Scoops

In my circle of friends, the question “What’s for dessert?” immediately follows the last bite of dinner.

True to form, as my friends and I wrapped up a recent lackluster dinner at Charcoal Grill, we began discussing our next (sweet) stop. After throwing around a few ideas, my friends were appalled to learn that I had never visited Scoops. Thus, it was settled and to Scoops we went.

Located near LACC, Scoops uses fresh ingredients to make ice cream in an eclectic selection of flavors that rotates daily. Among their most popular flavors are brown bread and Guiness chocolate.

“One scoop” for $2.75 actually gets you two flavors rather than one, as the name implies. Because of the impressively low prices, I almost ordered the “one scoop + one” for $4.50 (which comes with your choice of three flavors), but my friend Josh warned me that this was quite a bit of ice cream.

Because we arrived only about an hour before Scoops closed, the selection was relatively limited. In fact, perhaps the biggest piece of advice to impart to any Scoops newbie is “Go early!”

Fortunately, there were more than enough delicious flavors left to sample, and the Scoops staff was generous with letting us try as many flavors as we liked. With a dynamic selection of flavors–including chocolate tomato this night– which may or may not agree with one’s tastes, this is a great (and much appreciated by me) system.

I ordered “one scoop” with black tea and strawberry passion fruit ($2.75). The black tea was a delightful combination of tea and cinnamon flavors, with the cinnamon brightening up the otherwise dark tea flavor. I couldn’t get enough of this. Although the strawberry passion fruit was heavier on the former than the latter, it was, none the less, also enjoyable. Finally, as any ice cream fanatic knows, texture is crucial, and this was wonderfully soft and fluffy.

Where does Scoops get its eccentric flavor ideas? From its customers on its suggestion board, apparently. I second the suggestion of whomever wrote “Prosciutto & Cantaloupe.”

I still can’t believe that a generous amount of some of the best ice cream I’ve ever eaten was $2.75. I now think of Scoops every time I’m in the area and find it hard not to make many an impromptu dessert stop!

Scoops

712 N. Heliotrope Dr.

Los Angeles, CA 90029

(323) 906-2649

LAMill Coffee Boutique

One of the (very few) upsides to being sick is that you will, eventually, have to leave the house and can visit places that you’ve been meaning to but just haven’t had the time to visit (unless, you know, cabin fever is your thing). This is how I finally got to LAMill on a bright, sunny weekday afternoon.

LAMill is beautiful, relaxing little shop in Silverlake that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and boasts an impressive coffee, espresso and tea list. They also recently obtained a liquor license and are adding not only beer, wine and sake to their menu but also specialty combination drinks such as Tea Champagne (Alcohol AND caffeine? Woohoo!).

I absolutely adore classic, vintage chic decor and, with LAMill’s murals, chandeliers and oversized chairs, it was love at first sight.

I ordered a cappuccino and was instantly delighted to see that there was a heart on it. Flavor-wise, however, it wasn’t one of my favorite cappuccino’s I’ve had. It was still fairly bitter after I added some brown sugar cubes to it and was also only lukewarm. The best cappuccino I’ve found in LA still at The Conservatory in Culver City.

J ordered the Cough**Wheeze**Sniffle Herbal Tea…which is what I should have also ordered. This had an incredible, sweet flavor that was also really soothing on the throat. This is a must if you’re feeling under the weather.

He also ordered the brioche donut holes, which were beautiful to look at and a delight to eat. They were crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside (sort of like a mini-malasada covered in confectioner’s sugar). Be sure to order the side of cream with these!

I ordered the Prosciutto Cotto French Baguette with cooked prosciutto and Tal eggi o dop Uero Ciresa cheese, which came with hand-cut potato chips, olives and a preserved cippolini onion.

The cooked prosciutto tasted more like sliced ham ham rather than the thin, dry-cured meat I was hoping for. It’s always a little sad when you don’t get what you think you’re going to get but the sandwich was, never the less, good, and I really enjoyed the thick-sliced, crusty bread as well as the coarse-grain mustard and the sweet cippolini.

The potato chips were also tasty–very thick and crunchy like chips should be!

The service at LAMill is average at best (indifferent at worst) but, given the atmosphere and extensive number of caffeinated offerings, isn’t a dealbreaker for me.

I think one variation of a perfect day for me would involve spending all day at LAMill with my laptop, camera and a book, eating and sipping my way throughout the day. On second thought, maybe I should be sick more often.

LAMill Coffee Boutique

www.lamillcoffee.com

1636 Silverlake Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90026

(323) 663-4441