Keeping Their Cool

Cool Moon Ice Cream: 1105 NW Johnson Street

Cool Moon in the Pearl District features an extensive array of flavors, ranging from updated classics to the exotic. There’s a lot going on here, but at an ice cream shop, it’s hard to have too much of a good thing. Aside from the handmade ice cream is a selection of sorbets, sodas, chocolate dipped bananas, bite size ice cream sandwiches, and “Moon Pops”.  And they serve Batdorf & Bronson espresso. Wow.

You must try the Kulfi, an Indian inspiration of pistachio, cardamom and rosewater. The cardomom is the strongest of the three flavors, but the sweetness carries it out to the finish and balances the savory spice. Another hit is the Ginger Cookies n’ Cream, said to be especially popular among the male customers. The cookie pieces are soft and chewy with the rich flavor of ginger and molasses. Some Cool Moon classics are the Bing Cherry Almond Chip, Coffee Crackle and Mint Chip. Every summer in honor of the Rose Festival they put out a Rose ice cream. A smattering of more of today’s flavors include Thai Iced Tea, Canteloupe Sorbet (yummy!), Marcona Almond, and Zesty Rhubarb. All of which they generously let me try and more. So much more.

Want to take your unique ice cream experience even further? Try a float made with local and delicious Hot Lips fruit soda. I had the Pear Soda with Saigon Cinnamon ice cream and the flavors were singing. It took me forward to winter, and tasted like a poached pear tart. You may choose from the suggested float combonations on the board, or they will make you a float with whatever ice cream you’d like. I would love to try the Zesty Rhubarb with a Gingerbeer. Also available are sundaes and shakes.

Basically the ice cream makers in the back kitchen are turning out more product than they can fit in the store, even with the large case. They keep some standard favorites out year round but rotate in new flavors as they make them. They aim to support local growers and purveyors, and use fresh, seasonal ingredients. They experiment with putting new spins on time-honored tastes (a good example being the Ginger Cookies n’ Cream), testing out trends (like the Salty Caramel), and playing with combining flavor profiles like sweet/savory/spicy/tangy (Spicy Thai Chili combines coconut, peanut and spicy chilies).

If you haven’t figured it out by now, the reason you should visit Cool Moon is the vast selection of interesting flavors. I wouldn’t rate it at the very top of the list for creaminess and full bodied mouthfeel, but it is smooth and goes down easy. It tastes good, but some of the flavors could pack more oomph and maybe more aggressive garnishes. However, I have very high standards and I don’t mean to deter you from enjoying Cool Moon. They treat their ice cream with respect, and that makes a big difference.

What I really like about Cool Moon is that they don’t give themselves limits. When a local thai restaurant inquired if they could make them a Black Sesame ice cream, Cool Moon didn’t hesitate even though it was something they hadn’t thought of ever creating. Now the flavor rotates through the store time to time. When I look at the list of flavors I see a culmination of ideas; flavors that have resulted from some serious brainstorming and a little bit of “I wonder what would happen if…”

And I am happy to let them experiment on us.