Oakland Ice Cream Advisory

The San Francisco ice cream maker Humphrey Slocombe has now got an outlet in Oakland, behind some buildings between 24th St. and 23rd Street, and also between Broadway and Telegraph. We stopped by there today after a movie at the nearby New Parkway Theater (which is great, although the film was a dog), and...well...you can do better for less money.

This was my second time at Humphrey Slocombe, my first being a few weeks ago at their Ferry Building store. At that time, I tried the elote, described as Mexican street corn. As street food, this is roasted corn on the cob with lime and chili powder. The ice cream, unfortunately, doesn't taste enough of corn, OR lime, OR chili, and on top of that, it's too sweet. Today, in Oakland, my partner tried the peppermint chip, and by the time she was done with a single scoop, she was making faces. I had taken one bite and grimaced, myself. Too sweet and weirdly too vegetal.

Some of their flavors are also....on the weird side, like Secret Breakfast, which includes corn flakes and bourbon. There's another with stout in it. Not for me, although Secret Breakfast is evidently very popular.

I've also sampled the French vanilla, malted chocolate, and one or to other flavors, in small spoons. They were all too sweet, the texture isn't great.....I dunno, I'm up for trying the coffee and seeing if it's good, but I'm not really inclined to buy small, expensive scoops of too-sweet ice cream.

You can do better, in my view, at the following Oakland-area ice creameries:

• Flavor Brigade on Fruitvale in the Laurel District. Excellent ice cream and custard and sorbets, all made in house using organic ingredients, with Strauss organic milk and cream, for example. Friendly people, unpretentious store.
• Tara's, on College near Alcatraz and Telegraph somewhere in Temescal. Unusual flavors, well done, tasty.
• Lush, just off Piedmont Ave. across from the movie theater. Gelato style, very good.

The ice cream from these three places is rarely too sweet.