Ici

After the Eat Real Fest in Oakland, we headed up to Berkeley - another first for me - and we hit up College Avenue. Natalie and Mitch kept calling this "going to College," and John and I thought they meant Berkeley (the school). We thought they were weirdos for this, but apparently they just meant College Ave. On College there is this ah-may-zing ice cream shop called Ici. It was 90+ degrees on Saturday, and since we all abstained from ice cream at the food fest, clearly we had to stop at Ici.

Above you can see their display of flavors on the wall - how cute is that? They have lots of normal flavors (chocolate) and tons of unique flavors too (lemon vanilla). They use organic and sustainable ingredients, perfect for Berkeley. And one of their three founders used to be the pastry chef at Chez Panisse. It's no surprise this place is delicious!

There is a huge twisting line in a very small room, and I thought it was great they put out water for their suffering customers. Sadly for me, it was sparkling water. I really do not like the taste of sparkling water. On my first date with John he ordered sparkling water (to impress me of course) and I choked it down. At the end of the night I think I told him how much I hated it. In fact I think I told him the truth - that it tasted like dirt. Who wants bitter water? Not me!

I'm smiling while drinking it, but really I'm not psyched. I guzzled for the sake of avoiding dehydration though.

Behind me you can see some of the adorable candies and things they have. Peppermint marshmallows, macaroons, peanut brittle, and candied orange peels. It was hard to restrain myself from buying a whole arm full.

I was only able to restrain myself because I knew this amazing treat was coming my way. You can see it's melting fast in the heat, but I'm doing my best to keep up. I got pine nut praline and it was everything I dreamed it would be. One of the best parts of this place is their cones. They are homemade (natch) and then down at the bottom the last inch is coated and filled with chocolate. Why haven't other people started doing this? It helps make sure there are no leaks and gives you a delicious bite at the end.

This was just our first stop in Berkeley, and I was in heaven. More on our trip later.