Clementine's Naughty and Nice Creamery
I have been so excited for winter break because winter break is always full of hanging out with Madeline and eating lots of ice cream! It also means hanging out in the best city ever, St. Louis! The ice cream Renaissance of St. Louis, which started about two years ago, continued this May with the opening of Clementine's Naughty and Nice Creamery in the Lafayette Square area. Right before the brick and mortar scoop shop opened, I tried 6 different pints of Clementine's ice cream and loved them! I've been super excited to take Madeline to Clementine's ever since then!
Right before I flew to Boston to visit Brett, Madeline and I stopped by Clementine's. There was no one else in the shop when we were there, so we took our time and sampled quite a few flavors before making our decisions. Knowing the portions are pretty small, both Madeline and I ordered three scoops. The flavors I ordered were Lemongrass Coconut, Salted Crack Caramel, and Peppermint Bark. The Peppermint Bark is a boozy, seasonal flavor made with Saint Brendan's Peppermint Irish Cream Liqueur and chunks of homemade peppermint bark. The Salted Crack Caramel is salted caramel ice cream with salted chocolate cracker caramel.
I was most excited for the Salted Crack Caramel flavor because of the cracker candy in it. However, with the scoops as small as they were, I didn't get a single chunk of candy in mine. I was pretty disappointed. The salted caramel base was great, but I would recommend getting two scoops of this flavor or taking home a pint in order to get some of the candy. My experience with the Peppermint Bark was similar. I think I got a couple tiny chunks of peppermint bark, but no big ones. However, the base of this ice cream was fabulous, so I wasn't as upset. The base tasted more like the Irish cream liqueur than the peppermint, making this a unique twist on a seasonal classic. Lastly, the Lemongrass Coconut was perfect. The spicy, tart, and lemony lemongrass gave way to creamy coconut and the two flavors pair fabulously together. If you're a fan of lemongrass in Asian cuisine, you need to try this flavor.
Confession time! This post has been sitting in the draft folder for days, and I am just now getting around to working on it. Sorry! Lizzy has her life together like an adult and getting shit done this break, while I just lay around like a lump. I don't even know what day of the week it is.
Walking in to Clementine's I knew I was going to try the Gooey Butter Cake flavor based on Lizzy's rave reviews and her claims that it's the best Gooey Butter Cake ice cream she'd ever tried. After sampling quite a few flavors, I decided on Moscow Mule and Strawberry with Balsamic and White Pepper.
Let's start with the Gooey Butter Cake. This is "Pieces of Park Avenue Coffee's famous gooey butter cake combined with our own handmade gooey butter cake ice cream. Sweet, rich, and dangerously decadent." If you've never had gooey butter cake, I seriously question your judgement and life choices. I mean, come on! I had the same issue with this flavor that Lizzy had with the Salted Crack Caramel; I didn't get a good, solid chunk of gooey butter cake. The base itself was great. Buttery and rich just like the cake.
The Moscow Mule was fantastic. It is described as "A bright and sweetly spiced blend of vodka-based ice cream, fresh ginger and citrus. Taste this classic Russian cocktail like never before." I love Moscow Mules and all ginger based cocktails, so this was an obvious choice. I could really taste the ginger, and it was great in combination with the strawberry ice cream. It was a tiiiiiny bit vodka-heavy for my taste, but this is more a reflection of my taste in boozy ice cream than the quality of the flavor.
Finally, the Strawberry with Balsamic and White Pepper is described as "Smoky white pepper and scratch-made balsamic vinaigrette glaze swirled in our strawberries and cream ice cream. The perfect balance of sweet, spice, and fruit." This was superb! The strawberry base tasted like fresh, tart, juicy strawberries. It is so rare to find a good strawberry ice cream, and this one was fabulous! The balsamic swirl was perfection. It was thick enough to hold its own in the ice cream and actually had the consistency of a swirl. I've had ice cream with balsamic vinaigrette before, but rather than a swirl, the flavor of the vinaigrette was infused throughout the base. The thick glaze was a nice change. I didn't specifically taste the white pepper, but I think this strawberry ice cream was a bit smokier and deeper than traditional strawberry ice cream, and this was most likely due to the white pepper.
I'm really glad I finally got to try Clementine's. Next time I go I'll have to take home a few pints.
Right before I flew to Boston to visit Brett, Madeline and I stopped by Clementine's. There was no one else in the shop when we were there, so we took our time and sampled quite a few flavors before making our decisions. Knowing the portions are pretty small, both Madeline and I ordered three scoops. The flavors I ordered were Lemongrass Coconut, Salted Crack Caramel, and Peppermint Bark. The Peppermint Bark is a boozy, seasonal flavor made with Saint Brendan's Peppermint Irish Cream Liqueur and chunks of homemade peppermint bark. The Salted Crack Caramel is salted caramel ice cream with salted chocolate cracker caramel.
I was most excited for the Salted Crack Caramel flavor because of the cracker candy in it. However, with the scoops as small as they were, I didn't get a single chunk of candy in mine. I was pretty disappointed. The salted caramel base was great, but I would recommend getting two scoops of this flavor or taking home a pint in order to get some of the candy. My experience with the Peppermint Bark was similar. I think I got a couple tiny chunks of peppermint bark, but no big ones. However, the base of this ice cream was fabulous, so I wasn't as upset. The base tasted more like the Irish cream liqueur than the peppermint, making this a unique twist on a seasonal classic. Lastly, the Lemongrass Coconut was perfect. The spicy, tart, and lemony lemongrass gave way to creamy coconut and the two flavors pair fabulously together. If you're a fan of lemongrass in Asian cuisine, you need to try this flavor.
Peppermint Bark on the top, Salted Crack Caramel on the right, Lemongrass Coconut in the back!
Confession time! This post has been sitting in the draft folder for days, and I am just now getting around to working on it. Sorry! Lizzy has her life together like an adult and getting shit done this break, while I just lay around like a lump. I don't even know what day of the week it is.
Walking in to Clementine's I knew I was going to try the Gooey Butter Cake flavor based on Lizzy's rave reviews and her claims that it's the best Gooey Butter Cake ice cream she'd ever tried. After sampling quite a few flavors, I decided on Moscow Mule and Strawberry with Balsamic and White Pepper.
Let's start with the Gooey Butter Cake. This is "Pieces of Park Avenue Coffee's famous gooey butter cake combined with our own handmade gooey butter cake ice cream. Sweet, rich, and dangerously decadent." If you've never had gooey butter cake, I seriously question your judgement and life choices. I mean, come on! I had the same issue with this flavor that Lizzy had with the Salted Crack Caramel; I didn't get a good, solid chunk of gooey butter cake. The base itself was great. Buttery and rich just like the cake.
The Moscow Mule was fantastic. It is described as "A bright and sweetly spiced blend of vodka-based ice cream, fresh ginger and citrus. Taste this classic Russian cocktail like never before." I love Moscow Mules and all ginger based cocktails, so this was an obvious choice. I could really taste the ginger, and it was great in combination with the strawberry ice cream. It was a tiiiiiny bit vodka-heavy for my taste, but this is more a reflection of my taste in boozy ice cream than the quality of the flavor.
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| Strawberry and Balsamic and White Pepper in yo' face! Moscow Mule to the right and Gooey Butter Cake hidden underneath. |
Finally, the Strawberry with Balsamic and White Pepper is described as "Smoky white pepper and scratch-made balsamic vinaigrette glaze swirled in our strawberries and cream ice cream. The perfect balance of sweet, spice, and fruit." This was superb! The strawberry base tasted like fresh, tart, juicy strawberries. It is so rare to find a good strawberry ice cream, and this one was fabulous! The balsamic swirl was perfection. It was thick enough to hold its own in the ice cream and actually had the consistency of a swirl. I've had ice cream with balsamic vinaigrette before, but rather than a swirl, the flavor of the vinaigrette was infused throughout the base. The thick glaze was a nice change. I didn't specifically taste the white pepper, but I think this strawberry ice cream was a bit smokier and deeper than traditional strawberry ice cream, and this was most likely due to the white pepper.
I'm really glad I finally got to try Clementine's. Next time I go I'll have to take home a few pints.
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