Beast Blog

Ice Cream In The Beast

The long-awaited re-opening of Fenton's Creamery spurs this post. See, ice cream is one of my core food groups. When I lived in San Francisco, I would make lengthy detours to get to Mitchell's.

In the Beast, I have two favorites. Tucker's Supercreamed Ice Cream in Alameda is on par with the Mitchell's experience. Both offer that classic ice cream store experience, an excellent variety of flavors (including tropical favorites), and reasonable prices.

Mondo Gelato in downtown Berkeley avails customers of a remarkable selection of 'artisan' gelatos. Lines go out the door with people waiting for standbys such as chocolate and strawberry, and house specialties like straciatella. Two nights ago I had a combination of vanilla gelato and strawberry sorbetto, both of which were to die for. This stuff ain't cheap, but it's worth it. It's also funny to realize that it originated in Vancouver, and the third store is in Beijing.

Now, with Fenton's back open, I'm curious -- I never ate there before its fire shut it down for years. I drove by on Saturday night, and the place was hideously mobbed -- the line stretched a good 40 people or so into the parking lot. Friends have tried the new Fenton's, and said that it was good, but it's also become remarkably over-priced. $8 sundaes is the norm. One suspects they're either still trying to recoup fire damage losses, or they simply think that being in Yuppie Ground Zero means a 50% extra mark-up. I would think such a strategy would ding them in the long run.

I do need to try Tango Gelato on Fruitvale in Oakland. They seem to be a community fixture.

Oh, and I spit on Cold Stone Creamery, newly situated on Shattuck. That gimmicky overpriced chain garbage offends my sight.

You got favorite frozen treats? Add them to the comments area.

Oakland Delivery?

I live in Oakland. If I lived in Berkeley, I would order pizza delivered from Little Chicago - end of story. Best deep dish, dareisaybetter than Zachary's. But Berkeley only.

And this is not a Chicago pizza standoff. This is a quest for tasty food to be delivered to the Oakland-Glenview-Dimond-Fruitvale area. I don't care about cuisine type - I just don't want to leave my PlayStation2. Any ideas?