]

I dunno, I've tried twice and I can't seem to get there. We keep getting lost, which is odd, since it's right on Hyperion and Melrose in K town.

Urrrgghh

One day....

[moeberg]

heliotrope and melrose.

712 N Heliotrope Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90029

put me down for one passionfruit/mint. holy moly.

[Diana]

Which explains why I keep getting lost. I KNEW it was Heliotrope..but when I go to look for it, my brain says "hyperion"

I do this all the time.

There is (or was) a place on the Santa Cruz pier called "Gilbert's". My brain decided it was "Humphry's". I never could call it Gilbert's. Luckily, all my friends knew what I was talking about.

[silverlakebodhisattva]

THAT's where you've gone astray; it's on HELIOTROPE just north of Melrose. . .

[Diana]

ummm..yeah..see my reply to moeburg, above.

[Normal Garciaparra]

Anything with a coffee flavor. I don't need a sample.

[J.L.]

Brown bread
Lavender
Red wine
Maple Syrup + Oreo
Date

The proprietor is a freaking ice cream genius.

[fdb]

oh, wish they had lavendar today......i miss the lavender ice cream from Bastide!!!

[ipsedixit]

Tarot, followed closely by pumpkin chestnut.

[fdb]

you mean taro, right? they had chestnut/peanut yesterday.

[tatertotsrock]

Holy Cow!!!
I love Scoops!
My favs:
Brown Bread
Vanilla Bean/Jim Beam
Pistachio/Saffron
Now, after reading the flavors you got to try, I may hunt them down tomorrow.
Lychee/Guava?...could it get any better than that on a hot summer day...can't wait to try it.
Love Rose water anything...and with Pistachi...geepers, that sounds so good.
The only things I've gotten more than once were the Brown Bread and the Vanilla Bean/Jim Beam...I've had some others that I've really liked (Hazelnut/Cappuchino, Date/something) but haven't seen them again...they change up quite often but never had a problem finding something else that was super-good.

[fdb]

You got to run for the lychee/guava...it's heavenly!!!

[tannazie]

with your proclivity for saffron, rosewater, and pistachio, you sound like you'd love persian ice cream. saffron and rosewater are always there, sometimes pistachio, plus also cardamom. ever been to mashti malones?

(also my favorites at scoops are anything maple, and the yerba mate/banana -- it's amazing)

[tatertotsrock]

Good Morning tannazie,
Yes, I've been to Mashti Malones and I guess I can't get over the rude brats that had been behind the counter...it's hard to enjoy tasty ice cream when someone's bad attitude leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I prefer to do the long drive to Scoops where everyone is pleasant and the ice cream is super yummmy and there is always a new flavor adventure waiting...yum.

[Diana]

yeah, what is it with those kids? I've had the same experience. But the older guy in Hollywood mashti's is great!

By the way, many Whole foods now carry prepaked Mashti's top flavors..like mango and ginger rosewater.

[tatertotsrock]

Hi Diana,
Don't laugh, I don't own a freezer....everyhting is fresh fresh fresh in my house...otherwise I'd have ice cream thighs and that doesn't look all that impressive on a personal trainer.
I actually like the gelatto at Whole Foods...they sometimes have lavender and rosewater and they are always pretty cheery, happy people

[Diana]

I'm not laughing. I think it's a good way to eat.

You work in the fitness industry too? Cool!