Everyone knows that when it comes to food, there's no better holiday than Thanksgiving. So when we heard ice cream shop Salt & Straw concocted a five-course meal of Thanksgiving-themed ice cream flavors, we knew we had to try them.
But turkey and mashed potatoes in our ice cream? Would our taste buds be able to handle all the holiday realness? The answer may surprise you.
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FIRST COURSE: Sweet Potato Casserole with Maple Pecans
Sam's thoughts: "Casserole" is actually the French word for "the lady who made this dish drives a minivan and loves Mary Kay," so I didn't have astronomical expectations for this flavor. The sweet potato flavor was OK, but OMG were the maple pecans HEAVENLY. They totally made the scoop.
Rating: 2.5/5
Chrissy's thoughts: The word "casserole" immediately makes me gag because I'm, like, 90% sure if just means "a dish filled with layers of indecipherable foods," but I took one for my Midwestern fam and went for it, and honestly, not even people on Whole30 should be forced to eat this many sweet potatoes.
Rating: 2/5
SECOND COURSE: Buttered Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Sam's thoughts: I don't know why mashed potato & gravy flavored ice cream tasted exactly as it was advertised, but it was SUCH a trip to be eating something that tasted like mashed potatoes that was cold and creamy and not hot and fluffy. It actually tasted good, but it really threw my senses out of whack.
Rating: 3/5
Chrissy's thoughts: There's no ice cream in this. I'm sure of it. I now have to live with the fact that I licked goddamn gravy out of a cone by my own free will.
Rating: 1/5
THIRD COURSE: California Acorn & Chestnut Stuffing
Sam's thoughts: Stuffing is such a weird concept to begin with — let's flavor some stale bread with the juices of a dead bird! — that I wasn't surprised that I didn't love this flavor. But again, I have to hand it to Salt & Straw — they took a REALLY bizarre flavor and made it palatable.
Rating: 2/5
Chrissy's thoughts: This tastes like a mistake, and let it be known: nothing I put in my mouth should be in there by accident.
Rating: 2/5
FOURTH COURSE: Salted Caramel Thanksgiving Turkey
Sam's thoughts: This was the flavor I was most intrigued to try, and it truly blew me right out of my leather pilgrim boots. It mainly tastes like salted caramel (the favorite ice cream flavor of faux hipsters everywhere) but there are actually hints of turkey and strangely it works, I think because the sweet, salty, and smokey flavors all go together well. Out of all the weird things that happened in 2016, enjoying turkey flavored ice cream might be the weirdest.
Rating: 5/5
Chrissy's thoughts: Honestly, the logistics behind this ice cream confuse me because I have no idea what bird meat I'm eating or where it even is, but this one is fucking great, and I apologize to all vegetarians that we took another good thing away from you.
Rating: 4/5
FIFTH COURSE: Spiced Goat Cheese & Pumpkin Pie
Sam's thoughts: I'm not a huge pumpkin fan, but I felt classy AF eating goat cheese ice cream. Of all the flavors, this was the least bizarre, probably because it was the desert course. Honestly, after this experience I think I'd rather celebrate Ice Cream Thanksgiving than Regular Thanksgiving.
Rating: 3.5/5
Chrissy's thoughts: IDK who is having spiced goat cheese on the reg at their bougie-ass Thanksgiving, but I will say if I'm gonna have chunks of random shit in my ice cream, it better be good, and the pumpkin pie bits D-E-L-I-V-E-R-E-D.
Rating: 4/5
I scream, you scream, we all scream for Thanksgiving Ice Cream!
