A couple of months ago I took a quick 18 hour trip to San Francisco with my parents. In those 18 hours I ate a lot of great eats. I would have blogged about it all, but as luck would have it? I forgot my camera (and my wallet) in my travel bag, which I left on top of my bed. All I had the whole weekend was my cell phone. So if you follow me on Instagram you saw photos from the trip, but otherwise, no go. One of the most memorable eats was the ice cream from Smitten. Ice cream that is made to order using a special Kelvin machine. The shop was constructed out of a shipping container and judging by the line, a cult following. I fell in love with that ice cream and its all I could talk about when I got back. It was so fresh and clean tasting, and it was by far the best ice cream OF.MY.LIFE. I wondered how long it would take to get a liquid nitrogen ice cream shop in Los Angeles, and lucky for me (and you) the time is now! Open merely a few weeks ago, Ice Cream Lab has found its home a few blocks from Sprinkles and Rodeo Drive, and judging by the lines last weekend, people are loving it.
They only had 6 flavors total, including one seasonal flavor and one special. Naturally I went with the special: Coffee Brittle. Coffee. Chocolate Brittle. Almonds. Perfection. They have Intelligentsia beans on the shelf, so I wonder if those are also used for the ice cream. Either way, it was GOOD! So good!
So, essentially your dessert starts out in liquid form, then they pour it into these machines, add some liquid nitrogen, and before you know it, it becomes ice cream! You can actually taste the milk and it is creamy. So fresh. So clean. And yeah, you can see all the magic happen right before your eyes. Don’t worry, the “smoke” wont hurt you. Some kids in line were totally getting a kick out of it though!
Pro Tip: Don’t trust an atom! Cute.
If you love ice cream and want to try a new take on it, check out Ice Cream Lab! I really liked it and it will hold me over until I can get back to Smitten.
Ice Cream Lab
9461 S Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
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