Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Ice Cream

[By Nick, discontinued] Would you believe me if I said I’ve never had Starbucks coffee before? Better yet, how about if I said I’ve never set foot in a Starbucks in my entire life? Well, it’s true. Now don’t make me out to be some kind of Starbucks hater because I’m not. I’ve just haven’t had a reason to go and up until a few years ago there wasn’t one even in a reasonable distance of me.

Well, what more ironic way to break my Starbucks-less streak than by trying the now discontinued ice cream flavor modeled after one of their best-selling drinks? Okay, technically Unilever makes made the ice cream but it says Starbucks on it so it’s good enough for me.

Starbucks Coffee Caramel Macchiato Ice Cream

Cold Stone Creamery Cookie Dough Ice Cream and how to save a buck or two at Six Flags

Hello my friends, how are you doing tonight? Me, I'm beat. I spent 7 hours wandering a fairly unbusy Six Flags New England today and I am ready for rest, but I have a question before I fall asleep. Well, I have some ice cream for you first, then I have a question.

This is Cold Stone Creamery Cookie Dough ice cream in a waffle bowl. No, it's not mine. My buddy bought this for his daughter and a big bowl of cookie dough ice cream (sans waffle) for my daughter. You see, we've discovered the secret of not going broke at Six Flags. Spend the extra dollar to double the size of whatever you order, and then split the food. We made short work of the ice cream after our kids could only make it half way through their treat.  This trick also worked for the giant double cheeseburger and fries I split with my daughter. It was so tasty, and now it comes with less guilt!

Ben & Jerry's Rockin' Blondies Ice Cream now Ben & Jerry's Blondie Ambition Ice Cream

[New for 2013, Exclusive to Target, renamed/GMO-free in 2015] Well, well, well, it seems a lunch time chore run has paid off in the form of spotting Target's other new exclusive 2013 Ben & Jerry's flavor. The first flavor my area saw, Peanut Butter Jam Session, is a winner, so let's see how this one compares.

[2013-2014] Ben & Jerry's Rockin' Blondies Ice Cream

(the following review is based on this version)

[2015] Ben & Jerry's Blondie Ambition Ice Cream

buttery brown sugar ice cream with blondie brownies and butterscotch toffee flakes

Haagen-Dazs Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato

[2013-2016] So we've been working our way through most of the new Haagen-Dazs gelato flavors despite the fact that they don't really remind us of gelato. That said, they're still good and readily available, so it only seems fair to try them all.

Haagen-Daz Cherry Amaretto Gelato

black cherry gelato with black cherries and amaretto

Blue Bunny Cadbury English Toffee Ice Cream Bars

[By Nick, New for 2013] I’ve already spoke about my love for the Heath Klondike bar so I was more than excited to try out the Cadbury English Toffee bars that Wells sent me and see how they stack up. I really enjoyed the original Cadbury bars Blue Bunny put out last year so I’m hoping to continue that trend.

Described as “Creamy Blue Bunny reduced fat toffee flavored ice cream dipped in thick, rich Cadbury milk chocolaty coating and toffee pieces” this one sounds very enticing to me. Companies really need to use toffee a lot more. If I see toffee in the name of a product, the chances of me picking it up increase by 50%.

The Nosh Show Episode #11, Strawberry Lemonshade Slurpee, and the Strawberry Lemonade Coolatta

Are you ready for some food inspired silliness?

Episode 11 of The Nosh Show is now available! Head on over to The Nosh Show website to listen to see a complete rundown of everything we talked about. We got pretty silly in this episode as we mock everything from waffles to guitars (it'll make sense, don't worry). Instead of chew on this, we do a new segment where we all try the same food... hopefully at some point this segment will feature an ice cream! Hehehehe, or at least a candy bar! or cookies! or... ok, I'll stop. Please enjoy this latest episode and feel free to leave comments here or on the nosh show website.

Quick Scoop: Talenti Alphonso Mango Sorbetto #22

[New for 2013] If you've been a reader for a really, really long time, then you might (vaguely) remember that my very first pint of Talenti was actually their Roman Raspberry Sorbetto. It was a bit of a shock for me, but thankfully it didn't scare me off from trying their excellent gelato. I bring this up because, well, the question is: have I matured enough to final appreciate the following product?

Talenti Alphonso Mango Sorbetto #22

and yes, it really is that bright

Hood Comeback Caramel Ice Cream

It's been a long time since we've had Hood ice cream on the blog. Oh sure, we had their neat new greek frozen yogurts on the blog earlier this year (raspberry granola was my favorite), but their actual ice cream? Yeah, it's actually been four years.

The following was one of four Hood Red Sox flavors announced at the end of 2007. Now we (a.k.a. me) need to keep in mind that this is what I call an "entry" level ice cream, or you might call it a budget ice cream. It's the kind of stuff you consider buying when you have to feed lots of people. I'm not trying to pick on it, I know a lot of people who are hooked on Hood, I'm just trying to paint a picture here.

Hood Red Sox Comeback Caramel Ice Cream

Chocolate Caramel Socks with thick caramel swirled in caramel flavored ice cream

Friday Night Fight with Yoplait & TCBY Peach Greek Frozen Yogurt

[by Nick, discontinued] IT’S TIIIIMMMEEEE for my first ever Friday Night Fight! What better way to celebrate National Peach Month than with a fight between two peach frozen greek yogurts. Tonight’s competitors are both relative newcomers to the freezer isle. In my opinion, peaches are one of the most underutilized mainstream fruits when it comes to frozen desserts. Besides Ben & Jerry’s Peach Cobbler and Haagen-Dazs Spiced Peach Crumble, no other flavors come to mind. I’m glad to see that they’re getting some love with this greek frozen yogurt trend though. Time for the introductions!

In the left corner, weighing in at a light (non-fat) 100 calories and 6 grams of protein per 69 gram serving is TCBY Peach greek frozen yogurt.

In the right corner, coming in at a hefty (low-fat) 130 calories and 7 grams of protein per 89 gram serving is Yoplait Peach frozen greek yogurt.

Klondike Mint Chocolate Chip Bar

[New for 2011, tweaked at somepoint] With Klondike not having launched any new products this year to review (but having fun tormenting Alfonso Ribeiro, Tiffany, and Rowdy Roddy Piper), it looks like we're going to have to review some stuff we've overlooked instead.

Klondike Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bars

mint flavored light ice cream with semi-sweet chocolate chips
and a dark chocolate flavored coating

"Seven Treats of Summer" with Dennis Has a Podcast

It has been way too long since we talked with our buddy Dennis from Dennis Has a Podcast. If you think about it, the two shows I did with him last year are what encouraged me to give the Nosh Show a try and you know I've been enjoying that.

Ok, go here to listen to the show.

What we did is create a list of new products that everyone should try this summer. In fact, I'm going to put you all on the spot. Give yourself 1 point for each new product you've already tried on the list below, and then post your points in the comments below. Let's see who has the most... I have an unfair 16 points, who can best me? (honor system in effect!)

Friendly's Sundae Xtreme Caramelot A Frozen Dairy Dessert Review

[New for 2011] Trying to raise a family without blowing the food budget can be a pretty daunting task sometimes. Sure I treat myself to a blizzard or ice cream pint for lunch on occasion, but it's often cheaper than the alternatives when I don't have any leftovers to bring to work. The same money saving logic applies to our home ice cream stash. Sure I'd love to shower my family with pint upon pint of the premium stuff, but that's not really practical for a lot of us (especially considering how much ice cream we eat). So let's take a look at something that's easy on the budget, and hopefully easy on the taste buds.

This is Friendly's Sundae Xtreme Carmelot

It's vanilla flavored frozen dairy dessert 

with caramel filled candy cups and swirls of caramel

Quick Scoop: Ciao Bella Belgian Chocolate Gelato

[By Nick, discontinued for the 2014 rebranding/reformulating] After being impressed by Ciao Bella Triple Espresso, I had high hopes for the other base only flavor sample Ciao Bella sent over for me to try.

Ciao Bella Belgian Chocolate Gelato

Weight Watchers Greek Frozen Yogurt Bars Peach Swirl and Blueberry Swirl

[New for 2013, discontinued] So Weight Watchers has really bulked up their frozen lineup this year. "Today" (also known as April) we're going to pull out the two new greek frozen yogurt bars from our free samples and see how they stack up.

Weight Watchers Blueberry Swirl Greek Frozen Yogurt Bars

Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Jam Session Ice Cream Now Ben & Jerry's A Swirled of Difference Ice Cream

[New for 2013, only at Target, renamed/GMO-Free in 2015] Well well well, now we all know why Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder have been cancelled. It was to make room for two new exclusive flavors! Yay for the return of fun names!

Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Jam Session Ice Cream

Peanut butter ice cream with a crunchy peanut butter swirl and a raspberry swirl
(Now Ben & Jerry's A Swirled of Difference Ice Cream)

Wait, a crunchy peanut butter swirl? This will be the best thing ever... maybe... must eat now!

Baskin Robbins Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Since it was just me and my daughter at the hard to find Baskin-Robbins in Harvard, MA (no, it's no where near Harvard the school), I decided to bring back something practical for my wife. One of their blizzard-like 31° Below treats would never make the trip home, but I bet a quart of their ice cream locked in a styrofoam container with some cool packs can survive the long journey.

Baskin-Robbins Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Cheesecake flavored ice cream loaded with cheesecake pieces & a strawberry flavored ribbon

Jeni's Brown Butter Almond Brittle Ice Cream

[By Nick] Time to dig into the second jenis pint I received while on my tour of the Healthy Living Market in Saratoga. Now if you thought choosing just one flavor was difficult, choosing a second was near impossible. It was a tossup between Salty Caramel (their best seller), Brambleberry Crisp (my tour guide's favorite) and Brown Butter Almond Brittle. With my love for buttery bases, I decided to grab the latter flavor.

Jeni’s describes this one as “Rich browned butter ice cream and salty, crunchy almonds. Familiar and delicious.” I’ve had plenty of buttery bases but I don’t think I’ve ever had brown butter ice cream so I’m not too sure how familiar this one will be to me. Also, I’m a tad bit let down. I was expecting there to be almond brittle pieces based on the name, not just salted almonds. I guess I can’t complain though seeing as I got this $10 pint for free.

Talenti Argentine Caramel Gelato #1

[for 2013 only] Of all the Talenti flavors out there, it sure seems like their Sea Salt Caramel gelato is most likely to be someone's favorite.... unless ofcourse you are cranky ol' Dubba. It's good, and I know a lot of people don't notice this, but I just think there is a dryness to that gelato. Oh.... if only Talenti could tweak the formula....

Behold! The new Talenti Argentine Caramel gelato

Baskin-Robbins OREO Nutty Salted Caramel Ice Cream and OREO 'N Chocolate Ice Cream

[New for 2013] Of all the things we cover on this blog, Dairy Queen has more facebook followers than all the rest combined.... but there is another company out there who has them beat by a half million followers. That would be Baskin-Robbins with nearly 7,000 shops in 50 countries. That's just crazy. They are headquarter right here in my beloved Massachusetts (as part of the Dunkin Donuts family), but there is just one teensy tiny little problem here.... ummmm, there really aren't any Baskin-Robbins left in Massachusetts, almost all of them shut down.

Clocking in at 45 miles away, I found one in Harvard, MA!
[FYI: This B-R closed some time in 2014]

So what could get me to go this far for ice cream?

Why have I finally given in to temptation after all these years?

The Nosh Show makes it to episode #10!

Woohoo, the Nosh Show has broken into double digits!

That's right, episode 10 is now available! We delve into recently tried products (like the pancakes above), debate some new upcoming products, and then this week's chew on this covers some discontinued products we'd like to bring back. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I would bring back #1 #2 #3 and #4 here. Take a listen, and as always, let us know what you think!

Babcock Hall Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

[By Nick] With their dull Butter Pecan ice cream, Babcock Hall broke their winning streak on the blog. The first two flavors I tried were exceptional but that last one was very lackluster. I did mention I ordered a pair of their flavors in my last Ice Cream Source shipment. The other flavor is their Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream.

Described as “Creamy chocolate ice cream with ribbons of peanut butter running throughout”, how can this not be a winner? I’ve yet to find a chocolate/peanut butter flavor that I didn’t like to be honest. Hopefully this will put them back in my good graces after they ruined my all time favorite flavor.

Breyers Lactose Free* Vanilla Light Ice Cream

There are two things people like to talk about on the Breyers facebook page:

1) their immense hatred of frozen dairy desserts.
2) the fact that a giant ice cream company makes two flavors of lactose free ice cream.

I'm usually more than happy to harp on #1, but tonight let's focus on #2 (pfffftttt)

Breyers lactose free* light vanilla ice cream

(the * means it's technically 99% lactose free)

A tale of lost treats

It's been awhile since I shared some blogging failures with you, so here goes.

Jamba Vanilla Strawberry Jubilation all natural yogurt & sorbet bars. These have got to be at least a year old and were way, way, way, way at the bottom of the basement freezer... but maybe they'll be ok?

Friendly's Red Raspberry Ice Cream

[New for 2013, formula modified after introduction?] Besides all of the new treats that they have released, Friendly's has also debuted a few new flavors this year. This particular one had no problem grabbing my attention.

Friendly's Red Raspberry Ice Cream

Haagen-Dazs Cappuccino Gelato

[By Nick, New for 2013, discontinued before 2016] As the unofficial residential gelato expert here at On Second Scoop (I mean come on, my last name is Rovazzini and all) it was only a matter of time until I tried out Haagen-Dazs' latest endeavor into the world of gelato. To be honest, after Dubba reviewed the flavors that sounded the best, I really wasn't interested in trying the remaining flavors. The fruity ones both contain alcohol and we know HaagenDazs doesn't mess around when it comes to booze. So that leaves me with just their Cappuccino gelato. I've already tried G.S. Gelato's Tiramisu and more recently Ciao Bella’s Triple Espresso both of which I’d consider to be outstanding coffee gelatos. Let's see just how Haagen-Dazs stands up to its competition.

Haagen-Dazs Cappuccino Gelato

New Orleans Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

Quick Scoop: You all know that I don't really like coconut, so we'll keep this short and sweet.

This is a free sample of New Orleans Ice Cream Company's Toasted Coconut Ice Cream. Notice the unique pint design. The description reads "This 'Limited Edition' Flavor, Complete with Artwork by New Orleans Artist Elleone, is Laced with Real Coconut".

When I first opened this pint, it had a buttery smell to it which has mostly faded and been replaced by the smell of  shaved coconut. I dig in slowly (twice now) and it's not bad actually. It's got big meaty shavings of coconut which some will adore, and the base is nice and sweet. It's a fine flavor.... and I'm actually fairly tempted to keep eating it. There's almost a candy filling vibe that is trying very hard to keep my attention.

I don't need to love coconut to know they did a fine job on this one.

Talenti Simply Strawberry Gelato #14 Review

[2012-2018] When I was talking with Talenti, and they offered to send over all the new pints, I asked them a favor. Since I've already tried the excellent new German Chocolate Cake flavor, could they maybe sneak in the strawberry flavor in it's place? You all know that I adore a good strawberry ice cream but I've just never been able to find this version. Ohhhhh the anticipation.... and the confession: it was 7AM, it was like 80 degrees and humid outside, and I had this one for breakfast.

Talenti Simply Strawberry Gelato #14

Sorry, the light pink coloring doesn't come across too well.

Dairy Queen Tripleberry Brownie Blizzard DQ August Blizzard of the Month

And the brandy new August 2013 Blizzard of the Month is.......

The DQ Tripleberry Brownie Blizzard! Strawberry, raspberry and blackberry puree, chewy brownie pieces and choco chunks. Oh man I can't wait to try this new treat. I love strawberry blizzards, so I hope they use equally tasty raspberry and blackberry purees to knock this one out of the park... or it'll be one and done... fingers crossed. Let's go find out!

Stonyfield Creme Caramel Frozen Yogurt

[By Nick] It looks like it’s about time to continue our trip to Stonyfield Farms. We all know I’m a fan of caramel so it was only a matter of time before I picked up their Crème Caramel froyo. I mean, come on, it's caramel frozen yogurt with a caramel swirl. Caramel on caramel action is always a good thing in my book. Also, unlike its vanilla and java siblings this one is of the low fat nature instead of being nonfat.

The packaging is pretty much the same with this one as it was with the vanilla. The only difference is that now the cow’s wearing a scarf. I don’t know why but I can’t stop smiling when I look at that cow. There’s just something about a cow in human clothing that just makes you happy inside. I also like the flowing caramel river going on at this farm. Hopefully it’ll be like that inside the pint as well. Gary is back on the pint and is saying that this is the perfect dessert for entertaining. I’m not one for being a dinner host so this one will have to be entertaining my taste buds instead. Okay let’s end this randomness and get to the product.

Fat Boy Original Ice Cream Sandwich

Long before Blue Bunny fattened up their ice cream sandwiches, and long before Klondike attempted to make their own thick, square ice cream sandwich, there was Fat Boy. And when I say long ago, I mean like 1920s long ago. It's pretty much a classic.... but I never saw it around here in Massachusetts until they built a new Price Chopper in my area. Now I was in no rush to try these since it's not a new product, but I stopped at PC yesterday and these were labeled "Discontinued Product: 50%". NOOOOOOOOOO!!! I know they are NOT being discontinued nationwide, but I can't miss my chance to try them! 50% Off FTW!

Ok, here they are, a big box of 6 thick ice cream sandwiches

Ben & Jerry's Candy Bar Pie Ice Cream and a Tale of Two Movies

I don't know how it happened, but I saw two movies in 3 days. That may not seem like a lot, but when parenthood has whittled you down to 2 or 3 movies a year, 2 in a few days is a lot. I adore going to movies, always have, always will. I saw Ghostbusters five times in the theater, Back to the Future three times... It's one of the very rare benefits of coming from a broken home, both parents offer to take you and your bro to the same movie... What? Just trying to be positive.

Now I try to bring you an ice cream review whenever I hit the theaters, but things don't always go as planned. See, I took my wife out to Man of Steel on Saturday. It's a decent movie, they made some neat tweaks like what Russell Crowe did, but if I hear someone call Superman "Kal" one more time, I'm going to freak out. Seriously, there are some strange plot points for those of us who grew up with Christopher Reeve (and Dean Cain) being Superman. I get that it's an origin story, it does plenty of things well, but, it didn't always feel right.

"I want fresh ice cream!"

(photo courtesy of Man of Steel on facebook)