Ice cream investigators
Kristin Czubkowski: food writer, ice cream annihilator
Katie Ernest: food editor
Laura Shumow: food writer, ice cream researcher
Jay Storey: food writer, attuned taste tester
Ice cream. Most college students crave it for its comforting, sweet indulgence. The Daily Cardinal's food staff has searched Madison's parlors for this utopia before desires for ice cream freeze with the weather.
Ben & Jerry's, 4:15 p.m.
The Cardinal crew's first stop was the notorious Ben & Jerry's, 224 State St. Though king in the grocery isles, it has yet to be determined whether Ben & Jerry's controls the State Street market as well at its new location. After deliberating between familiar flavors, the worker suggested trying The Last Straw and Chunky Monkey. The tasters complied and ordered small dishes ($2.84) of each flavor. Accustomed taste buds led us to order a large waffle cone ($5.10) of the third flavor, Phish Food, chosen in an attempt to combat the previous fruit-based ice creams.
\Phish Food has the gooey marshmallow thing going on,"" Laura said after a first scoop of the waffled creation. The chocolate ice cream's consistency was packed with immense flavors, and the photographers were quick to note the fudge fish added to its gooey richness.
The Last Straw was the next ice cream attacked.
""I actually like this strawberry one, and I don't like fruity flavors,"" Jay said. Katie agreed, and noted this flavor had just the right amount of chocolate to counter the strawberry.
Chunky Monkey, the second ice cream sampled in the undersized small dish, had a banana base which Kristin noticed was ""kind of like getting a frozen banana on a stick at state fair"" and was the favorite of three of the testers.
The troop pulled themselves away from the first ice cream stop and weaved through State Street's construction to the next ice cream chain, Cold Stone Creamery, 427 State St. Along the way, the testers had a tough time ridding their senses of Ben & Jerry's.
""I just can't believe how big those brownies were,"" Jay said.
Cold Stone Creamery, 4:45 p.m.
Disappointed Cold Stone was still out of its cake batter ice cream, the group settled for three of Cold Stone's originals: Breathless Boston Cream Pie, PB Cup Perfection and Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip. Each ""like it"" sized dish was priced at $4.10, though the substantial scoops made this price worth it. ""Love it"" and ""Gotta have it"" sizes are also available at $4.50 and $4.90, respectively, though personalizing ice cream with add-ins may be the cheaper way to go.
The crew split up the ice creams and dug in. ""It has a buttery flavor to it??-technically it's an off-flavor in ice cream,"" Laura noted about Cold Stone's products, ""but I think they do that on purpose. People like the taste."" The others agreed that the buttery flavor did make this ice cream distinct from the rest.
The Breathless Boston Cream Pie was less favorable. ""I don't like the cake, but the French vanilla ice cream is incredible,"" Kristin said. Jay also pointed out the whipped cream gets lost in this concoction.
The troop was again discouraged by the flavoring of Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip.
""The mint is spearmint, not peppermint,"" Laura said, making it an odd combination with chocolate. Kristin agreed, noting the taste reminded her of toothpaste.
""The peanut butter is incredible,"" Jay said regarding the Peanut Butter Cup Perfection. The chocolate ice cream was gooey like Phish Food at Ben & Jerry's, but instead of marshmallows, real peanut butter was held responsible. Fudge and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were also mixed in to this favorite flavor.
Laura was skeptical in Cold Stone's appeal, reminding the rest that, ""mix-ins hide the ice cream.""
The Chocolate Shoppe, 4:55 p.m.
Unlike the last two establishments, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, 468 State St., began in Madison in 1962 and now has stores across the Midwest.
The crew decided on the Shoppe's white vanilla-dipped waffle cone ($3.35) filled with New York Cherry, along with Vanilla and Zanzibar in dishes ($1.50). Interestingly, if you want a single dish for $1.99, consider the junior cone for $1.50 which, unbeknownst to the menu, also includes junior dishes.
""I think if I didn't have six different ice creams, I'd like it,"" Kristin commented on the vanilla, which served a dual-purpose of cleansing the taster's palates of peculiar flavors.
Laura noted the use of maraschino cherries in the New York Cherry, and Katie said this was her favorite.
However, the Zanzibar ice cream won for the best overall flavor of the day. Made using three African cocoas, it results in the darkest chocolate ice cream imaginable. ""You can actually see how much chocolate is in it,"" Jay said. ""This has real chocolate flavor to it, opposed to Cold Stone with a cocoa flavor,"" Laura said. The crew agreed that even after eight ice cream flavors, this intense chocolate flavor was remarkable.
The Daily Scoop, 5:15 p.m.
The sight of ice cream was repulsive by now, but the crew chose three flavors nonetheless: Berry Alvarez, Raspberry Sherbet and Coffee and Truffles ($1.80 each).
Knowing the ice cream was made on campus at Babcock Hall and enjoying it at the Union Terrace, made the bellyaches of ice cream worthwhile.
""The Berry Alvarez tastes like candy,"" Kristin said, ""I think one can even say it's berry delicious."" Katie noticed it tasted more like Fruity Pebbles cereal than ice cream.
The group decided the raspberry sherbet was an unfair comparison to its ice cream counterparts, although the flavor was enjoyable.
""Truffles are like ... too ... much,"" Jay said, commenting on the last flavor of ice cream for the day.
""I think you had too much ice cream,"" Logan said, one of the group's accompanying photographers. She was right.
