Long lines, delicious ice cream--the joy that is Ici.
When I moved to the East Bay in late 2009, one of the first shops I noticed nestled in the adorable Elmwood neighborhood of Berkeley was Ici ice cream shop. It’s hard NOT to notice Ici, which seems to have a line at least 20 people long at all hours of the day and night.
One day while I was waiting in line, a hippy chick on a bike rode by and screamed, “You know there is Ben and Jerry’s too!” Of course there is, and on days when I don’t feel like waiting in line for really really good ice cream made with slightly more local and less processed ingredients as Ben n Jerry’s, I will happily walk down to Safeway and buy myself a pint. But I happen to feel upscale organic ice cream has a place in this world, damn it. Especially when they put bacon in ice cream form.
More food porn from Ici after the jump.
Getting close to the front sign at Ici means you are that much closer to EATING!
Ici (pronounced ee see, which is French for “here”) was started in 2006 by former Chez Panisse pastry chef Mary Canales, who wanted to focus on making ice cream, candies and baked goods in small batches with high-quality, locally-sourced ingredients. The flavors available change on a daily basis and range from traditional to extremely creative (peach habanero sorbet and bacon ice cream among them).
One of my favorite parts about Ici is that they hang giant signs on the wall that display that day’s flavors, one sign per flavor. It’s so official, and fun to see what is available each day. I have yet to stop by on a day when they offer salted caramel or bacon flavor, but that is my goal!
The flavor signs at Ici in Berkeley.
More flavors!
They also had rootbeer ice cream, chocolate ice cream, cafe de olla (chocolate with Mexican cinnamon), horchata Ice Milk, brown sugar raisin, crunchy peanut butter, pineapple sorbet, and others I am probably forgetting.
The coffee and candy/baked goods side of the shop.
The back bakeshop, where all the magic happens.
The scooper side of the shop.
Most nights I pass by Ici because I feel too lazy to wait in line. The night I did wait, I was in line for around 40 minutes. I didn’t really understand why until I got inside. Because the flavors are so unique and the scoopers are so nice, people are allowed to sample a few flavors before they choose. Sometimes, people sample more than the reccommended 3 flavors, and they take FOREVER to make their decision, because apparently the 40 minute wait in line wasn’t long enough for them to decide. And when you consider only half of this tiny shop actually dishes out ice cream, the long lines from noon to 10 pm sort of start to make sense.
The copper hot fudge pot at Ici in Berkeley. Ben n Jerry don't heat their fudge in a copper pot, hippy!
Homemade, chocolate-filled cones at Ici.
And finally…the goods!
We tried the pineapple sorbet
The pineapple sorbet at Ici in Berkeley is like taking a giant bite out of a fresh pineaple--juicy, sweet, tart, smooth, just perfect.
We also tried the crunchy peanut butter
The crunchy peanut butter ice cream at Ici was peanut butter ice cream with chunks of peanuts coated in either crunchy honey or caramel. Ridiculously good.
So is Ici worth the long line? Occasionally, yes. It’s damned good, high quality freshly made ice cream, and if you are in the area and can handle the occasional harassment from local hippies, why not?
~LTG!
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Ici ice cream shop
2948 College Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705
510-665-6054
