A Lone Voice of Creamy Dissent

Here’s a sight that epitomizes the San Francisco version of a Saturday night dinner party—dessert at my house last Saturday night.



It doesn’t get much better than five flavors of Bi-Rite Creamery ice cream, plus fresh berries. But let’s talk about those five flavors for a second: Coffee Toffee, Butter Pecan, Mint Chocolate Chip, Cookies ’n’ Cream and Salted Caramel.

This may be foodie blasphemy, but the salted caramel was my least favorite. I know: Many souls find this particular flavor rapturous, an orgasmic combination of salty, creamy and bitter. Yes, it was all those things. The trouble is, I just don’t like my ice cream to be that bitter.

Besides, I know a lot of folks honestly love this combo, but I also suspect some of them are simply showing off. You know who I mean: online foodies who go on and on about every last detail of epicurean arcana: comparing Bi-Rite to Berthillion in Paris, debating the merits of the heavy cream Bi-Rite uses, and of course offering little tidbits about the recipes they’ve employed at home when making their own ice cream.

Anyway, to each his own. As for me, I thought the salted caramel was too toasty, almost burnt-tasting. All the other flavors were heavenly, especially the butter pecan, which also had a hint of savory nuttiness to it, but just enough to set off the creamy sweetness, not enough to overpower it.