Nice Cream’s Fall Selection

After learning about Nice Cream this past spring at the Neo-Futurist Theatre, I swiftly joined their email list. With Chicago’s outdoor market season over—brrrrrr—it isn’t as easy to find Nice Cream since they don’t have a store to call their own. All the more reason to be in-the-know online. Earlier in the season, I received an email about a tasting of their new flavors happening in a neighborhood that is particularly difficult for me to get to on public transportation. Luckily, my priorities were straight as I took pen in hand and copied directions from Google Maps.

Nice Cream makes four different flavors per season, always making sure to have a splash of something all their own. In the spring, they had cream cheese with carrot cake. In the summer they had chocolate basil, one of my favorite flavors from the Chicago Ice Cream Festival. And this fall, the stand-out is Burnt Caramel with Crunchy Toffee.

Caramel ice cream is usually made by simply blending caramel into a sweet cream base; maybe some caramel cups or a caramel swirl are added in the finally moments of mixing. But what Nice Cream has created is a cup of cow love that explodes with flavor much like a good gelato. The joy my mouth felt was reminiscent of eating Fran’s Chocolates, which have the best caramel I’ve ever tasted. On a different note entirely, it seems I like to eat frozen burnt things; Toscanini’s brown butter continues to be a chart topping ice cream memory for me.

Other flavors of the season are Salted Chocolate with Marcona Almonds, Pumpkin Spice and Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate Chunks. (Needless to say, I did not try the latter since it contains the fruit that is best left forgotten.)