CHOW Tour
Two CHOW editors on a caloric extravaganza exploring innovation, novelty, and deliciousness. rss
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Novelty Ice Cream at Scoops

Scoops, near Los Angeles City College, gets raves on Chowhound ("We got an ice cream revolution goin' on here!" said J.L. when we asked for recommendations) for its experimental flavors of melty-soft gelato. Located on a young-person-oriented strip next to a vintage sunglasses store, its interior was dim and nondescript. But the case full of creamy, pastel flavors was where it got exciting. I tried toasted rice, which tasted intensely roasty and cereal-y; nondairy maple coffee, which was good but not exceptional; and red wine cheesecake, a surprisingly delicious combination that delivered a wine-y zing with a comforting sweet, fatty dairy base.

Scoops’ flavors change frequently, but the one it's most well known for, brown bread, is always on offer. I got a scoop of it: It’s so soft it had to go in a cup, not a cone. The malty-vanilla base was very sweet and smooth, and mixed throughout were what appeared to be Grape-Nuts. I think part of the popularity of places like Scoops and San Francisco's Humphry Slocombe is that people just want to see what they’ll come up with next. Because although brown bread and red wine cheesecake were good, I’ll bet there are a lot of people who, like me, would take a good peanut-butter-chocolate or anything with a ribbon of caramel in it over a novelty flavor any day.

Posted on Saturday, July 10th, 2010 by Lessley Anderson in CHOW Tour: Innovation 8 Comments

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  • @Ktpease

    They are way behind!

    I've been trying to find Grape Nut ice cream in South Florida but Ive been unsuccessful.

  • Grape nuts ice cream is nothing new! It's been offered in Maine by a local dairy for years!

  • Go try the tremendous cucumber ice cream at Persian Ice Cream in Westwood. Email me beforehand so I can meet you there and buy you a round of "bastani"!!

    Just curious... Was owner/proprietor/genius Tai present when you visited Scoops?

  • It's very true that there is a glut of extremely good, inexpensive food available in Los Angeles. I do love SF, but as you've notes, trendiness (and purse hooks) come at a price. I'm not alone in the belief that LA's strengths lie not in its trendy yuppie foods but in the real stuff that feeds LA's millions of immigrants. If you scratch the surface, there's an outrageously dense concentration of...+READ

    It's very true that there is a glut of extremely good, inexpensive food available in Los Angeles. I do love SF, but as you've notes, trendiness (and purse hooks) come at a price. I'm not alone in the belief that LA's strengths lie not in its trendy yuppie foods but in the real stuff that feeds LA's millions of immigrants. If you scratch the surface, there's an outrageously dense concentration of "new-to-you" foods that have been feeding our immigrants for decades. It's no secret to them, but it may be to us. Those are the foods worth seeking out, and they will cost you pennies on the dollar compared to the yuppie/trendy places.-COLLAPSE

  • Weirdly enough, and granted we have only been here for 3 days, it's been our experience that we have gotten really good value here (perhaps compared to San Francisco?) I was surprised at the price of Scoops - I believe a hearty scoop of Brown Bread cost me $2.75. That seemed really fair. More than fair. But I have been surprised on more than one occasion in this town.

    Red Velvet pancakes cost...+READ

    Weirdly enough, and granted we have only been here for 3 days, it's been our experience that we have gotten really good value here (perhaps compared to San Francisco?) I was surprised at the price of Scoops - I believe a hearty scoop of Brown Bread cost me $2.75. That seemed really fair. More than fair. But I have been surprised on more than one occasion in this town.

    Red Velvet pancakes cost me $5. In SF they would have been $7.-COLLAPSE

  • Point of clarification... house made ice cream presented in metal bins does not immediately mean it's gelato.

    Gelato is made by a very specific process which whips very little air into whole milk (and maybe cream), creating a very dense, intense product without adding excessive amounts of fat. If you want real gelato, you have to go to Bulgarini and try the pistacio. However, though their...+READ

    Point of clarification... house made ice cream presented in metal bins does not immediately mean it's gelato.

    Gelato is made by a very specific process which whips very little air into whole milk (and maybe cream), creating a very dense, intense product without adding excessive amounts of fat. If you want real gelato, you have to go to Bulgarini and try the pistacio. However, though their gelato is incredibly delicious and unique among the vast multitudes of faux-gelaterias in LA, this is not "innovative" food.

    Second, the appeal of Scoops is not just in the novelty of the flavors, but in the extreme value. You never even mentioned that a huge double scoop of homemade, incredibly unique flavors costs a little over $2, and if you bring your cup back for a refill later on it costs about $1.75. Creativity and care usually comes at a sharp premium in this town, and Scoops represents a refreshing and much needed trend away from this.-COLLAPSE

  • So where exactly is the comparison between Slocombe vs. Scoops in this write-up? The thought of non-dairy "ice cream" makes me want to bleach my tongue. Humphrey, ice cream. Scoops, melted goop. And there are just enough "regular" flavors at Humphrey, be it sorbet or ice cream.

  • those flavours sound amazing! some serious inspiration happening over there.