Angel's Cappuccino & Ice Cream Cafe
It's time to GET EXCITED FOLKS, because the Big Muddy Ice Cream Blog has gone INTERNATIONAL!
Sunday through Tuesday, I was in Calgary, Canada to present some of my research at a conference. The conference presentation went well and I got to ~network~ and all that jazz. But is it bad I was just as excited to explore cool areas to run and cool Canadian ice cream as I was to present at the conference...?
My potentially mixed-up priorities aside, there was a great pedestrian bike path along the Bow River right by my hotel that provided gorgeous views for running. Also, there was a super teeny tiny and adorable cafe, Angel's, just a quarter of a mile down the path from my hotel, that also served ice cream! They didn't make their own ice cream, instead they served Canada largest independent ice cream brand, Chapman's Ice Cream. Chapman's is also made with 100% Canadian milk.
Angel's didn't have a huge selection of flavors, compared to all of the different offerings Chapman has. They have tons of flavors of ice cream, yogurt, gelato, sorbet, and treats you can buy in stores and then bunches more that you can only get from spots that scoop Chapman's. I decided to get Caramel Praline because I was (and by was I mean I always am) in the mood for pralines and a "Super Hero" flavor because the name and appearance caught my attention.
I'll start by describing the Caramel Praline, because that is what I ate first. It is described on the Chapman's website as Caramel and praline pecans rippled through our creamy vanilla ice cream. First, this is flavor is premium, which means it has 12-14% butterfat. The texture was creamy, but there seemed to be a high overrun. It was soft and fluffy ice cream. The vanilla base flavor was pretty standard, not super strong or high quality. The caramel ripple was on the thin side, and a light flavor. I would have liked more. I was also a bit disappointed by the pecan pralines. They were small, and while they were abundant and tasty, I would have enjoyed more praline crunch! They also seemed to be less actual pecan and more just praline. All in all, I would give this flavor š¦š¦/4 cones.
So the Super Hero flavor caught my eye because it was pretty brightly colored, red, blue, and kind of yellow-ish. I asked the scooper what the flavor was like (there was no description in the cafe), she told me it was like a fruit roll up. I was like, "yiss I'm so game for fruit roll up ice cream." Super Hero is described on the Chapman website as Strawberry, Banana, and Blueberry flavoured ice cream swirled together. So I did not know this description while eating the flavor, but even if I did, I don't think I could have really tasted separate strawberry, banana, and blueberry flavors, but I did kind of get a more tart berry vibe, and a fake banana flavoring vibe. However, the scooper really hit the nail on the head with her description. It was like a fruit roll up or gushers, but not as strong or tart flavored. It also wasn't overly sweet, surprisingly. The dairy element also mellowed things out. I think, I was tasting the fake banana flavoring, but this flavor also reminded me a bit of licorice. Like it had a licorice aftertaste, almost. I would put this flavor in the same genre as bubble gum, blue moon, or cotton candy flavors, or the other generic brightly colored scoop shop flavors. Normally, I'm not the biggest fan of flavors like this, but they are growing on me. They're fun and definitely unique. All in all, I would give this flavor š¦š¦š¦/4 cones, mostly because I haven't seen anything quite like it in the states!
Sunday through Tuesday, I was in Calgary, Canada to present some of my research at a conference. The conference presentation went well and I got to ~network~ and all that jazz. But is it bad I was just as excited to explore cool areas to run and cool Canadian ice cream as I was to present at the conference...?
My potentially mixed-up priorities aside, there was a great pedestrian bike path along the Bow River right by my hotel that provided gorgeous views for running. Also, there was a super teeny tiny and adorable cafe, Angel's, just a quarter of a mile down the path from my hotel, that also served ice cream! They didn't make their own ice cream, instead they served Canada largest independent ice cream brand, Chapman's Ice Cream. Chapman's is also made with 100% Canadian milk.
Is this shop not THE most adorable place ever?
Angel's didn't have a huge selection of flavors, compared to all of the different offerings Chapman has. They have tons of flavors of ice cream, yogurt, gelato, sorbet, and treats you can buy in stores and then bunches more that you can only get from spots that scoop Chapman's. I decided to get Caramel Praline because I was (and by was I mean I always am) in the mood for pralines and a "Super Hero" flavor because the name and appearance caught my attention.
I'll start by describing the Caramel Praline, because that is what I ate first. It is described on the Chapman's website as Caramel and praline pecans rippled through our creamy vanilla ice cream. First, this is flavor is premium, which means it has 12-14% butterfat. The texture was creamy, but there seemed to be a high overrun. It was soft and fluffy ice cream. The vanilla base flavor was pretty standard, not super strong or high quality. The caramel ripple was on the thin side, and a light flavor. I would have liked more. I was also a bit disappointed by the pecan pralines. They were small, and while they were abundant and tasty, I would have enjoyed more praline crunch! They also seemed to be less actual pecan and more just praline. All in all, I would give this flavor š¦š¦/4 cones.
COLORS!
So the Super Hero flavor caught my eye because it was pretty brightly colored, red, blue, and kind of yellow-ish. I asked the scooper what the flavor was like (there was no description in the cafe), she told me it was like a fruit roll up. I was like, "yiss I'm so game for fruit roll up ice cream." Super Hero is described on the Chapman website as Strawberry, Banana, and Blueberry flavoured ice cream swirled together. So I did not know this description while eating the flavor, but even if I did, I don't think I could have really tasted separate strawberry, banana, and blueberry flavors, but I did kind of get a more tart berry vibe, and a fake banana flavoring vibe. However, the scooper really hit the nail on the head with her description. It was like a fruit roll up or gushers, but not as strong or tart flavored. It also wasn't overly sweet, surprisingly. The dairy element also mellowed things out. I think, I was tasting the fake banana flavoring, but this flavor also reminded me a bit of licorice. Like it had a licorice aftertaste, almost. I would put this flavor in the same genre as bubble gum, blue moon, or cotton candy flavors, or the other generic brightly colored scoop shop flavors. Normally, I'm not the biggest fan of flavors like this, but they are growing on me. They're fun and definitely unique. All in all, I would give this flavor š¦š¦š¦/4 cones, mostly because I haven't seen anything quite like it in the states!
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