Report from the Field: Molly Moon's Ice Cream Shoppe

(Actually, it's just  "Molly Moon's Ice Cream Shop" but I really really want to keep adding that extra "pe".)

I first met Dana Cree when she taught a candy class at the cooking school and was immediately impressed.  First of all, the whole candy-making process is the most magical intersection of deliciousness and science, so it’s hard not to be dazzled by someone who can effortlessly create from scratch the most awesome marshmallow you’ve ever had.  

Additionally, her experience restaurants like WD-50 and The Fat Duck mean that she’s not just making simple, blocky sweets, she is bringing some of that complexity and interest to the dessert realm as well.

So when she noted on her blog that she would be making the toppings for the new ice cream shoppe Molly Moon’s, I put it on the list as a must-go.

The Prez and I hit it up on a Friday night after dinner at Quinn’s.  The line was out the door.  Now, my friend and I met at NYU and she still lives in New York, so we both might not exactly have the most positive associations with the experience of waiting in line at a hot eating establishment.

I suppose by now, though, I should know better in the Pacific Northwest.  First of all, it’s not exactly a hotbed of aggression normally, but especially not at an ice cream shoppe.  Here is a universal truth to live by: Nobody is ever in a bad mood at an ice cream shoppe.

The staff, either.  Despite the line out the door, they were genuinely friendly, patient, happy, with none of the mild franticness the Prez and I find ourselves reflexively expecting in such a place.

We didn’t opt for the freshly-made waffle cones, although the smell of them could probably bring about world peace.  Instead, she got the coffee and I got the salted caramel.  The Prez said hers tasted like her ice cream fell in a coffee filter full of grounds, but this was not intended as a complaint, it was actually a positive.  I would say about 50% of our conversations and activities during her visit were about coffee and coffee procurement, so basically the Prez herself would probably be happy to live in a coffee filter full of grounds.  

My salted caramel was perfection.  Just perfection, the absolutely perfect amount of saltiness.  It reminded me of a grown-up, gourmet ice cream version of a Payday bar.  (Which, by the way, was way ahead of its time for its salty-sweet combo that is now so popular.)  When we went back a second time, I couldn't think of getting anything else but the exact same thing. 

Prez, on the other hand, got maple walnut which I know she liked but I think I was tipsy so I don't remember any specifics about why. 

I was so fixated on the salted caramel, I didn't even get to the reason that brought me there in the first place, Dana's toppings, but I am sure I will rectify that soon.

(Other Dana news - she just became the pastry chef at Jerry Traunfeld's new place Poppy!  Sarah and I have it on the list to try and now I am even more excited to check it out.)