Iowa Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA!!!
Ice cream is best served in EXTRAVAGANZA form. And when you put me and Madeline in the same city for more than one day (which doesn't happen nearly enough and not just for ice cream reasons), there is bound to be an ice cream EXTRAVAGANZA!! This past weekend, Madeline came to visit me in Iowa City. I haven't lived here long, and I basically never go out, but I was at least more than capable of showcasing the best ice cream in Iowa City (and Iowa, in general). Madeline was here for Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday through mid afternoon, so there are obviously three parts to this mega-post.
Part 1: Yotopia
Okay, yes, we should have called this a frozen dairy dessert EXTRAVAGANZA, but that doesn't roll off the tongue quite like Iowa Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA! (Lets play a game. How many times can I write EXTRAVAGANZA IN ALL CAPS before I alienate all of our Dearest Readers??) (Madeline's note: at leas 10,000 times.) But Yotopia is such a central fixture to Iowa City's dessert scene, no matter which way you slice it, I had to take Madeline there.
This is already going to be a mega-post, so I'm not going to go through my standard 8 step process with which I normally review froyo shops. On this visit I got two flavors, Pomegranate Raspberry and Cake Batter. I'll start with the cake batter. It was super sweet, but managed to do that and not be artificial tasting. It also tasted like frosting, not only cake batter, as Madeline pointed out to me. The pomegranate raspberry was the bomb. Pomegranate was the more dominant flavor; the raspberry almost tasted a little bit like a generic berry flavor to me. However, this frozen yogurt had a flavor I don't think I've tasted in frozen yogurt before. The flavor was YOGURT! Who would have thunk it. A pleasant reminder Yotopia doesn't use powdered mixes to make their froyo. The toppings I got were peach rings, Fruity Pebbles, mini marshmallows, and pink (I don't know what flavor that indicates) mochi. The whole experience was fruity, sweet, and grand.
Madeline: I was super excited to try Yotopia because I don't think I have ever had frozen yogurt that is not made from a powder. Man oh man is there a big difference. I got two flavors also: pumpkin pie and espresso with Reese's Pieces on top. I thought I was being so clever and unique and making an awesome new flavor combination. Then Lizzy was all like "ummmmm, you basically just reinvented the PSL in frozen yogurt form, like, could you get any more basic?" The pumpkin pie was the most authentically pumpkin-pie flavored frozen dessert I've ever had. The espresso was also really good, but was more of a light coffee flavor than an in-your-face espresso flavor like I was expecting. This was okay because it let the yogurt flavor shine through. I love when frozen yogurt actually tastes like yogurt! Finally, the real stand out element was the texture. It was so creamy and thick and yet light and not at all icy and not trying to imitate ice cream. Go Iowa! Hooray for cows!
Lizzy's EDIT: Did I actually say that??
Part 2: Heyn's
Oh Heyn's. I worship all you do. The two flavors I got at Heyn's when we ate their Saturday night were Strawberry and Pecan Praline. I hadn't yet tried a fruity flavor from Heyn's. So far, every type of ice cream flavor I've tried from Heyn's has been fabulous. I keep trying different types of flavors; I'm almost hoping there is something they don't do well. Can they actually be perfect? Well the strawberry flavor was incredible. The flavor was strong and tasted exactly like strawberries. One little complaint was the strawberry chunks. They were small and there weren't a ton of them. But this is par for the course for strawberry ice creams. What these chunks did have that most strawberry chunks don't have is their juiciness. Like, they might have once actually been a fruit! They weren't icy at all. The Pecan Praline was also fantastic. I'm so happy Heyn's is riding the same praline brain waves I've been riding lately. I am incredibly disappointed that it has taken me 23 years to realize how amazing pralines are. But, at least now I can go to Heyn's and get all sorts of amazing praline ice cream. The base tasted nutty and sweet and caramely. There were dense, crunchy, praline balls throughout the ice cream. These praline balls even had pecan chunks in them. Good show, Heyn's, good show.
Madeline: I went with a cinnamon/pie theme and chose apple pie and oatmeal cream pie as my two flavors. Lizzy recommended I get a double kiddie scoop, and there was more than enough ice creamy to satisfy me. I can't imagine what a regular-size double scoop is like! What is with Iowa and making excellent non-pie, pie-flavored desserts? The apple pie ice cream tasted exactly like the inside of an apple pie. The apple chunks were big and juicy and the base had the perfect balance of tartness from the apples and cinnamon spice. There were crust chunks that were a tiiiiiiiinnny bit dry, but I didn't really care because they didn't take away from the overall flavor experience. The oatmeal cream pie was like those Little Debbie's Oatmeal Cream Pie's but better. Like if you favorite bakery made there gourmet version while still retaining all the wonderfulness of the original.
Part 3: Thelma's Treats ice cream sandwiches.
Here is the reason we've titled this post the Iowa Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA as opposed to the Iowa City Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA. Thelma's ice cream sandwiches are from Des Moines. Although, Iowa City Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA would be fabulously abbreviated as ICIC EXTRAVAGANZA. My HyVee used to carry all seven flavors of these ice cream sandwiches, however, now they have cut back to only two! The two they carry now are the chocolate chip and snickerdoodle. Luckily, when I was shopping right before Madeline arrived, they had ONE Strawberry Sugar sandwich left.
The strawberry ice cream in the Strawberry Sugar sandwich was a super sweet version of a strawberry ice cream, which could have been overwhelming with the super sweet sugar cookie, but it somehow wasn't. I think it may be because in addition to being quite sweet, both the strawberry ice cream and sugar cookies were light and delicately flavored. The sugar cookie also, while moist, had a delicate texture.
The chocolate chip cookie was dense and moist and had super awesome big, rich chocolate chips. The vanilla ice cream wasn't anything spectacular, but this chocolate chip cookie was so perfect, it could carry even the most mediocre vanilla ice cream into dessert fame.
Madeline's take: Lizzy said everything I wanted to say about these ice cream sandwiches better than I could have said it! I'm super glad I got to have an Iowa Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA with Lizzy and hope there will be many more in our future!
Part 1: Yotopia
Okay, yes, we should have called this a frozen dairy dessert EXTRAVAGANZA, but that doesn't roll off the tongue quite like Iowa Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA! (Lets play a game. How many times can I write EXTRAVAGANZA IN ALL CAPS before I alienate all of our Dearest Readers??) (Madeline's note: at leas 10,000 times.) But Yotopia is such a central fixture to Iowa City's dessert scene, no matter which way you slice it, I had to take Madeline there.
This is already going to be a mega-post, so I'm not going to go through my standard 8 step process with which I normally review froyo shops. On this visit I got two flavors, Pomegranate Raspberry and Cake Batter. I'll start with the cake batter. It was super sweet, but managed to do that and not be artificial tasting. It also tasted like frosting, not only cake batter, as Madeline pointed out to me. The pomegranate raspberry was the bomb. Pomegranate was the more dominant flavor; the raspberry almost tasted a little bit like a generic berry flavor to me. However, this frozen yogurt had a flavor I don't think I've tasted in frozen yogurt before. The flavor was YOGURT! Who would have thunk it. A pleasant reminder Yotopia doesn't use powdered mixes to make their froyo. The toppings I got were peach rings, Fruity Pebbles, mini marshmallows, and pink (I don't know what flavor that indicates) mochi. The whole experience was fruity, sweet, and grand.
Madeline: I was super excited to try Yotopia because I don't think I have ever had frozen yogurt that is not made from a powder. Man oh man is there a big difference. I got two flavors also: pumpkin pie and espresso with Reese's Pieces on top. I thought I was being so clever and unique and making an awesome new flavor combination. Then Lizzy was all like "ummmmm, you basically just reinvented the PSL in frozen yogurt form, like, could you get any more basic?" The pumpkin pie was the most authentically pumpkin-pie flavored frozen dessert I've ever had. The espresso was also really good, but was more of a light coffee flavor than an in-your-face espresso flavor like I was expecting. This was okay because it let the yogurt flavor shine through. I love when frozen yogurt actually tastes like yogurt! Finally, the real stand out element was the texture. It was so creamy and thick and yet light and not at all icy and not trying to imitate ice cream. Go Iowa! Hooray for cows!
Lizzy's EDIT: Did I actually say that??
Part 2: Heyn's
Oh Heyn's. I worship all you do. The two flavors I got at Heyn's when we ate their Saturday night were Strawberry and Pecan Praline. I hadn't yet tried a fruity flavor from Heyn's. So far, every type of ice cream flavor I've tried from Heyn's has been fabulous. I keep trying different types of flavors; I'm almost hoping there is something they don't do well. Can they actually be perfect? Well the strawberry flavor was incredible. The flavor was strong and tasted exactly like strawberries. One little complaint was the strawberry chunks. They were small and there weren't a ton of them. But this is par for the course for strawberry ice creams. What these chunks did have that most strawberry chunks don't have is their juiciness. Like, they might have once actually been a fruit! They weren't icy at all. The Pecan Praline was also fantastic. I'm so happy Heyn's is riding the same praline brain waves I've been riding lately. I am incredibly disappointed that it has taken me 23 years to realize how amazing pralines are. But, at least now I can go to Heyn's and get all sorts of amazing praline ice cream. The base tasted nutty and sweet and caramely. There were dense, crunchy, praline balls throughout the ice cream. These praline balls even had pecan chunks in them. Good show, Heyn's, good show.
Madeline: I went with a cinnamon/pie theme and chose apple pie and oatmeal cream pie as my two flavors. Lizzy recommended I get a double kiddie scoop, and there was more than enough ice creamy to satisfy me. I can't imagine what a regular-size double scoop is like! What is with Iowa and making excellent non-pie, pie-flavored desserts? The apple pie ice cream tasted exactly like the inside of an apple pie. The apple chunks were big and juicy and the base had the perfect balance of tartness from the apples and cinnamon spice. There were crust chunks that were a tiiiiiiiinnny bit dry, but I didn't really care because they didn't take away from the overall flavor experience. The oatmeal cream pie was like those Little Debbie's Oatmeal Cream Pie's but better. Like if you favorite bakery made there gourmet version while still retaining all the wonderfulness of the original.
Part 3: Thelma's Treats ice cream sandwiches.
Here is the reason we've titled this post the Iowa Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA as opposed to the Iowa City Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA. Thelma's ice cream sandwiches are from Des Moines. Although, Iowa City Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA would be fabulously abbreviated as ICIC EXTRAVAGANZA. My HyVee used to carry all seven flavors of these ice cream sandwiches, however, now they have cut back to only two! The two they carry now are the chocolate chip and snickerdoodle. Luckily, when I was shopping right before Madeline arrived, they had ONE Strawberry Sugar sandwich left.
The strawberry ice cream in the Strawberry Sugar sandwich was a super sweet version of a strawberry ice cream, which could have been overwhelming with the super sweet sugar cookie, but it somehow wasn't. I think it may be because in addition to being quite sweet, both the strawberry ice cream and sugar cookies were light and delicately flavored. The sugar cookie also, while moist, had a delicate texture.
The chocolate chip cookie was dense and moist and had super awesome big, rich chocolate chips. The vanilla ice cream wasn't anything spectacular, but this chocolate chip cookie was so perfect, it could carry even the most mediocre vanilla ice cream into dessert fame.
Madeline's take: Lizzy said everything I wanted to say about these ice cream sandwiches better than I could have said it! I'm super glad I got to have an Iowa Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA with Lizzy and hope there will be many more in our future!
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