Pumphouse Creamery

Our third ice cream adventure brought us to 47th and Chicago and the Pumphouse Creamery. We had lived off 53rd and Chicago prior to having kids, but the neighborhood was revitalized shortly after we moved out to the suburbs. I hadn't been back to see the change or visit the Pumphouse Creamery. The old streetcar corner now hosts a Turtle Bread, Shop in the City among Pepitos and the old Parkway Theater. The Pumphouse Creamery is hard to notice next to Turtle Bread. If it wasn't for its pink door and award winning ice cream reputation, we would have missed it!

The Pumphouse Creamery is known for all natural ice cream using local ingredients. A picture of the farm where their cream comes from is hanging on the wall just inside the pink door. The place is small and simply decorated. The ice cream flavors included standards like vanilla, chocolate and mint chocolate chip, as well as fun flavors like vanilla malt malted milk ball and key lime with shortbread pieces. All scoops are served in a bowl or on a homemade waffle cone. As an aside, I thought the waffle cone was so good, I could have eaten a bowl of just cone! You can also get shakes and draft root beer if a scoop ice cream isn't your fancy.

The kids ordered two chocolate peanut butter and a vanilla malt malted milk ball cones. Overall they liked their ice cream, sort of liked the cone, and got mad at me because I chose to order them the kiddy size scoop. I was thrilled there was a kiddy size because a regular single scoop is often too much for the kids and Daddy wasn't along to lick up the extras! As typical children though, their eyes are bigger than their stomach and they wanted a full scoop for $3.15 instead of the kiddy scoop for $2.40. They did not like that the shop was so small and had nothing but ice cream and one little table. The day was hot and sitting outside on the cute black iron rod benches was not an option unless we wanted burned buns. There was also no water option for them except the warm bottle I had in my purse. By the time we left, everyone was sort of grumpy about the experience.

I, however, just adored the place. I thought it was quaint and had the neighborhood feel we lack near our house. I loved the flavor options and ordered a kiddy scoop of the key lime with shortbread pieces for myself because it was the perfect amount of ice cream and I was very curious. The flavor was light and refreshing on a hot day. It had a good creamy feeling with a slight tart key lime aftertaste. All the flavors we ordered were very cold and had very little ice crystals which means are more cream than air. My taste test of the kid's chocolate peanut butter had me sold on the place. The chocolate was not chalky and the peanut butter was creamy. The combination is often done but rarely so well. Combined with the nutty flavor in the cone, it was a little bit of heaven.

I left the store happy and the kids grumpy, so I guess it would be safe to say Pumphouse Creamery might become a date night stop instead of a family outing for us. In trying to salvage the day, I took the kids down to Minnehaha Parkway after driving by our old house. They were mesmerized by the bridges crisscrossing the creak. Somehow the magic of throwing a sick on one side of the bridge and watching it come out on the other side never gets old. Between that, finding bug cocoons, skipping rocks and climbing out on trees which reach over the water, the kids were able to have a nature adventure in the middle of the city. If it weren't for the planes every 5 minutes, we could have been in the middle of the Northwood as far as my kids were concerned. They kept asking if I had climbed on this tree or crossed this bridge or done these things when I was "young" and lived here. I didn't have the heart to tell them it was just 9 years ago I was "young" and living here.

If you ask the kids about the day, the creek would be their favorite part. But for me, the best part was the bite of chocolate peanut butter on the heavenly waffle cone. I can't wait to go back!

Edina Creamery

Our second stop for ice cream was one of our standard stops, Edina Creamery. Todd and I fell in love with the Butterfingers ice cream from there years ago and often make a stop in for some on our date nights. We finally took the kids earlier this year and they too liked the ice cream. The shop itself has an old fashion soda fountain feel and the menu reflects that as well. In addition to about 30 flavors of ice cream, they serve floats, sundaes and ice cream cakes. It has done a good job of replacing the 31 flavors that served the area when I was a kid.

We decided to use this stop to motivate us to get through eye appointments on a dreary Monday afternoon. Edina Creamery does not have much around it to make it a destination for us, so the shop itself became the destination. Edina Creamery is located in the 50th and France area of Edina. The corner between Edina and Minneapolis is known for cute boutiques, upscale resauarants, and the historic Edina movie theater. Despite the fact we all love a movie, the idea of spending an afternoon shopping ranks up there to my boys with eye appointments and shots from the pediatrician!

I have to be honest, I am not sure if the Edina Creamery has undergone a change in management or some cost savings due to the tough economy, but the ice cream has changed. Still charging $3.25 for one scoop, one bite into my bowl of Butterfingers and I knew something was not the same. The ice cream has more air and less cream, the sign of a cheaper ice cream formula. In my food science days we learned that a good ice cream will start with good cream, milk, sugar, and good quality ingredients. It will whip in very little air before freezing. It will leave a creamy feeling in the back of your throat. This bowl of Butterfingers did not leave a creamy feeling and felt a bit ice crystals, which is the sign of too much air. Plus, there was very little Butterfingers pieces in the ice cream itself. I was very disappointed.

Despite my disappointment, the boys loved their ice cream. The mint chocolate chip, although chalky to me, was delectable and perfect. The cookie dough actually had cookie dough pieces in it. I guess that is what happens when you finally order something new, surprises everywhere! However, for a little girl who wanted pink, sweet surprise ice cream, the strawberry left a little to be desired. She preferred the raspberry sorbet of her friend. The kids rated the experience well. They especially liked the old time soda fountain feel of the spinning stools at the counter! The also liked the self dispensing water fountain a little too much! It was a perfect stop for the kids, but Mom and Dad won't be back for date night anytime soon.

After, filling with mid-afternoon ice cream we did venture to Bone Adventure to buy a few treats for the dog in our life. The best part of this store is that you can belly up to the counter lined with individual dog treats for sale. You can get anything from peanut butter bites for 10 cents each or a tendon for $13. Each kid picked out a canine treat and surprised a very happy dog!

Sebastian Joe's in Linden Hills

Sebastian Joe's in Linden Hills was our first ice cream stop. It is one of our usual stops on a typical visit to Lake Harriet and Linden Hills. We had friends visiting from out of town for the weekend. We needed an Sunday activity that would entertain everyone from 15 months to 40 some years. Lake Harriet in the summertime always fits that bill. Of course a trip to Lake Harriet always implies a trip to Sebastian Joe's too!

What makes us love Lake Harriet is the old fashion playground which includes sand. Playgrounds today have all been turned into brightly colored plastic play places with a rubber mat or wood chips surrounding everything. This playground is the same one I played on as a child. The slide is metal and will burn your bottom in the middle of August! There are monkey bars in the shape of a rainbow. Everything creaks a metallic creak. The kids love it!

After the playground we took the short walk to the rose gardens. In all honesty my kids have no idea there are even roses in the rose garden, but they know all about the fountains. Splashing in a big bowl of water while being misted from turtles spitting water is appealing. After the water thrill wears off we head to a small grove of trees with an old pine that is perfect for climbing.

To make it a trifecta, there are the animals at the lake. Sunday we found a group of 5 babies Mallard and their mom just off the docks. Feeding them or just watching them is entertaining for at least 15 minutes! Then we noticed more than one dead fish which had the boys fascinated. And finally we came upon a group of greyhounds out for a social walk together. They were beautiful and very friendly to the kids. We spent 3 hours just wandering at the lake, spending no money. The kids experienced some of the simple joys of childhood. Then, we were off for ice cream which is the greatest joy of childhood!

Sebastian Joe's Too in located in Linden Hills on 44th and Upton. It is a small store with an attached patio, a portion of which is heated and covered, to allow for more seating. Sebastian Joe's hosts a dozen or so flavors of ice cream from a basic vanilla to Pavarotti (carmel, banana and chocolate chip), as well as bakery items, coffee drinks and smoothies. You can get your ice cream on a cone, in a dish or as a sundae starting at $3.30. They also have specialty ice cream sandwiches and treats. The outdoor patio area has small tables, a beautiful garden complete with fountain and a turtle statue. At night it is lite with multi-colored lights strung overhead. It has all the character of the Linden Hills neighborhood.

We sampled our usual favorites. Oreo, Chocolate, Pavarotti, and Raspberry Chocolate Chip. The ice cream is creamy, flavorful, and filling. The combination flavors rarely disappoint. The kids all rated the ice cream flavor well but were disappointed with their choice in flavors. They wanted something blue and crazy looking with sprinkles. Of course once they realized they weren't at Cold Stone, they each had no trouble picking something. There was very little more than a drop left from each of them when it came time to leave. They loved the outdoor patio because of the lights and the turtle, which became a chair for enjoying their ice cream in style.

Sebastian Joe's is definitely worth the drive for us for more reasons than just good ice cream. Trolley rides at Lake Harriet, visits to Creative Kids Stuff and Wild Rumpus, playing at the playground and climbing trees at the lake add to the adventure of the ice cream. I would have to agree with the kids that Sebastian Joe's ice cream may not be the best ice cream and more about the neighborhood and the quaint feel of the store. But, since it all goes together, we will definitely go back.