Last weekend, I cruised down to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival, and though hankering for sweets, I couldn’t commit to eating 15 samples of delectable cocoa confections for the price of $20. Alas, up the hill we went to neighborhood favorite since 1948, Swensen’s Ice Cream. My dessert date ordered a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough, a natural choice, seeing as we’d set out with chocolate in mind. I, on the other hand, chose green tea, and for my selection, I bore the brunt of much criticism.
When the iconic ice cream parlor opened at the corner of Union & Hyde over sixty years ago, its menu of all-natural ice creams likely included traditional flavors like vanilla, chocolate chip, sherbert, etc., as well as its beloved “swiss orange chip.” Swensen’s is still as adored as ever, and the activity of going out for a scoop itself is cherished as a childhood memory. So I suspect customers feel a sense of nostalgia when taking their pick of the dozen or so flavors under the glass there. But I will not be maudlin when it comes to my cold, sweet, and refreshing treat. Green tea ice cream may sound exotic, the order of some ironic hipster who wants to appear well-traveled, and granted, it’s certainly not traditional by any means. But its soothing tea flavor in pure, sweet cream is just delicate and delightful and I’m going to order it damn it.
