Archive for the ‘Ice Cream’ Category
Well I do apologize for another long hiatus, but since it is still summer time, I wanted to share another hot spot for COOL TREATS. The Comfy Cow, a popular ice cream spot with three locations around Louisville, KY found its way into our hearts on one of our first visits to see my parents while they were living there. We have since been back two or three other times and suffice it to say this ice cream is legit and doesn’t need summer heat waves to enjoy it. If you are like me, you will find an excuse to have a scoop or two any day of the year! Looking back our first visit was actually during Thanksgiving, Kheri was only 2 months old and now she is about to turn 2, my how time flies!
RESTAURANT: THE COMFY COW (LOUISVILLE, KY)
Although only open since 2009, this local shop has been churning out unique and standard flavors alike, that their customers continue to rave about. Even better is the founders’ mentality “Ice Cream is our passion. We hope that every bite you take reflects the care and attention to detail we put into each and every small batch we produce. We continually look to source the absolute finest ingredients, locally whenever possible.” I mean to take the subject of ice cream that seriously, you know you are going to get a delicious product. Their popularity has continued to grow and with shows like Travel Channel’s “Man vs. Food Nation” starting to pay attention, it is not hard to imagine this local shop being around for a very long time.
SIGNATURE DISH:
Well if I didn’t make it clear above, ice cream is the name of Comfy’ Cow’s game. They have other desserts that they feature, but people are truly flocking for their unique flavor creations as well as the good ol’ standby favorites. Adam in particular fell in love with their bourbon ball ice cream, a flavor we have never seen elsewhere and likely if we did probably would not have been executed as well as it is at the Comfy Cow.
TASTE:
Adam and I both have had a LOT of ice cream in our day, but this ranks up there with some of the best we’ve ever tried. There is something about its creamy texture, that whether you are enjoying a flavor you have never before experienced or their basic vanilla, you know you are in for a treat. As I mentioned above, in the 3 visits we have paid to the Comfy Cow, Adam has ordered the Bourbon Ball every time and has NEVER been disappointed. It is truly such a unique flavor and for someone with a love for bourbon like his, this is truly a special treat for him. I on the other hand have tried a lot of what you might dub standard flavors on each of our visits, but even so, I wasn’t lying when I said I LOVE ice cream, so I have a lot of comparisons, and this place has most of those others beat!
AMBIANCE:
Not only is this place churning out some serious ice cream, but they also have a really cool space to enjoy your treat in. I was shocked at how large the location we visited was and while the front counter area feels like a old timey treat shop, as you walk back you will notice tons of little pockets of seating areas with all sorts of crazy décor to gander at. What is also nice about the size of the Comfy Cow is even on a busy night, you can still easily find a place to get tucked away and enjoy your family’s company without feeling like you are encroaching on anyone else’s conversation, rather it has a very “comfy” feeling to it, more of a retreat than a destination.
SERVICE:
Although we only ordered at the counter and waited for our respective cones or dishes, every employee we have ever encountered has been very sweet, attentive, and willing to let us try a million flavors before settling upon just the right one.
PRICE:
This will sound silly, but since we have always gone with my parents, I’m not entirely sure how much their treats run, however I’m pretty sure it was very reasonable. In our 3 visits I have only ever ordered 1 scoop and it is always VERY generous in size and I believe around the $3.50 range if I had to venture a guess. So yes it is likely more expensive than the $.79 cone from McDonalds, but that little bit of upcharge is worth it when it comes to the flavor.
Overall we have always had a truly lovely experience when we have gone to the Comfy Cow and we must have enjoyed it that first time, or we wouldn’t have gone back every subsequent visit to Louisville. My parents have actually since moved to the lovely state of North Carolina, so unfortunately it was good we got our visits in while we could, we will just have to find a local ice cream spot their to see if it can rival the Comfy Cow’s place. And while yes over the course of our lifetime I am sure Adam and I can list plenty of other ice cream shops we have been to that have been equally as delicious, but the Comfy Cow truly became a yummy favorite in our books, so with that I scream, you scream, we all scream for…happily we give them 5 Little PIggies.
Well another year has come and gone and Pop Culture Cuisine is officially a two years old! This year our lives have changed dramatically in many ways, including the addition of a new family member. We also may not have traveled as far as in the past, but Adam and I still love finding new ways to seek out culinary hot spots wherever our travels take us. We have compiled a list of some of our favorite and not so favorite spots to share with you with links so you can read our reviews for yourself. We STILL love food and hope to continue to share lots of great finds with you all along the way.
Signature Dish:
1. Al’s Beef’s “Italian Beef Sandwich” – Chicago, IL
2. Kim & Scott’s Café Twist’s “Twist Your Own” – Chicago, IL
3. The Varsity’s “Chili Dog” – Atlanta, GA
Taste:
1. Hot Doug’s – Chicago, IL
2. Al’s Beef – Chicago, IL
3. The Depot American Diner – Chicago, IL
Ambiance:
1. The Walnut Room – Chicago, IL
2. Slow’s Bar-BQ – Detroit, MI
3. Lynn’s Paradise Café – Louisville, KY
Service:
1. Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap – Joe and his staff – Chicago, IL
2. Kouzzina – John – Orlando, FL
3. Emeril’s – Spencer – Orlando, FL
Price:
1. The Varsity – Atlanta, GA
2. Al’s Beef – Chicago, IL
3. South Side Soda Shop – Goshen, IN
Overall Top 5:
1. Al’s Beef – Chicago, IL
2. Hot Doug’s – Chicago, IL (A VERY close 2nd place)
3. The Walnut Room – Chicago, IL
4. Kouzzina – Orlando, FL
5. Emeril’s – Orlando, FL
Top 5 Biggest Letdowns…Not worth the Hype:
1. The Whale’s Rib – Deerfield Beach, FL
2. Brennan’s – New Orleans, LA
3. Camp Washington – Cincinnati, OH
4. Graeter’s – Cincinnati, OH
5. The Loveless Café – Nashville, TN
Best of the Rest…Honorable Mention:
Most Fun – Kim & Scott’s Café Twist – Chicago, IL
Most Memorable – Kouzzina – Orlando, FL
Most Worth the Wait – Hot Doug’s – Chicago, IL
Most Outrageous Dish – Bub’s Burgers – Carmel, IN
Best Excursion – Epcot International Food and Wine Festival – Orlando. FL
Best Sandwich (Burgers Included) – The Depot American Diner – Chicago, IL
Best Sweet Treat – Emeril’s – Orlando, FL
Another week has almost come and gone and once again I’m trying to find time to blog…I don’t know how these full time mom bloggers post each and every day, because I can hardly find time to do it once a week! But, I also have to admit I know how to waste time with the best of them…in addition to taking care of my lovely little girl, I find many a new way to waste time on a daily basis…hello Pinterest, Facebook, and making photobooks and videos of my little cutie pie.
But enough about my lack ability to prioritize my time and onto a topic I love dearly…ICE CREAM!
Adam will be the first to tell you that I am never one to turn down a scoop, nor one to even say it isn’t the right season. I love ice cream year round and in just about any way, shape, and form you can get it. I have lived a fair amount of places in my lifetime and I have come to discover than just about every city in the U.S. has its own favorite ice cream joint, and the next stop on our 2011 PCC tour is no different.
Being that my father was born and bred in Cincinnati, I was well aware of our next spot. Graeter’s is a lifelong favorite of his, and in fact it was a pretty great day for him when Kroger began selling their famed ice cream nationwide. So knowing that we were going to be in Cincinnati last March, we knew we couldn’t visit the city without paying this famed ice creamery a visit, especially since we had just seen it featured on The Food Network’s “Food Feuds.” Also, being newly pregnant at the time and fully ready to indulge, I was all about getting ice cream!
Chocolate chip (the flavor they featured on “Food Feuds”) has never been my go to flavor, so I went with mint chocolate and double chocolate chip. However, looking back, I should have gone with the traditional after Adam gave me all the major chocolate chunks in his because they were dark chocolate and he doesn’t really like that kind.
We both agreed it wasn’t anything outstanding, but will still not turn it down if offered. It is Ice Cream, after all. 😉 In truth, I think ice cream in a nostalgic treat based on your city, and I have yet to have any ice cream anywhere in the country that was so out of this world I would have to go back to have it. I’m not sure that any of them are really all that different or are more wonderful than one another. Rather I think a lot of these famed sweet shops are more nostalgic to the people who grew up with them. Meaning, I think that their ice cream, while for sure tasty, is really no better than many others I’ve tried. But if you grew up eating it, it is probably the best you have ever had! Just ask me and Adam our opinions of Ted Drewes…it holds a much higher regard for me having grown up there than it does him for sure!
In the end, ice cream is like pizza…even when bad it is still pretty good! So that being said, I LOVE me some ice cream and I enjoyed getting to visit Graeter’s and try it, but it wasn’t so life changing that I need to have it all the time. Bottom line, while we enjoyed it, we were not WOWED by it. But for all you Cincinnattians out there, I believe it is the best for you. We all have our home town favorites. This just wasn’t ours. While very tasty, I don’t know that it could ever come in first place.
SIGNATURE DISH: Ice cream made the old fashioned way…with butter fat!
TASTE: We went two nights in a row, so clearly it wasn’t inedible. It just wasn’t anything special and definitely not worth the hype.
AMBIANCE: This particular Graeters was neat in that it sat right on the center square of the city. We were able to get our ice cream and sit in the square and watch the scene.
PRICE: I am not positive what we paid exactly, but I remember thinking it was likely a bit pricier than your typical scoop. In the grand scheme of things, we probably could have bought a gallon for what we paid for 2 scoops. I guess that’s the beauty of marketing and having a tradition like they have; and it doesn’t’ seem outrageous until you realize what you could buy it for at the grocery store.
SERVICE: Both nights we visited we were moved through the line very quickly and kindly. The employees never seem stressed at a line that is practically out the door and are very willing to let you make up your mind and move you through as easily as possible.
Overall, other than the fond memories of enjoying our scoop while sitting outside in the city square, I won’t dote on Graeters much. I give it 1 ½ ‘Little Piggies.’
