You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

A farewell ice cream sandwich one summer evening on Bloor Street, the Bakerbot on Bloor is not my favorite, but then again, ice cream sandwiches in general are losing my favour. This chocolate and raspberry combo did nothing for me, but my companion, who was doing the departing, enjoyed his, and so, it was worth it. Some backstory of the Bakerbot on Bloor and Ossington was given, but I did not retain. I don't see how there is even competition between the two anymore, but again, I have little invested.

Curbing the line ups by going on a cold Fall evening, this half a ice cream cookie sandwich was worth all the hype. Stepping inside to a warm cookie coven, the array of ice cream flavours borders on traditional hipster, which is in fact just yuppie. But damn this mint chocolate is fresh. More mint than chocolate, sweet without saccharine, the generous proportion of ice cream to fresh cookie makes both ice cream and cookie all the better, which in the assemblage of most ice cream cookies, is a rare, rare feat.

  IT'S-IT is a San Francisco company that has been making hipster ice cream sandwiches long before hipsters or ice cream sandwiches existed. IT'S-IT really is the original ice cream sandwich, and obviously, I must try it.   Nestled between two oatmeal cookie layers and coated in chocolate to seal in the mint ice cream, I devoured two of them, but remember thinking this could be better, but how? I mean, we did buy them at a Target with a view of the Hollywood sign in the near distance. This is not just a dream, but a reality. 

On this day, I fancied rich chocolate ice cream with a spicy ginger cookie, but the possible combinations of cookie, ice cream, or sorbet are numerous. Served in wax paper and cute mini French fry baskets to catch the chocolatey drips, these sammies look nostalgic and taste divine. 

While visiting Hong Kong, I came across these Crispy Sandwich ice cream products from the Asian division of Haagen-Dazs. While the flavours were standard like vanilla and strawberry along with a green tea option, I was more intrigued by what the "crispy" part could mean. Well, it was like a wafer shell, but way more refined. It did not crack and crumble like you would expect, and the underneath layer was not weird and sticky from the ice cream, but the shell itself was almost space age in material. I still can't figure out what it was, but it stayed really crispy, making this a great and unique ice cream sandwich experience!

How delightful! SCREAM 's sorbet sandwich really blew me away today, because I realized how old and stodgy my understanding of the classic ice cream sandwich really was. Mind you, I've been treated to many deliciously creamy numbers at Toronto's Bakerbots  and by my delicious date lately, even ones that take on the classic with contemporary salty, spicy, and savory cookies. Today, in Oakland, though, the epitome of my late summer indulgence is hot pink and golden yellow, as it should be when fresh fruit abounds and summer dresses might soon be stowed away for the season. Ready for this? Strawberry lemon sorbet spread between two Meyer lemon cookies. BAM! All previous assumptions about ice cream sandwiches have been officially licked.

Like a zombie I headed back to Meat and Bread after the porchetta experience. Going down the menu list, I went for the Meatball sandwich, though I was torn between this and the special of the day, which was basically a slow roasted spicy veal with arugula and aioli. My guest had the veal and I went for this monster. We did trade bites, but I don't recommend doing so, not because of germs, but because the art of handling a sandwich is to never let it go. I had difficulty corralling this after the mid way hand off, but the integrity of the sandwich held better than I could ever expect. As a treat, I opted for their ice cream sandwich, a bacon maple ice cream concoction between two syrup wafers. It was a good treat, but nothing I would crave, surprisingly. Pretty though, and pretty counts.