Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by and tell us about your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper. Newcomers may notice that many who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
We are well into summer and it is the perfect excuse to come together over something cold, refreshing and sweet. Ice cream is my favorite vice — and Atlas Obscura has compiled a helpful list of independent ice cream shops hither and yon — definitely check out this list because you might find an absolute jewel near you. Or maybe a favorite ice cream parlor of yours is already on the list!
Now, Portland, OR where I live is well known for foodie goodness and the famous Portland artisan ice cream you may have heard of is Salt and Straw. But no, no, no no, no — that is not the one on the Atlas Obscura list. Instead, they highlight Fifty Licks, an ice cream venture with two bricks and mortar locations here in the SE of the city, plus food trucks. As you will see, Fifty Licks deserves the spotlight — for its activism as well as the excellence of its ice cream. Here is the Atlas Obscura entry:
Portland, Oregon
“[They] serve a variety of beautiful and interesting flavors of ice cream, several non-sorbet vegan flavors, beer floats, and sorbet cocktails. Also, they parked their truck so it was blocking the driveway of the ICE facility and served free ice cream to all the protesters, with a big sign that said, ‘NO FASCISTS.’”
Recommended: “Pirate (banana, molasses, dark rum).”
— Sascha
There is something absolutely poetic about blocking an ICE facility with a gourmet ice cream truck during a protest, don’t you think? This is an idea that could spread — and I hope it does. Clearly, Fifty Licks is an ice cream business that deserves wide support!
Well, my sister, Ann, and I had to investigate. We checked out the Fifty Licks location on SE Clinton Street.
It was hard to choose a flavor so we each had two scoops each in a house-made, gluten free waffle cone (which was awesome in and of itself).
I had a scoop of Caramelized Honey under a scoop of Blood Orange Creamsicle. (I chose the latter because there will be a Blood Moon on Friday. And because Creamsicle. Enough said.) Ann had the Thai Rice flavor under a scoop of Pineapple Thai Basil Sorbet. Each and every flavor was awesome. You can see all the flavors on offer today right here.
Oh, it was good. Indescribably good. Ann had had a really, really bad pain night (no sleep) the night before and there was something rather healing and restorative in this rare indulgence in fine ice cream. She said upon leaving that we had found a new guilty pleasure. Hey, my thought is that if one is going to have a vice, ice cream is a fine and worthy choice.
I’m thinking Fifty Licks might be an excellent spot for a meet up...especially in the wilting summer heat. It could happen.
Come into the virtual kitchen, be comfortable, and share your day, your evening plans, your menus! Oh, and tell us about your local ice cream and any favorite flavors that you have. This is an open thread.