In the day of commercialized and therefore often chemically-infused products, food often falls subject to less than superior standards. Tragically, ice cream is one of the victims. Don’t get me wrong: a cone from Dairy Queen is still a great treat. But in terms of a taste sensation? Something to make your mind and mouth go wild? Now that’s harder to come by.
After spotting the place in numerous Calgary magazines and articles, Village Ice Cream was obviously the perfect choice if I were looking for amazing cold stuff. So, after driving through downtown, we finally reached this little haven. It’s kind of off the road and would be hard to find, except for the fact that even at 9:30 p.m. on a Wednesday, there was a substantial line reaching out the doors. With most places I would judge this as a problem. But luckily, the line went smoothly and quickly, probably partially due to my anticipation and growing appreciation of the ice cream.
In this small but modern, well-furnished and decorated shop, your attention instantly goes to the menu. At 10 regular flavours and a couple seasonal and sorbet and vegan flavours, the menu isn’t huge, but it honestly doesn’t matter. You are allowed to sample as many flavours as you want, and you’ll soon discover that they’re all insanely good – which makes your decision difficult enough already. But then you also have the choice of getting an ice cream sandwich, a fresh homemade waffle cone, or a sundae which includes hot fudge sauce, whipped cream and a cherry on top.
I’m already terrible with decisions, but I knew they would all be good here, so I was able to decide upon a sundae with salted caramel. My mom got the same but in a fresh waffle cone (which she reported was scrumptious and amazing), and my dad got a vanilla bean sundae (Village Ice Cream can even make plain vanilla wonderful). Not a bite was regretted. We chose to eat on the nice, clean benches inside, but there is also lots of room outside, including a wooden benched area with shrubbery.
Now, why was this experience so awesome? Why is this ice cream so good? Although the price does recognize that this ice cream is special ($7 for a sundae, and I believe $5 for a cone), the fresh, creamy goodness makes it worth it. The owner is determined to use organic, real products. No shortcuts, or artificial flavours, just the real deal. These pure flavours blend with the perfect ice cream density and texture, and you are served heaven in your mouth.
Oh, in case you haven’t figured this out, I highly recommend trying out Village Ice Cream! They’re open everyday until 11 p.m., so you have no excuse not to go there ASAP and realize what ice cream can and should be. 🙂