/

Los Angeles Area

Tips for Dining, Eating, and Food Shopping in the Greater Los Angeles Area (including Orange & Ventura Counties and SW San Bernardino County)

Weird flavors of ice cream.

Last summer I went to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, and found they make ice cream in any flavor you want; bacon, cheese, tequila, pinenut, anything. My favorite was avocado.
Today I saw at the Thai market next to Palms Thai on Hollywood that they carry the Magnolia brand which comes in many weird flavors. They had the corn and cheese, and the plain cheese as well as others. And more importantly they usually carry avocado, whoopee! They were out but I’m patient, and I’ll be back.

When I asked about weird flavors on chowhounds last year some one posted this: “Try the Philipino market on Vermont,south of 1'st,east side.I think it's called Sefood King or something like that.Magnolia brand,corn and cheese is in the freezer as I write.”

I’ve been there and they do have some good stuff. They have two brands of cheese ice cream. The Magnolia and another brand, Nestle, I think. I love that stuff.

11 Replies

  1. The various outposts of 99 Ranch Market carry a pretty big stock of unusual flavors, including corn and cheese, avocado and durian. I've also seen popsicles in these flavors there. Can't remember the brands, though.

    Also, Barrio Fiesta in Lakewood serves a variety of Filipino ice creams for dessert, including ube (purple yam).

    1. re: Chris G.

      If you're just talking weird and not necessarily good, I think
      I can confidently assert I know one of the weirdest. It's so
      weird I had to make it myself. It wasn't too difficult, though.

      I was hosting an all-Uni festival where every dish either
      featured or was accompanied by uni (sea urchin). We had
      Nobu-style uni tempura, uni sashimi and sushi, uni risotto
      with golden scallops, grilled salmon with uni sauce, Royale
      of Sea Urchin (uni custard), and Thai Steamed Clams with
      Uni. What would we *have* to have for dessert?

      Uni ice cream. It was essentially a French Vanilla ice cream
      with uni puree instead of vanilla. I made the standard creme
      anglaise with egg yolks, cream and sugar and then added
      cooked, pureed uni. I had to push it through a sieve several
      times to remove all of the small veins and other undessertlike
      features. I chilled it all and then froze it in my ice cream
      maker.

      When my wife was inviting various people to the gathering,
      she mentioned to everyone that uni ice cream would be served.
      Since so many people were interested, she was confident that
      it would get eaten up by the guests. I wasn't. We bet each
      other five bucks.

      Meanwhile, I tasted it. The very first sensation on the tongue
      was a cool, sweet creaminess, very ice-cream-like. Then the
      sweetness was clouded by a faint fleshy sensation. By the time
      I swallowed, the ocean took over; the only ice-cream-like
      quality left was the cold. Alas, what might have been a tasty
      union was undone by too much contrast.

      Needless to say, I won the bet. We didn't eat more than a
      half-cup or so (I threw out the rest of the pint a week later).
      It's definitely the most bizarre ice cream I've ever eaten. On
      the other hand, if you're a big fan of durian fruit, especially
      overripe durian fruit, you might want to give it a shot. It's
      got some of the same extreme range of flavor.

      1. re: David Tanner

        Bleu cheese ice cream at Devon in Mongolia.

        1. re: jcwla

          Or Monrovia, either one...

          1. re: jcwla

            Thanks! I think I still have time to cancel my plane tickets and reservation with Khan's rent-a-yak (though the yak still might come in handy in Monrovia).

            1. re: Chris G.

              One tip on the yak ride: bring plenty of Preparation H.

              -- Jordan "a little slice of Ulan Bator" C.

    2. If you ever make it to the Boston area, you can go to JP Licks and try the cucumber ice cream. Surprising light and refreshing and perfect for a really hot summer day. (They seem to only have this flavor during the summer time.... so if you're brave enough to muddle through the humidity, you should definitely try a scoop.)

      1. A bit off topic but, The Food Network showed the Candy Show...convention. A company offered odd flavored Jelly Beans. Sardine, Ear Wax, Vomit. They claim to have already shipped 500,000 pounds of them are are getting reorders. I guess it is a "gag" gift in the truest sense of the word.

        1. In SF I used to go to Bombay Creamery, they had flavors such as saffron, ginger, rose, cardamom, to name a few of the strange (but oh so good) flavors. Any similar places in LA?

          1. re: opc

            Oh yes, rosewater and saffron and cardamom ice creams we got--One of the best ice cream stores in LA, in fact:

            Mashti Malone Ice Cream
            1525 N. La Brea Ave.
            Los Angeles, CA 90028
            Tel: (323) 874 -0144

            www.mashtimalone.com

            (You can also find Malone's ice cream, or decent imitations thereof, at many Persian and Indian markets around town.)

          2. sampled my first durian popscicle recently in chinatown. impression: slightly creamy & sweet, fermented scallion essence on a stick. not horribly stinky,but distinct & oniony. produced somewhere in the little saigon area(forgot the brandname)& purchased at the vietnamese(?)market on new high street near battambang. around 75 cents.

            « Back to the Los Angeles Area Board