Hoping Chimney Cakes Isn't Just a Smoke Screen

House of Chimney Cakes

173 West Center Steet Promenade

Anaheim, CA 92805

After meeting my parents for an epic lunch nearby, we did not want the good times to end, so I did a quick search of nearby dessert places on Yelp and turned up a bunch of results. One of the most promising was about ten minutes away, so we hopped in our cars and headed to the House of Chimney Cakes.

I had not been to this part of Anaheim for quite some time. The closest I have gotten was the Anaheim Packing House, but this Center Street Promenade area, which is situated across the street from the Anaheim City Hall had a pretty cool, big city vibe going for it. There were some restaurants I have wanted to try here; Pour Vida Latin Flavor, Cervantes Mexican Kitchen, and others, but those would have to wait for another day since we had just eaten a big lunch. This trip was all about itching those sweet cravings we were having.

I had never heard of chimney cakes before this afternoon. Looking at the pictures on Yelp, they kind of looked like the cones were made like churros, with ice cream inside of them, and crazy toppings making them Instagram-worthy. After arriving at this small shop I learned that these are not churros, but a Hungarian sweet bread, traditionally called a kurtoskalacs, which is cylindrical in shape, with a crunchy outer shell and a softer inner core. Their website claims that the chimney cake is like a cross between a donut and a churro. I was intrigued.

Opened since November of last year, the House of Chimney Cakes is owned and operated by a Szandra Szabo, a Hungarian fashion model, who moved to the US to share her love of chimney cakes with the foodies in Southern California. Along with her business partner, she serves as founder, CEO, and head pastry chef at the House of Chimney Cakes.

We arrived here at the awkward hour of 2pm on a recent Tuesday, found parking right away in the adjacent parking structure, and ordered our chimney cakes. The menu here features seven signature creations, which are ready-made options like Oreo Overload, Matcha Madness, Apple Pie, and others. These are perfect for people that don't want to come up with their own creations. You can also build your own chimney cake with the ice cream, toppings, and sauces that you desire. You also have the option of forgoing the chimney cake altogether and getting the soft serve in a cup, like my mom ended up doing. Katie and I wanted the full experience, so let's see how our first chimney cake encounter went over.

Katie went pretty basic here, with her Build Your Own Chimney Cake ($7). She opted for the chocolate soft serve ice cream, a cinnamon-sugar chimney cake cone, and some coconut flakes sprinkled on top. She felt this was good, but not great. She liked that it was not overly sweet, and the soft serve ice cream was of a better quality than most she's had. A pretty basic ice cream treat.

I went a little more crazy, getting their Oreo Overload ($7.95). This signature creation starts with a chimney cake rolled in Oreo cookie crumbs and is filled with vanilla and chocolate soft serve, then more Oreo cookie crumbs are added and then finished off with chocolate sauce and an Oreo cookie. This was just okay, as I was expecting a bit more. Truth be told, I'm not really partial to soft serve ice cream, as I like real deal ice cream better. This was better than average soft serve though. The chimney cone was not what I was expecting either. The outside was crunchy, and I thought the inside was going to be softer, but maybe because the ice cream made it too cold, it was a little harder than I imagined it was going to be. The Oreo experience was lessened even more because they do not have cookies and cream ice cream, which might have helped this out a bit. Thanks for the hand modeling mom.

Much like a lot of these Instagram-worthy foods, the Chimney Cakes were very photogenic, but when it comes to eating them, they do not live up to the hype. These were not awful, but this is more of a place you come once, post your pictures online, and then probably don't return to, unless you are in the area again and want to get some extra likes for your IG account. The chimney cake needed to be sweeter, and with more ice cream flavors available. Very decorative, but not much else going on here.

Out of five falcons, (because the Saker falcon is the official bird of Hungary, the country where chimney cakes originated), five being best to zero being worst, the House of Chimney Cakes gets 2.5 falcons.

For more information about the House of Chimney Cakes, head to their website here: https://www.thehouseofchimneycakes.com/

Consuming CroCreams at Churned Creamery

Churned Creamery

2493 Park Ave. #21

Tustin, CA 92782

After a rather lackluster dinner experience nearby, I was really ready for some dessert. Since it has been so warm and humid out there lately, ice cream was, of course, the natural choice. A quick check of Yelp led us to Churned Creamery, which is located on the backside of the Union Market at the District at Tustin Legacy.

Not knowing too much about Churned Creamery before getting here, the ordering process was a little confusing at first. The three step process starts with how you want your ice cream; in a bowl, a brownie bowl, cone, or in a croissant. Then you pick your flavor, which on this particular evening they had 13 available with the wildest ones being either the honeydew or the whiskey and cream. There are also four sorbets available. The third and final step in the process is to add your toppings and maybe a drizzle of Nutella or caramel over your creation. There's also shakes and soda floats for people that would rather drink their ice cream than eat it with a spoon.

Katie went the simple route at Churned Creamery with this Single Scoop of Chocolate ($4.50 + $1 for up to three toppings). The ice cream was very creamy and the chocolate shined here. I liked the consistency of the ice cream, as it was not overly heavy, but did stay cold for awhile. I was a little disappointed with the selection of toppings that they had. There were no crushed up Resse's, no crushed peanuts, and no peanut butter drizzle. Sounds like they are anti-peanut or maybe I just really wanted a peanut butter and chocolate vibe. Katie settled on Butterfinger pieces and chocolate sprinkles which she seemed to really enjoy.

Here's the real reason to come to Churned Creamery, their signature Crocream ($7 with three toppings included). I was pretty stoked with this creation. It's a croissant cut open with a scoop of ice cream inside of it and then you choose up to three toppings to complete your masterpiece. I had the Resse's Peanut Butter ice cream with a Nutella drizzle, chocolate chips, and granola rounding this out. They were not shy with the amount of ice cream they added inside of the croissant, so I ate a few bites with my spoon and then finished this off eating it like a sandwich. Even though I would probably not get the underachieving Resse's ice cream again, this was a delicious dessert, and one I have thought about since I had it a few weeks ago.

Churned Creamery finished our evening off well. I'll definitely go back and have another Crocream the next time I am at the District. Now that I got the lay of the land here, I'll create an even better version of my masterpiece next time. Probably a mint concoction with chocolate and Oreos. I didn't think that the prices were too out of control, especially when you consider the area. Service was pretty solid, and the guy who helped us was very patient with all of our questions. A very welcome addition to the Union Market, especially since Mr. Holmes Bakery is always closed when we are here.

Out of five blimps, (because this restaurant is in the shadows of the massive hangars that were once a storage and repair area for blimps during the Marine Corp Air Station days), five being best to zero being worst, Churned Creamery gets 3 blimps.

For more information about Churned Creamery, head to their website here: http://www.churnedcreamery.com/#home-section

Finally Making It After Everyone Else - CLOSED

Afters Ice Cream

2738 Alton Parkway

Irvine, CA 92606

As with most things in my life, I'm behind the times. I bring up a song or catchphrase to my coworkers, and they look at me and say that was so yesterday. My wardrobe has been called grandfatherly. We were the last ones on earth to get Netflix. I was also one of the few people among my friends who wanted to get a smartphone, and now that I have it, I am curious to know how I got along without it for so long. Even though I write this restaurant blog, I'm sometimes behind the times in trying some of the hot items on Instagram, or as we cool kids call it, The Gram. What, we are not doing that anymore?

I was recently invited to try one of the hottest ice cream sensations to hit OC in years. I can't scroll through my Instagram account and not see something from Afters Ice Cream. It's unsurprising, considering that this was Scott Nghiem and Andy Nguyen's first venture together. These lifelong friends came up with this concept three and a half years ago, and it has blossomed into a mini-empire of 15 locations spread throughout Southern California. The pair have gone on to start other non-ice cream projects, GD Bro Burger and Pig Pen Delicacy, which has the excellent Mac Daddy Burger, which is fantastic.

Back to what has finally brought us to Afters on this warm weekday afternoon. As if this place needs another popularity boost, they have partnered with Sanrio, the world-renowned brand that has given us the wildly popular Hello Kitty and other characters. Afters has created two Hello Kitty-inspired flavors, available at all 15 locations until Sunday, August 13th. My friend Erin and I could not wait to try these two flavors and experience Afters for the first time.

While all the Afters locations have limited Hello Kitty flavors, their Irvine location is the most decorated with Hello Kitty decor. All the walls are plastered with this little feline, and there's plenty of Hello Kitty merch to buy while you wait for your ice cream to be scooped. We saw many people snapping pictures in front of the walls this early afternoon.

Now, on to the main event, the two limited edition Hello Kitty-inspired flavors. We first tried Mama's Apple Pie, a vanilla-based ice cream with applesauce, apple pie filling, and crumbled cinnamon sprinkled on top. We got this in a cup and in their Milky Bun, a warmed glazed donut with ice cream inside. Of course, the Milky Bun version is the way to go. The contrast between the warm donut and the cool ice cream was excellent. This apple ice cream was okay, as the cinnamon topping overshadowed any apple flavor we could taste in the ice cream. Great hand modeling, Erin.

This Yummy Strawberry Cake is the flavor to get at Afters. Erin and I loved this ice cream, loaded with plenty of strawberries, a strawberry swirl, and shortcake bits. This ice cream would fit right in at the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival. Again, the Milky Bun was the way to go if I had a choice. They topped it with rainbow sprinkles this time, which helped make the picture pop. I talked briefly with Afters Founder Andy Nguyen, and I was surprised to find out that they make their own ice cream and the glazed donuts they use in making the milky buns. I was impressed.

Even if you're reading this after August 13th, try Afters Ice Cream. I can't wait to come back and try the Banana Walnut Fudge and their interesting-sounding Churro flavor. Glad I finally got with it and made it to Afters Ice Cream. It won't be our last visit.

For more information about Afters Ice Cream and to find your nearest location, head to their website here: https://www.aftersicecream.com/

No Waffling About Sweet Combforts - CLOSED

Sweet Combforts

2222 Michelson Dr.

Irvine, CA 92612

If you've been following along on our food journey in order, you know that our last two reviews took place at the new Trade Food Hall in Irvine. We started with an excellent fried chicken sandwich and followed that up with the very impressive Mac Daddy Burger, which utilized two fried mac and cheese patties for the bun. Yes, we were feeling pretty good but needed something a little sweet to finish this evening off. Luckily, there is one place at Trade to get your sugar fix, so we headed to Sweet Combforts.

Sweet Combforts is brought to us by the same guys who run Pig Pen Delicacy, their neighbor at Trade, Portside, and GD Bro Burger. Sweet Combforts debuted at Coachella this spring, and one news article about them said they were the only reason to make the trek out to the desert. I'm not sure if that is a dis about the music or if their Instagram-worthy food is really that good.

Now, with a permanent home at Trade, their chef is Anne Marie Damaso. She hails from California's Central Coast but has worked at numerous OC restaurants in different capacities. At Sweet Combforts, she uses a scratch-made liege waffle batter infused with pearl sugars and then coated with cookie butter and assorted toppings. After the savory part of our visit to Trade, we were excited to try Sweet Combforts.

When entering the Trade Food Hall, Sweet Combforts will be the first stall on your left. The menu featured six different kinds of waffles on a stick with assorted toppings, five varieties of ice cream, and two shakes. Katie ordered for us, and about five to ten minutes later, we had our stuff. Let's see how it all turned out.

First, courtesy of Katie's excellent hand modeling is the Churro Crunch Waffle ($6). This waffle was coated with cinnamon sugar and Cinnamon Toast Crunch and finished off with a cream cheese drizzle. I was underwhelmed with this. I thought the churro flavor would be slightly more pronounced, but it fell flat. The only flavor I really got here was from the cereal on this. I would have liked a little more cream cheese drizzle, and the bottom of our waffle, near the stick, was very well done, almost bordering on burnt. We should have tried one of the other five kinds of waffles offered.

In case we did not have enough food during our visit to Trade, Katie also gave us some ice cream. She got me a Single Scoop of Peanut Butter and Chocolate ($3) and a Scoop of Salted Caramel ($3). Hers was the better of the two. The saltiness came through while the caramel lingered in the background. I was expecting a caramel ribbon through this, but no such luck with my bite. The peanut butter and chocolate were disappointing as well. With the amount of chocolate included here, calling this peanut butter and chocolate was grounds for false advertising. Little specks of chocolate, smaller than chips, do not add enough to get equal billing here. In fact, it could have been called vanilla ice cream because the tiny ribbon of peanut butter did not add too much, either. I don't know if they make their own ice cream, but a chocolate ice cream base with a large ribbon of peanut butter running through it would have made this way more enjoyable and more accurate to what they were going for.

Sweet Combforts did not really shine for us this evening. I'd give them another shot because they are the only dessert game in town at Trade. Next time, I'd try their Oreo cookie-inspired waffle or their version with Circus Animal cookies. The Cookie Monster Shake seems really popular and is my choice over the scoops of ice cream. A better option is to leave Trade and head to Afters Ice Cream on the other side of the 405 Freeway for their delicious Milky Bun or more comprehensive ice cream selection. Since you have mastered the parking at Trade, it should be no problem getting a spot at the always-crowded Diamond Jamboree.

Out of five mallets (because this place debuted at Coachella, which is held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, and you can't play polo without a mallet, or a horse for that matter), five being best to zero being worst, Sweet Combforts gets 2.5 mallets.

For more information about Sweet Combforts, head to their website here: http://www.sweetcombforts.com/

Not All Smoke and Mirrors at Creamistry - CLOSED

Creamistry

27692 Santa Margarita Parkway

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

I didn't see the big deal about liquid nitrogen ice cream. I had been to two of Creamistry's competitors and left underwhelmed. That's probably why I was not expecting too much when we arrived here after a rather lackluster dinner nearby. They had made me a convert when I walked back through their door.

Creamistry has expanded like my sweatpants after inhaling their fantastic ice cream. They have locations throughout California, including eight in OC, and even have spots in Arizona, Texas, and on the other side of the world in India. I'm unsure of the science behind their ice cream, as I barely made it out of my 10th-grade science class, but I know the result is delicious. Each frozen treat is made to order using liquid nitrogen.

The menu here can be intimidating with all of their choices. They have tried to make it easier for Creamistry virgins like me by ordering in four easy steps. First, you order the size that you would like. They offer singles, doubles, and shakes. Then you select your base, with choices like premium cream, organic cream, sorbet, or coconut-based, which is non-dairy, vegan, and an alternative for people sensitive to lactose, eggs, or gluten. Now, the hard part picking a flavor, and with 30 different kinds, this could take a while. The last step is adding any toppings or sauces you may desire. Then your order is made.

It is a remarkable process with all the smoke, and it takes only a few minutes before your ice cream is ready. Let's see what got me all excited.

What you see above is the best Peanut Butter and Chocolate Shake ($7.50) I have had. It had a great chocolate flavor, with just the right amount of peanut butter, which got sucked up the straw in little pellets. This shake had the perfect chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio, and I also enjoyed the thick chocolate sauce coating the cup and the whipped cream. It's so good, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about this shake since I had it a few weeks ago. Thankfully for my waistline, they are not too close to my house, so this will be a special treat when I'm back in this area.

Next up were the scoops that Katie and Stephanie got. Honestly, I was in such a euphoric state with my shake, I'm not even sure what Stephanie got, but I know that Katie selected the Single Scoop Nutella ($5.50) made with the coconut base and pecans added. She loved this non-dairy ice cream, which she claims is one of the best she's eaten. I tried it and thought it was good, but I'd stick to ice cream made with dairy. She enjoyed the slight coconut tinge here but wished the Nutella would have been more prominent.

I was kind of blown away by Creamistry for not expecting too much when walking in here. With previous mediocre visits to their competitors, Sub-Zero and Scoops and Scoops, they are leading the pack regarding liquid nitrogen ice cream in OC. I look forward to trying more of their flavors, including their cereal flavors, which get a lot of attention. The girl who took our order was very patient with us as we perused the overwhelming menu, and she explained everything to us. Glad I finally found my go-to liquid nitrogen ice cream place. Now, I have to just practice a little restraint.

Out of five airplane tires (because nitrogen is also used to inflate airplane tires), five being best to zero being worst, Creamistry gets 3.5 airplane tires.

For your nearest Creamistry, check out their website here: https://creamistry.com/

Warning, Icy Conditions Ahead!

Christina's Homemade Ice Cream

1255 Cambridge St. 

Cambridge, MA 02139

Sometimes you just get lucky. Like when you are running out of gas, and they just happen to be a gas station where you can fill up. Or maybe you are late for class, and when you get there you find out that the class was canceled anyways. Finding Christina's Ice Cream was just like these examples. After eating at the All-Star Sandwich Bar next door, we really needed something to cool down our taste buds, and lucky for us we were steered right to Christina's.  

Christina's has been around since 1983. We arrived at 9 on a Tuesday night and were met by a line that almost reached the door. Thankfully this gave us enough time to decide on what flavors we were going to get. The list of flavors was almost as long as the line. They feature fifty flavors at a time. Take that Baskin-Robbins! Flavors range from the mundane Chocolate and Vanilla to the crazy, Avocado, Lavender, or Liquorice. Not wanting to get that crazy, this is what we got when it was our turn in line.

Katie tried the Malted Chocolate and the Butter Almond. She called the malted chocolate, "delicious and very creamy". The butter almond was not as rich as she expected, and she was also happy they did not overload the ice cream with almonds. The ice cream should really be the star of the show, and the extra bits supporting players. That was the case here. 

I did not get really crazy with my picks either. Peanut Butter Chocolate and Carrot Cake. My favorite flavor of ice cream is peanut butter and chocolate, and this one was good, but it was missing something, hunks of peanut butter. I definitely got the peanut butter flavor, but it was too subtle for me. The carrot cake ice cream, on the other hand, was fantastic. Both Katie and I felt this was the best of the bunch. The flavor was dead on, all it needed was some cream cheese icing and it would have been exactly like a carrot cake. Good stuff.

Christina's is a good ice cream spot. They rotate flavors in and out, so you could never get bored. The line, even though it was long, went really quick. The guys working behind the counter got to everyone real fast. While eating our ice cream here, we noticed that they have a local artist wall. I imagine this place getting packed in the summer, especially since they only have four tables. It was lucky we stumbled upon this place, but we felt even luckier after eating here. 

Out of five squares, (because the city of Cambridge has lots of intersections called squares, and not because the people there are boring), five being best to zero being worst, Christina's Homemade Ice Cream gets 3 squares.  

For more information on Christina's, click here: http://christinasicecream.com/

Stumbling Upon Serendipity

Serendipity 3

225 E 60th St.

New York, NY 10022

I admit it, I have never seen the movie Serendipity. I had not even heard of this restaurant until a week before I was leaving for New York. That is when the girls at the bank asked me if I had Serendipity on my list of places to try. I told them no, but after they mentioned Frozen Hot Chocolate and other ice cream treats, I had to succumb and add Serendipity to our food parade of the Big Apple.

Serendipity 3 was started by three friends back in 1954. Named after a crossword puzzle clue, the three amigos decorated their place with Tiffany lamps, started selling kitschy items and started hawking frozen treats. Serendipity just kind of took off. They had lines around the block and famous clientele, Andy Warhol, Bill Clinton, and Katie Holmes to name a few. Wait times for a table have said to be about three hours on a busy day. Luckily on this night we only had to wait an hour. Let's take a look inside.

Serendipity kind of had a Farrell's feel to it. Being here made me feel like stepping back in time. Their menu is huge and looked very intriguing. Two items caught my eye.

If I had not just eaten dinner I would have tried the $69 hot dog, just to say that I have had it. Really it is not that much more than you pay at the ballpark. Okay maybe a little bit more, but I could have justified it because I was on vacation. I do not think I would ever be tempted to eat a $1000 sundae. The sundae is covered in 23 karats edible gold leaf, rare chocolate, and even comes with a spoonful of Grand Passion caviar. A little too rich for my blood, so we settled on these items.

Katie could not resist the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate. This oxymoron was actually quite good. It tasted just like a frozen hot chocolate. A great rich chocolate flavor in this. Katie had no trouble finishing this up by herself after we all took turns trying it.

For as long as I can remember my Dad has loved ice cream sodas. He likes them only one way though, a chocolate ice cream soda made with chocolate ice cream. Unfortunately, there are not too many places that still serve these. Lucky for him though, you can still get an ice cream soda at Serendipity. I could tell that he was very pleased with this nostalgic drink.

My Mom saw three scoop sundaes on the menu and immediately asked if they had a smaller size. The waiter sold her on this Two Scoop Sundae. Two scoops of vanilla ice cream combined with rich hot fudge with real whipping cream and a cherry on top. A sundae from long ago, this tasted very good. I am sure my Mom could have finished the three scoop sundae with no problems, but she has great willpower.

I really chickened out here. I should have gone big, but I chickened out. I ordered the Coward's Portion Banana Split. This traditional banana split came with vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream, rich hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry on top. The ice cream here was very creamy and held the coldness in very nicely. It was great to have real whipping cream for a change, instead of out of the can. It really made a difference.

Serendipity might be a trendy place to eat, but it is definitely worth the buzz. Although we only ate desserts here, they were all very good, and we were pleased to have been here. The service was fair, they were still really busy when we walked out of the restaurant at 10pm. Worth the wait, but they do take reservations for dinner in case you want to try the $69 dollar hot dog.

Out of five chocolate chip cookies, (because chocolate chip cookies were invented through serendipity), five being best to zero being worst, Serendipity gets three chocolate chips cookies.

For more information on Serendipity, click here: https://serendipity3.com/