A bi-monthly head to head competition - two restaurants, one dish. Help me decide which should be the top dog in town!
Every other Friday I'll post a new face off. Within the next two weeks, eat the same dish at one or both restaurants and post your reviews. Then I'll add up the results and announce the winner!
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Lynden's Soda Shop Reviews
Post your Lynden's reviews here. Be sure to let me know what flavor(s) and special additions you chose. Again - feel free to leave as much explanation (or as little) as you like along with a score of 1(terrible) 5(fine) 10(terrific).
I have visited Lyndens three times this summer and each time I left with the most euphoric of ice cream comas that only the worthiest of dairy gods can induce. My partner teases me about how good ice cream can coax me into a perma-grin-prattling-state (referred to as 'ice cream drunk') and my first experience at Lyndens left me giggly-grinning for hours after consumption.
Lyndens serves Wisconsin-made Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream-- so, unlike their competitor in this challenge, they cannot claim any proprietary recipe for their ice cream. But the experience of eating here is still undeniably amazing. Lynden boasts diverse flavors, cone & sundae options, quality mix-ins (including impeccably brewed espresso and truly hot hot fudge) that any ice cream parlor lover covet. Add the retro soda-bar with ipad checkouts and you have one uniquely comforting ice cream hotspot. So far I've enjoyed the following flavors: The Fat Elvis, Mint Avalanche, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, Halley's Comet, Zanzibar Chocolate, and Maui Passion. Of these, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang reigns as my favorite with The Fat Elvis close behind. Kitty Kitty Bang Bang is as fun to shovel into your mouth as its name is enjoyable to to say. It mixes fudge, cheesecake and vanilla with the most decadent raspberry swirl. The raspberry makes this ice cream sing!
Overall rating: Taste : 10/10 Comments: Grab up the Kitty Kitty Bang Bang and Fat Elvis.
Texture: 7/10 Comments: Not the creamiest of ice creams I've tasted (go to crema for a creamy-dreamy experience) but who really cares when it tastes so good!
Presentation: 9/10 Comments: If you stick around and eat inside your ice cream will be served using a traditional sundae bowl -- with hot fudge lining the bottom if you so desire! Otherwise there's your typical cone options.
Creative/Authentic: 8/10 Comments: This was a difficult one to rank -- the flavors are abundant, original and made with quality ingredients. I'd love to give them 10/10 but Chocolate Shoppe is not a Lynden-original.
Wild Card (atmosphere,company,service,celebrity sighting, etc. etc.) 10/10 Comments: The place is next door to the Nook so true TC Foodies can easily plan an all star food outing. Enjoy some of the best burgers in the Twin Cities and then, walk ten feet north and indulge in frozen goodness.
After a great meal at Bangkok Thai (which will probably be involved in a Laab Gai battle sometime soon) my husband and I headed over to Lynden's. Nestled in the nook of The Nook, it's easy to find and great to look at. With all the trappings of an old fashioned soda shop, I eagerly surveyed the candy as well as the ice cream choices. With no Kitty Kitty Bang Bang available, I decided on Snap o' Lantern (a pumpkin ginger snap ice cream) and Caramel Chaos (vanilla with caramel chunks) while Addison got a Zumeo (chocolate with oreos, a marshmallow swirl, and chocolate chunks).
Taste: 6/10 The ginger and caramel - as well as a key lime scoop I got at another shop, but from the same Wisconsin maker - are not strong or bright enough for me. All of them take vanilla as their base flavor and don't leave it behind as the other flavors are incorporated. Maybe it's the MN palate pleaser, but for me they just don't work. The one exception was the Zumeo which was definitely chocolatey goodness galore!
Texture: 8/10 thick and creamy yes, but the ginger snaps incorporated into the Snap o'Lantern were more like crumbs.
Presentation: 8/10 The ice cream was so hard that I feared that the poor girl behind the counter was going to break a wrist or a scoop as she served up the ice cream. Because of this the scoops war huge, but not very pretty.
Creative: 7/10 While I give the shop kudos for the names, the flavors themselves didn't seem to be all that original.
Wild Card: 4/10 NO SPLIT SINGLE??? Hunh? In order to get two flavors I had to buy a double scoop. Now for men, teenagers, or people blessed with a high metabolism, the monstrous amount of ice cream contained in the double will be no problem. I am, without regret or hesitation, a 40 year old woman who has always struggled in the battle between sweet n' tasty and clothes that fit. This is the first time in my adult life that I have succumbed to ice cream drunkenness. It was incredible. I actually doubted my ability to drive home (well almost). After getting there, I promptly fell into a two hour nap (although coma might be a more appropriate description.)
I have visited Lyndens three times this summer and each time I left with the most euphoric of ice cream comas that only the worthiest of dairy gods can induce. My partner teases me about how good ice cream can coax me into a perma-grin-prattling-state (referred to as 'ice cream drunk') and my first experience at Lyndens left me giggly-grinning for hours after consumption.
ReplyDeleteLyndens serves Wisconsin-made Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream-- so, unlike their competitor in this challenge, they cannot claim any proprietary recipe for their ice cream. But the experience of eating here is still undeniably amazing. Lynden boasts diverse flavors, cone & sundae options, quality mix-ins (including impeccably brewed espresso and truly hot hot fudge) that any ice cream parlor lover covet. Add the retro soda-bar with ipad checkouts and you have one uniquely comforting ice cream hotspot. So far I've enjoyed the following flavors: The Fat Elvis, Mint Avalanche, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, Halley's Comet, Zanzibar Chocolate, and Maui Passion. Of these, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang reigns as my favorite with The Fat Elvis close behind. Kitty Kitty Bang Bang is as fun to shovel into your mouth as its name is enjoyable to to say. It mixes fudge, cheesecake and vanilla with the most decadent raspberry swirl. The raspberry makes this ice cream sing!
Overall rating:
Taste : 10/10
Comments: Grab up the Kitty Kitty Bang Bang and Fat Elvis.
Texture: 7/10
Comments: Not the creamiest of ice creams I've tasted (go to crema for a creamy-dreamy experience) but who really cares when it tastes so good!
Presentation: 9/10
Comments: If you stick around and eat inside your ice cream will be served using a traditional sundae bowl -- with hot fudge lining the bottom if you so desire! Otherwise there's your typical cone options.
Creative/Authentic: 8/10
Comments: This was a difficult one to rank -- the flavors are abundant, original and made with quality ingredients. I'd love to give them 10/10 but Chocolate Shoppe is not a Lynden-original.
Wild Card (atmosphere,company,service,celebrity sighting, etc. etc.) 10/10
Comments: The place is next door to the Nook so true TC Foodies can easily plan an all star food outing. Enjoy some of the best burgers in the Twin Cities and then, walk ten feet north and indulge in frozen goodness.
After a great meal at Bangkok Thai (which will probably be involved in a Laab Gai battle sometime soon) my husband and I headed over to Lynden's. Nestled in the nook of The Nook, it's easy to find and great to look at. With all the trappings of an old fashioned soda shop, I eagerly surveyed the candy as well as the ice cream choices. With no Kitty Kitty Bang Bang available, I decided on Snap o' Lantern (a pumpkin ginger snap ice cream) and Caramel Chaos (vanilla with caramel chunks) while Addison got a Zumeo (chocolate with oreos, a marshmallow swirl, and chocolate chunks).
ReplyDeleteTaste: 6/10 The ginger and caramel - as well as a key lime scoop I got at another shop, but from the same Wisconsin maker - are not strong or bright enough for me. All of them take vanilla as their base flavor and don't leave it behind as the other flavors are incorporated. Maybe it's the MN palate pleaser, but for me they just don't work. The one exception was the Zumeo which was definitely chocolatey goodness galore!
Texture: 8/10 thick and creamy yes, but the ginger snaps incorporated into the Snap o'Lantern were more like crumbs.
Presentation: 8/10 The ice cream was so hard that I feared that the poor girl behind the counter was going to break a wrist or a scoop as she served up the ice cream. Because of this the scoops war huge, but not very pretty.
Creative: 7/10 While I give the shop kudos for the names, the flavors themselves didn't seem to be all that original.
Wild Card: 4/10 NO SPLIT SINGLE??? Hunh? In order to get two flavors I had to buy a double scoop. Now for men, teenagers, or people blessed with a high metabolism, the monstrous amount of ice cream contained in the double will be no problem. I am, without regret or hesitation, a 40 year old woman who has always struggled in the battle between sweet n' tasty and clothes that fit. This is the first time in my adult life that I have succumbed to ice cream drunkenness. It was incredible. I actually doubted my ability to drive home (well almost). After getting there, I promptly fell into a two hour nap (although coma might be a more appropriate description.)