I sincerely apologize for my lack of posting lately. I haven't lost interest in the blog -- or ice cream, for that matter -- but between crazy work hours and wedding planning, there is not much "down time" for me these days. And every weekend this month is full of travel -- to Chicago for a dear friend's wedding, to Boston to visit family, and a new-to-me destination: Nashville, Tennessee!
My youngest sister, Ava, turned twenty-one last month and we'd all made a pact years ago to travel somewhere awesome to celebrate her reaching the legal-drinking age. Our desired destination changed many times over the years; we'd once (ambitiously) settled on Sydney, under the assumption that we'd all be
rolling in cash by the time Ava hit twenty-one. Recently, our ideas had become more realistic (i.e. domestic). And when it came time to book our weekend, Nashville was the only affordable location that the entire group could agree on (K and two of our friends joined). Coming from a musical family, I was excited to visit Music City!
The weekend was a complete blast. From the Seth Meyers comedy show we saw on Friday, to the awesome live music and Ava's impressive karaoke performance, it was a memorable trip. The only bad part of my weekend was missing out on a B.J. Novack sighting. The rest of the group saw him when they'd gone out for breakfast, but of
course I was running late that day. K and I are longtime fans of "The Office", and B.J.'s dry humor is a big reason why. Maybe I'll catch him next time?
But celebrity-sightings aside, what trip to Nashville would be complete without sampling some local ice cream? I'd heard a lot of hype around Jeni's, which has a local Nashville outpost. But I'm saving my first Jeni's experience for when I can visit the original store in Ohio. There are a couple awesome-sounding Nashville originals, but the one that caught my eye was
The Pied Piper Creamery in East Nashville. So we headed over there after seeing the Grand Ole Opry and the Opryland Resort (which a sight to see!).
Our
Uber driver (who coincidently happened to be an Aussie!) sang East Nashville's praises on the way over, telling us that it was the hippest place for young couples and families to live. And consistent with the artsy, almost-eccentric vibe of East Nashville, The Pied Piper Creamery ended up being one of the most adorable shops I've ever seen.
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| Cute, right?!? |
The Pied Piper Creamery is a bit hard to find, located in a cute old Victorian house with the
Fairytales Bookstore. But as soon as we walked up the steps and across the porch (where we ate our ice cream), I felt instantly at home and relaxed in the quirky and colorful house. It reminded me of something I'd see in Seattle or Portland -- not in the South!
The first thing I noticed when entering the house was a big whiteboard on an easel, where I found the menu of ice-cream flavors that Pied Piper was offering that day. I was a bit disappointed that none of the creamery's
most-insane flavors were listed. I'd been spending the previous hour reading from
the extensive flavor list posted online, and my sisters and I were hoping to try one of the savory ones (like
Basil Tomatillo Overdrive,
Wasabi, or
Strawberry Balsamic). There were still about two-dozen options available today, but several of the cooler flavors that caught my eye contained gluten - including
Shotgun Wedding Cake,
Baby Got Baklava!, and
Oatmeal Raisin In The Sun. I really wanted to try the flavor Ava chose - Pied Piper's famous
Trailer Trash, vanilla ice cream with Oreo, Twix, Butterfinger, Nestle Crunch, Snickers, M&Ms, and Reese's Pieces. But again... gluten stood in the way. But Pied Piper does offer a couple options for the vegan and dairy-free crowd; today it was
Watermelon and
Cherry Limeade sorbet and
Vegan Chocolate Coconut ice cream.
In the end, I went with a "single" scoop of
The Professor (coconut-flavored ice cream with pecans, almonds and cashews) and
Toffee Loaded Coffee (coffee ice cream with crushed Heath bar). I always appreciate when a place will split a "single scoop" into two different flavors for you.
After forking over $3.50, I gave my cup a quick dash of sprinkles from the little shakers full of sprinkles that Pied Piper keeps on the counter.
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| Can you tell which scoop was coffee-toffee and which was coconut? |
The verdict? First of all, I was pleased with Pied Piper's generous serving sizes and felt I got my money's worth. But my ice cream was not frozen hard enough. It was so soft that even eating it extra quickly didn’t prevent ice cream soup from accumulating at the bottom of the cup. My sister’s vegan coconut ice cream was much more firm, so perhaps the firmness varies by flavor. Luckily, things were better in the flavor department. My favorite scoop was the
Toffee Loaded Coffee; the coffee ice cream was right up my alley, with a rich but sweet coffee flavor that wasn't too potent or bitter. But the bits of Heath candy were too small in my opinion. I prefer bigger chunks in my ice cream, but I recognize this is a personal - not universal - opinion.
The Professor was okay but didn’t impress me or my fellow taste-testers; the ice cream tasted like imitation coconut extract and didn't contain the meaty bits of shredded coconut that I adore in other versions. The variety of nuts was unique, though, as I’ve never had ice cream with more than one type of nut. But while the flavors I chose didn't blow me away, I'd gladly return to the Pied Piper Creamery just for the environment alone! The cozy store is a great place to meet friends and relax while enjoying homemade ice cream on the porch.
The Stats:
The Pied Piper Creamery
114 South 11th Street
Nashville, TN 37206
(615) 227-4114
www.thepiedpipercreamery.com
