We like ice cream, what can I say?
After dim sum, a few comic book store visits, and then saying goodbye to MM & Spoon, B and I decided it was time for an afternoon snack before hitting the road to head to San Jose, where we’d be spending the next 3 days. Actually, we’d had reservations for the Crabhouse at Pier 39 but dim sum ran late, comic book shopping ran late, so I wound up calling to cancel them and we decided we’d go the following Saturday, before we boarded the plane to go back home. Despite that, B likes Fisherman’s Wharf and wanted to head down there, so he decided we wanted ice cream…
Though we’d both enjoyed Bi-Rite Creamery the day before, Ghirardelli Square is just a place near & dear to our heart. On our first joint trip to SF, not only did I introduce him to Crabhouse at Pier 39, but I dragged him to Ghirardelli Square nearby for ice cream. We had to wait almost 45 minutes to get into the place to order, but whatever, it was soooo worth it.
A funny story about the first time I went to Ghirardelli Square, which was back in 2001, the last family trip ever for my family. (I’ve been on trips with various members of my family since then, but not everyone. In fact, I don’t even know if I should count this as the last family trip, since it was after my father passed away. Anyway, sorry to be morbid, but the trip was loaded with a lot of thoughts and memories involving that time for me, oops.) ANYWAY, it was my mom, my sister, my brother and I, and my older cousin who now lives in San Francisco (and whose wedding I attended last year). My mother, in her motherly way, said “I don’t really want anything, I’m not hungry, I’ll just keep you guys company while you eat.” We ordered a sundae of some sort, and got enough spoons for everyone just in case she wanted to take a bite or pick at it, whatever. So we began eating, but the “kids” were all busy catching up with each other, gabbing away, and not really eating.
Suddenly we looked down. Our entire sundae was GONE! What the hell?!
FeistyMom was looking around innocently, wiping her spoon clean with her napkin. YES SHE DID. Oh my gosh, she did. She said, “What? You were all so busy talking, it was melting!” and ignored our shocked looks. Yes, it was funny, and we still tease her about it to this day. In fact, even when she says she doesn’t want any dessert, we order it anyway.
(Sound familiar? Probably because she’s done this to me before…)
We probably should have ordered THE EARTHQUAKE instead…
Bwahahahahahah can you imagine actually ordering that? Hot damn! No, B and I aren’t insane, there was no way we were going to order that with just two of us. (And unless you’re actually related to me, I probably won’t be ordering that with anyone anytime soon, either, because I don’t like the idea of everyone dipping their spoons in, ugh gross.)
B opted for the standard banana hot fudge sundae. Hey, it’s not cheap, (actually, I don’t know how much these things are, I don’t eat at many ice cream shops in NYC) but we’re on vacation, so we indulged.
The only bad thing about his when it came was, if you’ll look closely, see the green bits? We decided that was from my order, but did they not clean the scoop in between orders? Ewwww….
Mmm, doesn’t that look good? See B’s hand waiting to reach out with his spoon? I took these pictures 6 seconds apart so that he wouldn’t have to wait, he was really eager to dig in. He inhaled his dessert double time, and loved it. B even turned to me to tell me, in all seriousness, as though I couldn’t read it on the menu for myself, “The fudge *spoon* is so good *take a bite* because *spoon* it’s freshly *take a bite* melted in house *spoon* in the back *points and take a bite*” It’s true; you can look in the back where they have giant vats of dark and milk chocolate melting away to be used as fudge on your sundae. I think all of their ice cream is made in house too, not sure about that. This is like, where Max Brenner took his idea of having fudge pipes from, I bet.
I opted to go the dark chocolate route and ordered a Mint Bliss. I do love mint chocolate in so many forms, my first ice cream love being mint chocolate. (Funny: as a kid, I only remembered that I liked a green ice cream. When we’d go for ice cream, I had a 50/50 shot of getting the right ice cream. I don’t know how I liked it so much but couldn’t remember the name or flavor; my dad liked mint chocolate a lot as well, so I’m sure he helped out most of the time. But there was at least once where it wasn’t evident and I somehow got pistachio by mistake and refused to eat it. What a dumb kid I was.)
Look at that tall glass of yum.
My only complaint is that perhaps they used too much fudge. The fudge was super thick, so as I ate, it began to kind of chunk up into blocks of chocolate, still pliable but necessary to chew. I didn’t like that. The ice cream itself was delicious, although I did wish I had some banana in mine 😉 and I inhaled mine as well. And the chocolate garnish wasn’t necessary – the cold made the chocolate square super hard and holding it in my mouth to warm it up and melt it didn’t prove effective at all.
See? Totally inhaled. (See the glass on the left? The upper left part of the napkin that’s stuffed in there? That’s a piece of fudge that I put there instead of eating it, since it was way too chocolatey at that pont.)
Next time, I might order something else – once upon a time, they had a cherry themed sundae (which, I believe, was the one my mom demolished for us all those years ago). I do know this though: I will be back.
Yvo says: Sure it might be a little touristy, it’s pretty close to Fishermen’s Wharf, and there are almost always lines out the door. But the ice cream is good and it’s a fun place to go, with a little chocolate shop to browse through once you’re done with your ice cream. If you’re on vacation, it’s a lovely place for a sundae. If you’re a local, maybe not so much, I don’t know how locals feel about the place.
recommended
SF 2k8 previously:
Bi-Rite Creamery
King of Thai Noodle House
House of Prime Rib
New Asia
John says
I’ll have to check out the Ghirardelli Ice Cream shop next year when I’m in SD. Since your SF version sounds like a good touristy try.
Yvo says
I walked by the SD one – it’s a lot smaller than this one, but it looked more like an old-fashioned soda shop. I can’t attest to how good it is comparatively, sorry! so try it and let me know if it was good 🙂
Lizz says
Oh man I need myself some ice cream!! I have yet to go to SF and it’s on my hit list.
re: soupy mac – haha I think it was me you had the conversation with. I love mac in soups, but I only had carrots in hand. I’m shocked I’m out of frozen peas! haha. I used chicken broth but ham would’ve been so much better.
Rochelle says
Dark chocolate! That’s my girl 🙂 I like the tall glass, too, it’s really an attractive way to present it.