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.
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