The Good Humor Man

Jake Godby may seem shy, but spend a few minutes with him and his sense of humor emerges. It even infiltrates the flavors at his two-month-old Mission District ice-cream shop, Humphry Slocombe. The opening pastry chef at Coi and, back in 2004, George Morrone’s Tartare, admits he likes to “push the envelope.” Red Hot Banana is banana ice cream mixed with crushed Red Hots; he suggests pairing Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee with Secret Breakfast to start your day. And the customers? “They ask, ‘Who’s Humphry Slocombe?’” (It’s a melding of the last names of two characters on the British sitcom Are You Being Served?) and give flavor suggestions. “Someone told me they’d had tuna ice cream in Japan and loved it.” His reaction? “I just smile.”

What makes great ice cream?
Some heft, some chew to it. You have to have the right balance of fat. I use both cream and milk. A lot depends on the speed of the mixer. The higher the revolutions, the more air. I make it at a low speed.

How do you come up with your flavors?
I think about the flavor first and translate it into ice cream. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Porcini wasn’t very good. Harissa—pretty, but not good. I’m waiting for kumquats. I want to do kumquat–poppy-seed ice cream.

Do you have a signature flavor?
Secret Breakfast [a combination of bourbon and cornflakes]. It’s going to be the bane of my existence. Blue Bottle Café
is going to be doing a Secret Breakfast affogato with it.

Why did you choose the 24th Street area?
I live in the Mission. And this part reminds me of the East Village. Since I decided to open here, Dynamo Donut has opened. Flour + Water is going in down the street.

Are you in competition with Dynamo?
They’re also taking a childhood treat and adding quirky, rather adult, flavors to it.
We don’t open until noon, and sometimes people are sitting outside waiting for us to open, eating their doughnut.

Who is your clientele?
There are a lot of families that come in. It kind of changed the music I wanted to play though— punk, like She Wants Revenge. I like edgy, in-your-face music.

What’s your most punkrock flavor?
Thai-chile lime? Pistachio bacon? We’ve been getting angry emails and phone calls about the foie-gras flavor [listed on the website]. One person probably showed it to all their duck-loving friends—we haven’t even made it here yet.

Are you going to?
Oh, definitely now. Probably a foie-gras ice-cream sandwich made with gingersnaps. I love the idea of a controversial ice-cream shop.

Is there a pastry chef you admire?
Deanie Fox of Ubuntu [in Napa]. She’s phenomenal.

Do you think you’ll open another business?
They don’t make it easy for small-business owners. No one wants chains, but they’re the only ones that can afford to go through the process.

You used to work with chef George Morrone. What do you think of your former boss cooking at the Cliff House?
I don’t know. It’s kind of crazy—a name chef at the Cliff. But I love George. He’s a character. He hit a line cook in the head with a fish one time, but he’s never been anything but kind to me.

Has the economy been an issue for your business?
It’s been good for us. Maybe people aren’t going out for dinner, but they’re treating themselves to a scoop of ice cream.

You have 31 “flavors” tattooed on your arm. When did you get that?
A year ago, when I was in the process of opening this. It was a sign of commitment. I can’t turn back now.

Humphry Slocombe, 2790 Harrison St., 415-550-6971