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Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
Neighborhood: MissionMon-Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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Shocking. I love nearly everything about this place.
The 'secret breakfast' flavor combines about seven of my favorite things in life- cereal, sugar, bourbon, dessert, breakfast, combining weird dishes, cold, and clever names- it's kind of like everything great about being a kid AND an adult.
It's like getting a snow day and I don't have to go to school so I sleep in 'till like 10:30. When I get up, mom already has my Wheaties ready with the sugar bowl too 'cause what kid likes plain Wheaties? and then I decide to have a side of ice cream for breakfast 'cause I'm actually an adult and I can do what I want and then REMEMBERING I'm an adult I pull out my old friend Maker's and start taking a few nips early 'cause, hey, it's cold out and I don't have to do ANYTHING except maybe go sledding and enjoy my delicious, flavorful, creamy, icy, joy of a dessert from my old friend Humphrey. God Bless this joint. Try everything, even though you might be embarrassed like me, because they're patient and they'll let you and you're using metal tasting spoons(!) so you don't have to worry about filling up the great pacific gyre with your gluttony.
Also, this is a quieter, lovely corner of the Mission to sit outside and compare surprising flavors with whichever new friends you happen to make because such novel experiences lend themselves to efficiently crossing the normal social barriers. Wine and coke? don't mind if I do! Balsamic vinegar? hell yes. Do it people, go here and enjoy immensely. Unless you're stuck on green mint chocolate chip from Baskin Robbins (not hating- also my childhood) 'cause this ain't that.
Best ice cream in the City - hands down. We tried the Secret Breakfast, Jesus Juice, Blue Bottle Coffee and Balsamic Caramel; all of which were divine.
Asked them to "lick it" and had some decadent butterscotch drizzled on top at no cost...these folks are brilliant.
The folks here are friendly and patient, even as we prepped for Dia De Los Muertos festivities and were probably the most annoying patrons of the day. This place rocks! With new flavors constantly rolling in, we will definitely be back!!!
I heart Humphry S. .
Taking the book of traditional ice cream flavors and literally throwing it out the window, Humphry Slocombe offers an eclectic assortment of inventive and unlikely ice cream flavors that will take you on an irreverent journey of discovery.
The "Secret Breakfast" ice cream, flavored with corn flakes and bourbon sounds a little suspect if you are not accustomed to spiking you morning cereal, but tastes fantastic and is one of their best flavors. And for all you true alcoholics, they've taken what you are already doing and made it into an ice cream!!!! Hooray for You
Other flavors, such as the "Jesus Juice" sorbet, an obvious reference to Michael Jackson's second favorite cocktail of Coca-Cola and Wine, is surprisingly tasty and is more than just a novelty flavor. His first favorite cocktail being Demerol and Morphine (Would not be surprised if this shows up on the Humphry Slocombe line-up of flavors next week.)
I can also recommend the Thai Chile Lime Sorbet, the Balsamic Caramel, and the Vietnamese Coffee. The flavor components are strong and each ingredient gets their chance to shine. The bourbon flavor is a bit stronger than most ice cream with alcohol and the Thai Chile Lime Sorbet will get you good in the spice department.
These flavors are all very tasty, but the only complaint is the lack of flavor rotation. Other than that, this is perhaps one of the best ice cream spots in the BAY AREA.
Highly Recommended
People thought this was:
It was empty when we visited at 1p on a Thursday afternoon.
They were patient with us as we tested a few flavors before making up our minds
Tested:
- Ancho Chocolate- very chocolately, could not taste the chili. Would have liked more chili
- Miso Pear- Quite refreshing and definitely different. But not sure i can eat a whole scoop of it
- Bacon Peanut Brittle (not ice-cream. real brittle)- it was Very bacon-y. I felt like i was having b'fast all over again. maybe a tad less bacon?
Bought:
- Secret B'fast- Bourbon + Frosted Flakes. Very unique and tasty. I really enjoyed it
- Luna Blanc- Belgium Ale. Strong flavor, went well with the Secret B'fast. I'd be open to switching this flavor out for something else the next go-around
- Chocolate Chip Cookies (again, not ice-cream. real cookie)- Very chewy and tasty
Overall, the texture of the ice-cream was fluffy and not super rich or creamy, which made the experience much more enjoyable. I've never quite tasted ice-cream like that before....it was like...powdery snow for skiing! But not as icy.
Will definitely be back
I'M TORN...
Normally upon any dessert place, I default to 5 Stars whenever I'm able to "FORGET" about chocolate. And with the Secret Breakfast and the Vietnamese Coffee, I was able to forget about chocolate.
BUT...
Who the hell thought of puttin chili peppers in chocolate ice cream??? You don't do things like that. WHY???
Final Verdict: 4.5 Stars. Service was excellent. Very patient with you as you try and venture out on their unique and I have to say, they are very unique flavors. Definitely not for the ordinary, and I mean that in a good way! A definite alternative to bar-hopping.
Food:
As far as I'm concerned, the best ice cream you can get in the city. I recommend getting some friends together and trying as many flavors as you can to figure out which ones are winners (Secret Breakfast, Jesus Juice, Thai Chili) and losers (Balsamic Caramel yechhhh) (that's just my personal opinion!)
And hellllloooooo bacon peanut brittle. Incredible.
Service:
Fast and friendly. They let you taste whatever you want. It will behoove you to follow them on Twitter/Facebook to see what new flavors they are serving each day - and get there early! I wanted to bring some Brown Butter ice cream home for my roommate, but got there around 6pm and they said they couldn't even give me a 1/2 a pint so everyone else could sample it - which I totally understand. And you can't beat saying the secret phrase on Monday to get free chocolate or butterscotch toppings!
People thought this was:
There was a line out the door, but of course when it's my turn, I have to be 'that' guy and get a taste of three different things (they were all good). Pumpkin curry= tasty -but ended up with Bourbon and cornflake ice cream topped with a scoop Red wine and Coke Classic! Talk about mixing your alcohols. Fantastic!
The service was good and quick.
They have nice out-door seating. It's on a stretch of 24th that includes other goodies/shops and is lined with trees.
It's pretty much five stars. But, the decor and space is really vanilla, ha! They have great and interesting flavors, but not the biggest selection. -And it has intense competition with Bi-rite and Mitchels, etc.
This place is a must for a treat.
Yup... it is now official. Humphry Slocumbe is my new favorite source of ice cream.
Finally made it in today after having it on my "to do" list for months, and I am both kicking myself for taking so long to roll through and looking forward to coming back again soon. Had their "single" size, which actually has two scoops, on a cone with Secret Breakfast and Guiness Gingerbread. Went the booze-related route this time around. Both were amazingly creamy and hit the right flavor notes. Picked up some Bacon Peanut Brittle also, but have not busted it out yet.
Do you guys offer classes or internships? I would provide you with some free slave labor in exchange for the Secret Knowledge of the Ice Cream Gods. Bow down to Humphry Slocumbe!
After all the hype, I was fairly disappointed with this place.
There are a handful of places out there that make "unique" ice cream combination flavors - Peanut Butter Curry, Crème Fraiche, Honey Thyme, etc. Even though these flavor combinations can be odd, they should still be appetizing, and most of the flavors I saw when I arrived were not appetizing. I tried three flavors: Balsamic Caramel, Autumn Harvest Corn, Tahitian Vanilla...they were okay. The Balsamic Caramel was actually pretty bad - it was very sour and tasted like vinegar ice cream....not good at all. Autumn Harvest was pretty good - a sweet corn ice cream that had a refreshing taste to it, my problem with it was that there wasn't more "corn" flavor...it seemed a bit faint. The Tahitian Vanilla was okay too - the texture was decent, but it wasn't as creamy as I like my ice cream to be...also, again, the flavor was pretty faint and not really sweet enough.
With organic ice cream, I feel the flavors should really come through since unneeded chemicals are not being added...at this spot the flavors were barely there. Also, the execution of the final flavor seemed to not be very good - if caramel mixed with anything tastes like vinegar, that's not a good thing. Also, when I usually go for ice cream at least a handful of flavors should immediately pop at me so that I can't decide what to get...when I was there, I felt like I couldn't decide because nothing really sounded very good.
I think I'll be sticking with Bi-Rite...
People thought this was:
Oh my God this place is IT! This ice cream is heaven on earth. A friend of mine went here a while ago and would not stop talking about it night and day. I love ice cream but I was not to interested in trying a bunch of crazy flavors.
What I ate: the beer flavored ice cream, the carmel balsalmic, the blue bottle, and the winner, the surprize underdog flavor:
Pumpkin Curry, I love you and you are the best. You rock my world. I can not stop thinking about the special times we shared last night.
People thought this was:
This place gives Bi-Rite a run for its money. The first time I went I had Secret Breakfast (cereal and booze! a winning combination!) I especially love the name because it brings to mind the Walk of Shame. (Maybe they should make a Walk of Shame ice cream? Sugar, a whiff of gin, a smidge of tobacco smokiness, perhaps a tinge of lime? You hearin' me, Humphry?)
I went again and sampled the bacon peanut brittle. Wow. Just wow.
I had the curry and peanut butter ice cream.
And it was good.
People thought this was:
Thanks to my favorite tiny friend Mari C, I finally ventured down here after a downright disappointing burrito up at Papalote.
What better way to turn my frown upside down than these creative concoctions! I sampled half, the bf sampled the other half, we settled on a sundae of Secret Breakfast and Peanut Butter Curry. YUM!
Can't wait to come back and try the rest!
People thought this was:
i'm sorry Bi Rite.
People thought this was:
Holy crap.
This weekend was my first encounter with this place I was seriously blown away. I love ice cream and have always been game to try odd flavors, but so many of them have been half baked and poorly conceived and seem to be more about shock value than actually tasting good.
So I was really shocked by HS. We went there twice and tried 7 flavors (secret breakfast, peanut butter and curry, beer, sour cream and brown sugar, olive oil, bacon proscuitto...) and all were great. I am really smitten with the olive oil ice cream and I definitely recommend adding the flaked Maldon salt on top.
Life is short and HS is a great example of how something offbeat and seemingly strange can actually turn out to be pretty damn wonderful.
People thought this was:
You've got to be kidding me. This isn't ice cream, it's nectar of the gods! They have bourbon soaked cornflakes in vanilla ice cream. It tastes incredible. That's some crazy genius.
WOW!!! Different!!! Secret Breakfast was great - yes - cornflakes (tasted like frosted flakes) and burbon. Vietnamese Coffee tasted pretty good. Jesus Juice (wine and coke! - not that kind of coke Van!!!) was different!!! Will try other flavors!! Next time: Olive Oil or Balsamic Caramel - or heck! whatever they have that I haven't tried yet!!!
If I could have a savory meal with sweet dessert all in one setting, then why not? My curiosity grew stronger each time I pass by this place since the crowd is always pouring out onto the streets with kids and young families bursting everywhere. Finally I looked up the address on Yelp and realized it was Humphry Slocombe, so I jumped at the chance to stop by for dinner and dessert. The place is pretty small with bright paint and a set of unique blend of ice cream such cream cheese, Thai chili lime, and salted lycorise. They were already out of the Blue Bottle Vietnamese coffee by that time, so I decided to go with two-flavor single scoop of peanut butter curry and McEvoy olive oil on a sugar cone ($3.25).
Sitting on the bench outside, I come to realize the sweet peanut butter actually blends in nicely with its light but distinct curry flavor and the smooth McEvoy olive oil was smooth, delicious and just light enough to complement the heavier taste of the curry. Albeit the fact that my single scoop was melting quickly, I thought the cone was nicely packed to the bottom and the scoops were generous. For someone with a sweet tooth, it was a perfect set up to have a meal packaged into a yelpalicious ice cream cone!
Despite the positive experience with the taste testing, service was lukewarm and inconsistent. The server who helped me with the ice cream was extremely helpful and accommodating but the cashier was borderline rude. As my ice cream was quickly melting while I was trying to reach for my wallet, I asked where the napkins were and instead of helping out, she pointed me to places that was hard to get to due to the overwhelming crowd. By the time I navigated there, some of the dispensers were already out of napkins. Bummer.
Despite the sour experience with the service, I still think the quality and price of their ice cream are top notch, innovative, and worth trying. I would love to come back to try their other flavors such as Blue Bottle Vietnamese coffee, green tea black sesame, and balsamic caramel. 4 stars for the overall experience.
People thought this was:
Not to be mean, but Humphry Slocombe doesn't live up to the hype. It is quite possibly the worst of the artisan small ice cream producers so far. Unlike the wildly popular Bi-rite, Ici and the now defunct Sketch, it seems now that only talent you need to possess to be an ice cream maker is to be able to infuse stupidly strange flavor combinations into a pre-prepared ice cream base from Strauss Creamery or Berkeley Farms, and voila! you have an ice cream company! And everyone jumps on the bandwagon and thinks it's great because of the weird flavors like peanut butter curry.
Well, in this pastry chef's' opinion, the quality is inconsistent, flavors are muddy and artificial tasting and it seems that there's a lot of shock value going on....I mean, what's up with the Jesus Juice? The first time I had the McEvoy olive oil ice cream, I thought it was okay, not great, but something I could get into (by the way Pizzeria Delfina makes a wonderful olive oil ice cream) but the second time I tried it, the flavor was weak, the texture was incredibly icy (could have been old) and frankly, tasted like a generic drugstore brand. My friend had the vanilla, which tasted old, stale and more like artificial vanilla or vanillin, as it is called in the industry.
My advice to the folks at HSIC is that they might want to try improving and mastering the classics and focus more on producing a high quality product and less of a shocking one.
People thought this was:
No, no and more no.
Seriously, half of the flavors made me puke in my mouth just by thinking about them.
Salt & Pepper:
Anchovie Chili Chocolate
Jesus Juice
Secret Breakfast
Balsamic Caramel
Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee
Peanut butter & curry
To be fair, my friends and the 600+ reviews on yelp love this place. I really don't get it.
Sorry guys, maybe I like normal flavors. Maybe I'm boring. I feel like I'm the PC of the ice cream world and you're the Mac.
Whatever it is - you're not doing it for me.
It's not you, it's me. We're going to have to to part ways.
Ok, thanks, bye.
People thought this was:
5 stars for unique ice cream .
Minus 2 stars for BAD ATTITUDE service .
Seriously, who stuck their dick up your ass today ?
Minus 1 star for really melty ice cream .
Plus 1 star for FREAKINGAWESOMEDERICIOUS cookies .
I will come back for cookies, but I will not come back for ice cream . If you're going to have unique flavors, then you better expect me to want to try more than two .
I ended up getting the balsamic caramel . It's good for the first 5 bites, but after it gets all liquidy, the vinegar in the ice cream intesifies, and it just got too overwhelming for me .
My friend had this jesus thing with this corn ice cream . The corn one was pretty good . The jesus thing tasted like 7up plus wine .
Definitely check it out for its uniqueness, but don't expect to try more than two without getting a faceload of bitchyness . -_-"
Holy shit, this place has the most random combinations of flavors but they are so good.
They are really nice about letting you try the flavors before you find "the one" that suits your tastes. I ended up going with Secret Breakfast. Yummy. Bourbon and cornflakes? I was hoping it would be Maker's Mark bourbon in the ice cream, but it was Jim Beam. We can't all be perfect.
I'm hoping to try the foie gras ice cream next time I visit. They change their selections so if you see something you want on their online menu, call in to see if they have it available that day.
People thought this was:
I haven't tried the offerings of Bi-Rite or Mitchell's (the rest of the SF ice cream trifecta - are there more? please enlighten me), but our visit to Humphry Slocombe was definitely ice cream heaven.
I tasted the peanut butter curry and the secret breakfast flavors. I always tend to try a few flavors and then order something completely different, but the secret breakfast was too good to pass up. I loved the burbon flavor with the SUPER creamy ice cream and random corn flake crunches. The PB curry was really good too, but the curry aftertaste was a little strong so I ventured out and replaced it with banana pecan - a safe bet, but excellent. Carmelized pecans dotting a smooth lightly banana-flavored cream. I like that HS is taking an adventurous approach to ice cream and appreciate their innovative flavor combinations. I'm up for anything if it involves frosty sweet cream, really.
I worked in ice cream retail in high school and have used the oops-I-accidentally-screwed-up-your-order-so-I-can -eat-it-later tactic, so I could relate when one of the girls behind the counter made a Blue Bottle Viatnamese Coffee + Oolong Tea creation TWICE when my friend had ordered the Coffee + Dulce de Leche. An innocent mistake, and after eating our four creations, we offered to buy both of those off her anyway....
I WILL be back. Is it a guilty pleasure if you never actually feel guilty about it?
People thought this was:
This place was good. Large scoops for a single, but even better was the exotic tastes that blended well. Secret Breakfast, what a interesting mix but awesome execution. Place is small, one row of seats, but otherwise non-descript on a side street.
I had the Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee + Secret Cereal, courtesy of Jonas T. (Thanks, Jonas!! :D) I LOVE Blue Bottle coffee, so you can imagine how amazing this scoop of BBVC was for me--heaven in a cup.
However, I seriously think I got drunk off of my scoop of Secret Breakfast (corn flakes + bourbon). In any case, the alcohol tasted stronger than my usual cup of Tom Collins--and one Tom Collins is about all I can handle on any given night. Dislike.
I also tried the Peanut Butter Curry--the curry aftertaste is almost UNBELIEVABLE!! Definitely interesting.
They occasionally have Candy Cup Mushroom--a must try!!
But, bottom line--Birite over Humphry!
Don't let its unassuming facade fool you -- this place is full of amazing frozen treasures.
Here are the flavors I sampled (yes, you can get samples!):
Secret Breakfast (bourbon & cornflakes) - When my friend, who happened to live in a frat, enlightened me on the concept of "Beereal", I was totally disgusted. So you can probably guess my hesitation in wanting to try cereal with liquor. Yet, this flavor is amazing! I actually don't like whiskey, but there's just enough in there that you can taste it without it being overpowering. If anything, try it for its uniqueness!
Dulce de leche - Delicious, but so rich, I don't know if I could have had a whole scoop of it without feeling like I was suckerpunched in the pancreas.
Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee - Picks you up and won't let you down! This coffee-flavored treat was pretty spot on. By the time my friends and I made it here after a morning full of running/walking/hard cardio, we were exhausted and hungry. This kept me awake and kept me going without a nap the rest of the day!
Oolong tea - If you like green tea ice cream, I think you'll like this one. This actually ended up being my favorite because it tasted "light", but in a refreshing way, not a "all the fat and sugar has been taken out, gross" kinda way.
I will definitely be fat kidding my way back here to try the rest of the rotating crazy flavors they offer!
I'm not a huge fan of different ice cream flavors. I generally go for vanilla, or some variant of it. For example, vanilla with cookie dough, or vanilla with oreos, or well...french vanilla. In otherwords, I don't really branch out.
But well, every once in a while, you decide to try something different. That's where a place like Humphry Slocombe comes in. They have several non-regular flavors, but not so far out there to make me retreat into...well...vanilla.
Will I go back and try all the different flavors, not at all. But, will I go back, definitely.
People thought this was:
Lord have mercy, this is ice cream heaven! I've never experienced so many amazing combinations of flavors that sound odd, but work.
The peanut butter curry is sublime, the olive oil is mild, nutty and creamy at the same time and the balsamic caramel really tasted like vinegar melded with caramel.
The day we went they didn't have the infamous secret breakfast, which is fine by me because it gives me an excuse to come back and taste my way through the amazing flavors Humphry Slocombe has to offer.
People thought this was:
This place was pretty cool. I went in the middle of the day and there was no line at all! Whoa! I didn't know what to expect with their cooky ice cream flavors but I was very impressed. The secret breakfast was bomb. The corn flakes tasted really good. The chunks resembled cookie dough. Super enjoyable. The other flavor I tried was the olive oil. Yet, it tasted a bit too much like orange at the end. But all in all a good experience.
For the price, my 2 (single size) scoops of ice cream were pretty ample. I was thoroughly impressed and I can't wait to go back and try some new flavors.
Peanut butter & curry? Check. Bourbon & cornflakes? Check. Red wine & coke? Check. Prosciutto ice cream??? Hmmm I'll pass on that one.
This place has some amazing ice cream flavors. So amazing that you'll most likely be grossed out by a few of them. The best that I tried were the peanut butter & curry and the hibiscus beet. Unfortunately the 2 of them did not go together, so I had to pick one. I wanted to try a taste of them all but i didn't want to be obnoxious about it so I stuck to 3. Next time I'll try the coffee and the salt & pepper, but not necessarily together.
I also love that everything there is reusable or compostable. Nice!
People thought this was:
ahhhh beer ice cream.
People thought this was:
this would be my 2nd choice if bi-rite was closed. 2 flavors that i like: secret breakfast and the blue bottle viet coffee.
service was great!
Very inventive flavors, but that doesn't necessarily mean they all taste good. Well, I'll let you be the judge of that, but here's my two sense on the flavors . . .
- Salt & Pepper: it was like licking frozen sea salt & pepper, too strong for me
- Ancho Chili Chocolate: sweet and the spiciness kicks in later
- Peanut Butter Curry: sweet & good even though the combo just sounds bad
- Jesus Juice: red wine & coke - no thanks, not for ice cream at least
- Secret Breakfast: yummy! how did they make bourbon & corn flakes taste so good together?
- Balsamic Caramel: strong balsamic flavor, couldn't taste much of the caramel
- Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee: taste just like a frozen viet coffee = yummy!
Prices are very reasonably and they are very environmentally green. Oh yeah, the two headed cow is just trippy along with the clown painting by the door, but I really like the parlor swivel chair seating and the soup artwork. Looking forward to coming back and seeing what else they come up with.
People thought this was:
yes, yes i will give you four stars for awesomeness.
i had three types of ice cream as well as a bunch of cute little samples (which, might i add, they use real metal spoons for ya).
thai chili lime sorbet was awesome. so was the peanut butter curry. the candy cap (mushroom ice cream) sort of did not have any flavour really. the ancho chocolate, i sort of wished had more oomph of spice to it. the secret breakfast (bourbon and frosted flakes) was scrumptious, with its balles of flakes and tasty bourbon flavour. the cream cheese was nice too.
they also had flavours like olive oil, and i hope to come back when they have things like foie gras and salted caramel.
it's kinda cool- as you're in line, they're changing flavours, so you really never know what you're gonna get.
awesomeness. :)
People thought this was:
This place is awesome and completely something unique to San Francisco that I know of. Obviously, the flavors are incredibly creative and adult - ex. secret breakfast has bourbon. You also gotta love the fact that they constantly change the flavors so much, that everything is written in erasable marker on the glass case. My sister had Jesus Juice sorbet (coke and red wine), my bro-in-law had the anchove chile chocolate, and I had the peanut butter curry (the last 2 were hard ice cream). All were delicious - the curry seemed to last forever in your mouth, which I could see bothering some people. A must stop when I am in town again.
Is the ice cream ok? sometimes. Is it mind blowingly good with flavours that always work together? HELL NO.
Is it the most pretentious ice cream place ever? There is a good chance the answer is HELL YES.
My spouse loves this place. She also loves twitter, thought rednecks didn't really exist in the USA and has weakness for hipster crap. So yes she find the taxidermied wall art cute rather than insulting and tacky like I being the kid of bambi killers and rednecks find it.
Now that we've dealt with the ugly hipster decor on to the important thing: the ice cream. It gets all my stars for trying new things and then it loses three for not delivering ice cream that tastes good.
Secret Breakfast? more like boring soggy breakfast, corn flakes are good because they are crunchy but not here and so what if it has alcohol in it. They may as well just make it with PBR since that's what the clueless hipsters consider decent alcohol.
I've been here about a dozen time, ie where ever the spouse sees an interesting flavour posted to twitter and despite all the radical flavours they create, I can't remember one that made me want to go back.
Not to mention they have mexican chocolate ice cream but of course being hipsters they have to rename it.
place I would go to before this place: Bi-rite, Maggie Mudd's, the Indian place on Valencia, Naia in the Castro, the three or four good places on Geary and Ici in the East Bay.
People thought this was:
3.5 Stars
Now what is up with ice cream places coming up with funky, unpronounceable names? Humphry Slocombe? Bi-Rite? Ici? Okay, its name gets a 9 on quirkiness but a 3 on concept. But moving on, what really makes Humphry stand out are their ridiculous flavors! All of these gourmet ice cream places are known to have unique flavors but Humphry really would make ANYTHING into a flavor.
Now I really dig the decor of the place. With its blue awning and white floor, it really feels like an old ice cream parlor. The walls are decorated with interesting Campbell soup can paintings of the Andy Warhol variety but with a twist.
When we got there, Orange Chocolate and Vietnamese Coffee were out, which made this Viet boy quite sad. Instead, I got the famous Secret Breakfast and Olive Oil. The breakfast was cornflakes and the secret was bourbon! And yep, this is the ice cream for alcoholics because you really do taste the bourbon. I thought it was good but the alcoholic taste got tiring after a bit. But Olive Oil was awesome! Fruity, light, lemony, and delicious!
My friend was even more adventurous when she went with Peanut Butter Curry and Tahitian Vanilla. The vanilla was good, it had some kind of spice that gave it a kick and made it taste a bit exotic. The curry on the other hand tasted...like curry, but in ice cream form. Again, 8 on creativity but 3 on actual taste. Humphry's servings are HUGE so you definitely get your money's worth but overall the ice cream texture was not as good as Bi-Rite or Ici. It was a bit too icy and not creamy enough.
So props to Humphry for taking ice cream flavors where they never went before, but a minus because some things still aren't meant to be ice cream. I would come back to see what other creations them have come up with but would probably limit myself to just samples of the more interesting flavors.
I love the fact that I live in a neighborhood that when someone tells you a gourmet ice cream place featuring exotic, inventive flavors just opened, my first reaction is "Another one?" That's right; watch out Bi-Rite Creamery, there's a new kid in town. And his name is Humphry Slocombe.
He'll match your Salted Caramel with his own Balsamic Caramel and then leave you speechless with Pistachio-Bacon. Yeah, it's like that. A few friends and I all took a Saturday stroll down to this retro-style joint at 24th & Harrison a week back. It was the perfect (January) day to try some ice cream, temperature in the mid-60's. I tried the Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee (solid) and the Secret Breakfast, the secret being a devilish blend of bourbon ice cream and caramelized corn flakes. They have a few dozen flavors listed on their web site and rotate about 10 at a time. I am already looking forward to my next visit. Highly recommended.
Humphry Slocombe gets my vote for creative flavors that are true to the taste of the ingredients encompassed. This past weekend I tried the Banana Rum and Peanut Butter Curry. Peanut Butter Curry may sound a bit odd; however, somehow the peanut butter and curry go together well as an ice cream flavor. Yet, I must make note the curry is quite strong (just like it tastes when eating Indian food) and not as sweet as one may like. The ice cream is creamy and quickly melts in your mouth.
However, if you like a caramel or coconut ice cream, I would recommend trying Bi-Rite as their flavors may cure your ice cream craving or sweet tooth as they are more true to traditional sweet flavors with a few unique ones of their own (salted carmel).
People thought this was:
Part 1 of 2 of the ice cream tour in SF: Humphry Slocombe
One word to describe Humphry Slocombe: Meh
Pro:
- Decent wait
- Pretty cool ambiance
- Interesting flavors (ie: Jesus Juice, Peanut Butter Curry)
- Fairly cheap (1 scoop $3.25)
Con:
- I was not impressed with any of the flavors here, including the famous Secret Breakfast. It was just so-so for me.
- Most of the flavors were quite dominating, (ie: Balsamic Caramel). I usually like caramel and balsamic vinegar, but I didn't quite care for the mix as the ice cream was way too sour. I also had a taste of the Jesus Juice (wine + coke) and it was just OK. as were Miso Peach, and a cinnamon based ice cream.
Based on flavors, I'd say Humphry Slocombe is more of a 2.5 stars, but I do like the various flavors that they offer and I'm still intrigued with a few flavors that were not available when I went last week. However, when I tasted a few of the flavors, there weren't any that stood out as a must try, in fact, I had a hard time picking out the 2nd flavor that went along with my Secret Breakfast. Not because there were so many flavors I wanted, it was sadly the opposite. With Scoops in LA and Bi Rite in San Francisco, these are much better choices for your ice cream cravings. Unfortunately, I think Humphry Slocombe is quite average, if not just overrated.
People thought this was:
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Neighborhood: Noe Valley
Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
Neighborhood: Parkside
Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
If you know me, this is what I love to do in San…
The places I regularly go to in the Mission when…
A little sketchy at times, but there is some GOLD…
If it's on this list, it means you can order…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Sometimes, when I feel like frozen yogurt isn't…
Read all about it! A select list of places I've…
"The Mish," as I like to call it. Please don't…
