Tuesday, July 14, 2009

I chased down the Parfait ice cream truck

From K.

I'm a dessert maven. If you haven't noticed by now, N trends more toward the savory while I prefer the sweet. Thankfully this means we rarely fight over leftovers, unless we're at Chiang's! :)

So when my friend R tipped me off that a new mobile food truck was rumbling around Seattle loaded with organic ice cream, of course I had to beat feet and give it a try.



I tracked down the chocolate brown Parfait Organic Artisan Ice Cream truck atop Queen Anne, parked in front of Caffe Fiore on Galer, near the Trader Joe's. The owner and glaciere (who wouldn't want a title like THAT?), Adria Shimada, pointed out all the ways her ice cream is special. For one, nearly all the ingredients are locally sourced save for things like meyer lemons (that sweet citrus is a dime a dozen in sunny Berkeley, not so much in our temperate part of the globe). Each bite of Fresh Mint Stracciatella or Northwest Hazelnut comes sans corn syrup, stabilizers or preservatives. This also means this light, refreshing dessert has a tendency to run down your arm quicker than what you'll find elsewhere. But that seems a worthwhile sacrifice. I like that they offer kiddie cones. Lord knows I can't make it through an entire "single" scoop the size of a grapefruit.

Seattle's rapidly becoming an ice cream lover's delight. Gelato is everywhere -- Pike Place Market, along 45th in Wallingford at Fainting Goat, behind Lenin's back in Fremont. Custard is popping up here and there. You can get in line at Molly Moon's on Capitol Hill, Wallingford and get it by the pint at Eat Local on Queen Anne. You can even get ice cream at the farmers market. Craving Dairy Queen? Head to Eastgate near Bellevue Community College on the way back from your next hike in the Cascades. I won't even get into the frozen yogurt options (but Red Mango is the best!). Oh, and if you're near Redmond, you've got to try this place.

Now all we need is good shave ice.

2 comments:

  1. When are we going to Chiang's?!

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  2. Anytime! I love that place. I'm so glad N introduced it to me! Took J the other day and it's his new fave, too.

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