Parlor Black Raspberry Chip Ice Cream

So the plan was to pick up another pint of New City ice cream at Whole Foods.... but unfortunately all of the new city pints were covered in a literal half inch (or more) of frost and ice. I thought we were coming home empty handed, but then I spied a new brand at Roche Brothers. Let me introduce you to...

Parlor Black Raspberry Chip Ice Cream

black raspberry ice cream with chocolate chips

It was 8 bucks for a pint, they only had a few flavors, and I was about to grab their cookies & cream flavor when I spied this pint hiding by its lonesome.

Umm, where are the chips?

First thought: Wow, that's an easy scoop. Granted, it did have to ride home in the Swell container, but it's been back in the freezer an hour. Overall I like it. It's not super dense, but it's nice to have a straightforward black raspberry flavor in front of me. I pick on the stabilizers a bit to be honest, but let's see how these chocolate chips are.

Crunchy. Very crunchy. And these taste like tollhouse morsels. A soft, fudge like chunk would have blended better with the base. I find them very distracting actually, both in crunch and in aftertaste. The chocolate dominates the aftertaste when I'd rather have the black raspberry finish things off.

I sound like I'm complaining, but if I stopped at a scoop shop and got two scoops of this, I'd be happy enough with my choice. It's just that I love black raspberry and I don't want to be too distracted from it.

Note: Parlor Ice Cream is based in Maine and was started in 2016 by a pastry chef. Read more here.

On Second Scoop: This does remind me of ice cream parlor ice cream, and like any respectable ice cream, it did grow on me over time. It's a solid product, it's just when I want to nitpick, I say thinks like it's not super dense ice cream or that I still don't love the chips. 

Verdict?  solid, but maybe not $8 solid.
Buy Again?  I will try other flavors

allergy note: made in a kitchen with other allergens