Restaurant: Izzy’s Ice Cream, St. Paul, Minnesota
There are a few traditions that I keep when I run. The first thing is…after a big race, I hit up a pub or a Mexican restaurant. Don’t ask me why or how this became “a thing” as mentioned in the previous review…it just did. But the other thing I do is treat myself to something creamy, cold, and delicious. Mainly…ice cream.
Here is the sudden caveat, however.
While I have, in the past, been able to tame the lactose intolerance by taking a lactase supplement…it hasn’t been working out so well for me in the recent weeks. Frustrating. Because I am an ice cream nut. Oh…and this is one tradition I refuse to let up on.
Before leaving for Minneapolis, Cathy was already on the hunt for a place to uphold this long-standing tradition. And so…she found Izzy’s. And what made Izzy’s Ice Cream (aside from being a local specialty ice cream shop in the Twin Cities) stand out from the other options was…they had soy ice cream flavors. YAY! No dairy to wreak havoc on my tummy. This…made me happy! So…so…so very happy!
What made the Izzy’s experience even better was, that day, I was spending the afternoon with my grandpa. Yes…the very man who got me interested in running. Cathy and I took him out to lunch at The French Meadow Bakery & Café in Minneapolis. Then, afterwards, I told him that we were going to get celebratory ice cream at Izzy’s Ice Cream. If he was interested, I’d love for him to come along. He was certainly interested! So, we made the short 10 minute drive from our lunch spot over to St. Paul. Izzy’s Ice Cream awaited…and we entered and couldn’t wait to get started.
As I was the goofy one, Cathy made me order first. I asked about the soy ice cream flavors, hoping that there was a chocolate or peanut butter option here. But, alas…my options today were either Soy Strawberry, Soy Mango, Mango Sorbet, or Strawberry Sorbet. I was just a little disappointed. A little. At least they had other options instead of just sorbets though. So, without chocolate to fulfill my craving…I opted for the best option available. Strawberry. Because I am not a fan of mango. Not really.
So…order in. On a gluten-free ice cream cone (because…yeah…they have those and…yeah…I wanted one because I never get ice cream cones!), I ordered a regular scoop of Izzy’s Soy Ice Cream ($3.75) with the Izzy Scoop (a 3/4 ounce scoop) of the Strawberry Sorbet on top. Because that’s what Izzy’s does. You get this cute little scoop atop your scoop. And it’s like…an added bonus of ice cream awesomeness. And…I GOT AN ICE CREAM CONE! I might be 34, but sometimes I want to be 5 and eat my ice cream out of an ice cream cone. Added bonus, because she knew of my gluten-free and lactose intolerance, she wrapped the scoop in paper before she dished up my ice cream. How fantastic is that?! Guaranteed not to give me a tummy ache!
Cathy ended up getting a regular scoop on a regular sugar cone of Izzy’s Lemon Custard with the Izzy Scoop of Ricotta Ice Cream ($3.75). And grandpa…grandpa went classic. Traditional. As grandpa’s tend to do! He was torn between the vanilla and the chocolate, but ended up getting a kiddie scoop of the Chocolate Ice Cream on a cake cone. Oh…and they topped it off with a little chocolate candy on top. Nice touch!
The verdict?
Really good. Really solid (as in it had good taste and texture…not that it was rock hard!) ice cream. Cathy thought the ricotta flavor was interesting, but, naturally, loved the lemon custard. Seriously, if you give this girl a choice between ice cream or custard, she’ll choose custard…which is awesome. And if there is lemon involved…she is all over that. Grandpa really enjoyed his cone of chocolate ice cream.
And my choice…was good. I loved the creamy nature of the soy strawberry ice cream. I loved tasting the real bits of strawberry inside. And the topper of strawberry sorbet made it a berry-licious treat indeed. But, even more than the ice cream, I was happy when I got to crunch and munch on the gluten free sugar cone. I love ice cream cones more than most adults should…but when you really can’t have them, you tend to appreciate them more when you can. It’s the little pleasures in life…like soy ice cream and…gluten free sugar cones at an ice cream shop.
Life was good that day. I had a great afternoon with my grandpa. We had great eats and treats. And he even loved the ice cream.
A great place to go…with spots in Minneapolis and St. Paul. You better believe I’ll be back. And maybe this time they’ll have some Soy Chocolate for me.
The Celiathlete 