Ice Cream Bar

Ohhh, it was just one of those blah days where we felt like a) trying something new and b) wanted ice cream. I heard about the Ice Cream Bar but had never been… it’s up in Cole Valley.

Here’s the outside… very cute, retro.

When you walk in, this bar area is straight and to the back. You’ll see it against the back wall.

It was after lunchtime when we arrived so the place was empty. We sat down at the bar in the back and had the place to ourselves.

Like any good shake purist, we decided to try the Orange-Sicle and a I got a good ol’ root beer float.

The orange-sicle is “Fresh orange juice, tangerine and vanilla extracts, cream, turbinado syrup, citric acid, soda”. Everything is made by hand, step by step, the old-fashioned way. The girl making our drinks was wearing a white paper hat. There were small bottles of liquids that were used in some of the drinks, just a drop or two. Never saw anything like this before.

Ahhhh the Orange-Sicle. Light and frothy, creamy and citrus-y.  Very good.  I know it’s probably extremely offensive to compare this creation to an Orange Julius, but I can’t help myself… it was really good, and had that lightness like an orange julius (sorry).

Here she is toasting the marshmallow that goes on my root beer float. Cool!

Overall, the root beer float was really good, and the toasted marshmallow really was an extra special touch! The only thing I would change is make it slightly more carbonated. I’m weird when it comes to flat-esque sodas. But it was great and I would love to go back and have another one!

I must admit, I grew up in Pennsylvania drinking Stewart’s Root Beer and also sometimes Boylan’s and A-Treat… we used to go to Stewart’s Drive-In in New Jersey.  Root beer, birch beer and sarsaparilla are a big deal in PA.. kind of spoiled in the root beer department.