The 901 Scoop

The 901 Scoop
3536 Walker Ave
901) 421-5519

I took my mom and the monkeys (Satchel, 15 and Jiro, 13) to Sushi Jimmi for dinner. (More on that later.) The topic of rolled ice cream came up, thanks to my recent (negative) review of Rollin Sweets. Satchel had no idea what we were talking about since he didn't go or read my review, so Jiro busted out a YouTube video. I mentioned that I heard a second rolled ice cream place opened yesterday over by the U of M. One thing led to another and we decided to go check it out, just for comparison's sake.

I can truly say now that Rollin Sweets wasn't bad, rolled ice cream is just dumb. I don't care if that makes me sound like an old lady.

When we walked into The 901 Scoop, the first thing I was looking for was how many people in the store were actually eating and how many employees were actually rolling. There were only a handful eating and two gals rolling.



What The 901 Scoop has going for it, is that they have several things you can order and get right away -- cookies, premade ice cream, sno cones, and coffee. The owner was also behind the counter doing his best to let us know how it all worked and what our options were.

There were 14 cups ahead of us--that's 14 orders of $6.50 rolled ice cream--which the owner clocked at a 30 minute wait.



He said it took about six minutes per order. So let's do some math--two girls making seven each at six minutes per order, that's actually about a 42 minute wait. I had already promised Jiro we wouldn't wait, so the rolled ice cream was out.

Can we go back to my Rollin Sweets review for a second? You know the one where I clocked the gal making them at 3.5 minutes and I padded the entire exchange to 5 minutes? Well that girl was working her ass off. The girls at The 901 Scoop, not so much. They pretty much looked like they were hating life and there was no pep in their step, so to speak. One of them was spending a lot of extra time cutting off the edges of the ice cream so it was perfectly square before she rolled it. The other one was just looking pouty. I watched for awhile and only saw one finished product which was not pretty. Rollin Sweets at least had a good looking final product.



I don't see how any business could last long term with just this concept.

Satchel ended up getting a Tiger Blood sno cone. The owner was trying to sell him on a Jolly Rancher sno cone with ice cream and whatnot which sounded good, but Satchel went old school. Jiro wanted a scoop of salted caramel in a waffle cone, but they were out of waffle cones (on Day 2). I was going to try what was billed as a candy bar taco, but it also required a waffle cone, so I went with a scoop of mint chocolate chip. My mom was mystified and passed on ordering anything. Our total was $9.33.



Zzzzzzz...

There was nowhere to sit, so the monkeys shared a piano bench. Not sure why a piano is taking up prime real estate here, but ok.



The end.

Rollin Sweets

Rollin Sweets
26 S. Second
(901) 623-3497

After Jiro (13) and I went to Ono Poke, we headed downtown to Rollin Sweets for a little dessert. Facebook was buzzing about how great it was, and since Jiro actually knew what rolled ice cream was (he saw it on YouTube), I thought a Monday night would be a good time to check it out.

I knew it was on Second & Monroe, but not exactly where. After circling the block a few times, we found it a few doors down from Raiford's. As you can see, it's pretty easy to miss.



As we got closer, I noticed this sign on the door. Uh oh.



Now, had I been alone, I would have simply turned around and left. (Or had I been with a toddler or infant or any kid under the age of 13.) Jiro was not deterred. We went in, and while all of the seats were full and there were a few people watching their ice cream get made, we were encouraged to place our orders.



Neither of us really knew what to do, not unlike what we just experienced at Ono Poke, so the cashier kind of walked us through the options. Again, they have some pre-selected combinations or you can make up your own combination. Then there are some specialty items like milkshakes and sundaes.



I decided on Nana's Bananas at the cashier's recommendation and Jiro got the "Don't make me choose" which is composed of several different types of candy. Our total was $14. The cashier wrote our names and order on some cups and then put them in the queue.



"Uh...how long is the wait?" I asked, now remembering the sign on the door. "Oh about thirty minutes," she replied. Ok, no big. I told her we'd probably walk around for a bit. I wanted to show Jiro the new pocket park across from the Brass Door and I wanted to see the latest art installation in the Tops Gallery there, so I considered it a win. (Jiro probably wouldn't have otherwise agreed to a walk.)



I also got to show him Raiford's. But it only took us about 20 minutes. When we got back to Rollin Sweets we knew we were in the for the long haul. So, we started a game of pass n play Scrabble. Most everyone else waiting was calm and I started to think this ice cream must be REALLY GOOD. But I also started to think, "Why do they only have one girl making the ice cream? What's everyone else doing? How are they going to stay in business like this?" I mean, it was crowded, but not crazy crowded.

At one point there appeared to be a shift change, or some of the employees went on break, I'm not sure. The sign on the door came down, a few more people came in, and then a new sign went up.



So, yeah.

After an hour and fifteen minutes, it was finally our turn.

I was up first and had a giggle about the secret ingredients in Nana's Banana's.



The gal poured a small cup of ice cream base on top and chopped everything up with a spatula. As she did this, it began to freeze. Then she flattened it all down, and then scraped it up in rows to make the spirals. (Click below for video.)



I also timed her. It took her about 3.5 minutes for the whole operation. When she was done, I asked if I could have some toppings since I thought the cashier said it was unlimited toppings. She said yes, so I requested Reeses peanut butter cups. I mean cup. She said I could only have one. Ha!



So I'd clock my whole order to be about 5 minutes from start to finish. If you look back at the ice cream queue picture above, there were a total of ten cups, but I think that was the queue after my order was completed. Anyways, if you order and want to gauge your wait, multiply each cup ahead of you by 5 minutes.

Back to my ice cream. Jiro and I both took a bite and it was quite delicious.

Jiro's turn was next, and I again timed her at about 3.5 minutes. I felt bad for her having to crush and chop everything with the spatula. I imagine she's pretty tired at the end of her shift. Seriously.

Jiro was scared to ask for toppings after my experience, but his ice cream already included several treats. It was also yummy.




We went to sit down and enjoy our ice cream, and noticed two assholes took our seats in the window. Even when they saw us come back, they didn't say a word. Or a whole sentence like, "Hey sorry, do you want your seats back?"

We sat in their old seats, which were clearly not as good as ours.

A few other observations:

There are actually two stations where they can make the ice cream. I can't explain why they are only using one.

Also a woman who came in an hour after us got a milkshake after about 15 minutes. They made it in the back.



Finally, once the ice cream melts a bit, or you mess it up with your spoon, it just looks like regular ice cream. So unless I walk by this place and it's totally empty, or they have trained a second person to fulfill orders, I will probably never go again. That place on Main Street that used to be Maggie Moo's basically does the same thing and it's faster and cheaper.

The end.

p.s. The bathroom was not stocked and didn't lock. I learned both things the hard way.

Voodoo Doughnuts (Portland, OR)

Voodoo Doughnuts
22 SW 3rd Avenue
Portland, Oregon
(503) 241-4704

Had I known that Warren and the monkeys (Satchel, 11, and Jiro, 9) would make it all the way to Portland on their summer road trip, I would have insisted n going. Or I might have at least flown to Portland to meet them! Anyway, when Warren told me they were in Seattle, I said, "You have to take them to Voodoo Doughnuts on your way to California." Since Warren is a hardcore donut fan, it was an easy sell.

I feel like anyone who watches any kind of food TV knows about Voodoo Doughnuts, but if not, here are a ton of TV clips to whet your whistle.

The boys went to the original location, which was around the corner from the food truck pod they went to for lunch. (There are now three locations--two are in Portland, one in Eugene.)



It's a good thing they had lunch first because the line was about a block long and doubled back. They ended up waiting over an hour, which they did not complain about.



Voodoo is open 24/7 (except Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's Day) and I wouldn't be surprised if the line was always this long!

When the boys got a little closer to the front, a man walked over and asked if they knew who he was. They did not.



Turns out it was Kenneth "Cat Daddy" Pogson, who along with Tres Shannon, opened Voodoo Doughnuts way back when despite having never made a donut in his life. (They apparently went down to California to learn from some donut masters there.) Anyways, this meeting gave the monkeys a good laugh.

Once inside, Warren made sure to take a picture of the cute gal working at the counter. Oh and the menu!



Yep, there is an entire vegan section! Not that my guys tried any of those. You can see all of the doughtnuts here. They have some pretty funny ones. They start at .95 cents and go up. Voodoo is cash only.

Look at my sweet boys humoring their dad while he humors me.



They got six doughnuts and a coffee to go, for a total of $13.75. They immediately went outside to dig in.



WHAT DID THEY GET??

They had to get wo signature Voodoo doughnuts filled with raspberry jelly.



The pretzel in the head is a nice touch!



Jiro said this was better than Donald's and Satchel said it was the best donut of his life!

Warren also had high praise for the maple bacon bar...



Jiro wasn't going to stop with just one. He also got a dirt doughnut with Oreos and a bubble doughnut with bubble gum. Cute, huh?



Satchel must have also gotten a second one, but I can't tell which one it is from the menu.



They all agreed this was money well spent!

I'm proud of Warren for resisting the Maple Blazer Blunt Doughnut, which is shaped like a huge spliff. But I am shocked he didn't get a Memphis Mafia doughnut just to represent!

I don't usually eat doghnuts but I am jealous! Voodoo Doughnuts looks like a super fun place. They even perform weddings under a holy donut by an ordained minister!

Mango

Mango Restaurant
2733 Getwell
369-4334

When Jennifer Biggs, of the CA, reviewed Mango back in April, I immediately put it on my list of places to take the monkeys (Satchel, 10, and Jiro, 8). Mexican, Middle Eastern, AND ice cream? Yes, please.

Last Saturday, we once again made the trek to Sky Zone and I made it a point to drive home via Getwell, so we could check out Mango. It's in a strip mall, and pretty easy to miss. I had to circle back after passing it.



The inside is very cute and your meal could easily be sidetracked due to the prominence of the ice cream counter.



Thankfully, the monkeys were actually interested in eating. I wasn't sure if we should sit down or order at the counter (since there's a huge menu on the wall), but a nice man, who I am assuming to be the owner, told us to have a seat.

The menu on the wall was very large, like I said, and contained pictures. Satchel immediately honed in on the hot wings. (Seriously, he has a problem. The problem being I ate hot wings throughout my pregnancy with him?)

The waiter/owner handed us all what he called "new menus."



I couldn't really discern the differences, so we proceeded with Satchel's order of hot wings. "You want hot?" the waiter/owner asked Satchel. I followed up with "Hot or mild?" He looked at us both like we were stupid, and said, "Hot."

"Oh, he's a big boy!" the waiter/owner commented.

Jiro wanted a cheeseburger, per usual. The waiter/owner who had previously tried to get us to order drinks rather than waters, noted that if Jiro was getting a cheeseburger and fries, he could have a free drink. I really didn't think Jiro needed a soft drink, but he put me on the spot. He listed the drinks for Jiro, who then selected fruit punch.

I really hoped to convince Satchel to get a mango burger, which actually comes with mango, but he would not be swayed. These dudes have gotten in a serious cheeseburger/hot wing rut. Much like the chicken nugget, hot wings and cheeseburgers are on a lot of menus.

Anyway, I wanted to try both the mango burger and the hummus with ground beef that Biggs highlighted, but there were lots of other things that sounded good too. I needed Warren so we could split a few things, but I was on my own. I asked the waiter/owner to make a suggestion and he suggested I try the shishawook platter. Sold!

While we waited for our food, the waiter/owner brought out a plate of chicharrones. Usually chicharrones are fried pork skins. I guess that's what these might have been, albeit a very processed version. They didn't have much flavor until I squeezed the lime and added a little hot sauce. Then they were a nice appetizer.



Our food came out soon after. I thought Jiro's burger looked very tasty. Bigg's noted that the burgers weren't hand formed, but based on the looks and size of the patty I had to wonder if maybe they took her suggestion and upgraded the meat.



Jiro was somewhat distraught that his burger had lettuce, tomato, and a shit ton of mayo on it.



I immediately performed surgery on it and somehow convinced him it was not ruined. Pshew! He was still a little cranky about it because it was slippery. I wrapped a napkin around it and that helped. He only made it through half of it, but it was a pretty big burger.



Satchel was pleased with his wings. He polished off the fries first and then dug in.



He managed to get through three before declaring it felt like he had needles in his tongue! I tried one and it was hot, but not crazy hot. I think I'll tell him to save his fries to help with the fire next time.

My plate was absolutely lovely.



The chicken was grilled to perfection. I let Jiro try it and he said, "Mmmm, it's like Daddy's chicken." The pita was nice and warm and I loved the garlic sauce. Also, the salad was fresh and flavorful. The rice was nothing special, which was fine, because I was too full to eat it. I let Satch have it in the hopes it would help with his mouth burn.

While we were eating, another family came in, and I noted that one of the cooks, who had brought out our food, was called over to take their order, in Spanish. (Our waiter/owner was the source of the Middle Eastern dishes on the menu.)

I thought for sure the monkeys would want ice cream, but I guess they were full. When I told Jiro I was going to see what they had, he said he would look too.

There were about twenty flavors of Blue Bell ice cream for scooping, milkshaking, or making sundaes.



And an assortment of pre-packaged treats.



There were also paletas from Paletas Lichitas in Nashville.



I only just realized they were from Nashville, otherwise I might have tried one. I ended up getting a chocolate/vanilla ice cream bar instead.



Jiro went for a Crunch bar.



We paid at the counter. Our total was a very reasonable $25.90 and there was no tip line, or tip jar.

The waiter/owner was very nice and wanted to know how we liked everything, how we heard about the place, and if we'd be back. Oh yes, we'll be back. I have many more menu items to try.

Velvet Cream

Velvet Cream
2290 Hwy 51
Hernando, MS 38632
(662) 429-6540

I'd heard talk of Velvet Cream, more commonly known as "The Dip," for some time. Over Memorial Day weekend, my friend Ashley and I went after a day trip to Sardis, MS. (We were practicing for the Dragonfly Triathlon that is held there every year.) Once I had finally found it, I knew I had to come back with the monkeys (Satchel, 10, and Jiro, 8.)

Last Friday, I took them and a friend to Sardis to hike and swim, and then we stopped for lunch on our way back to Memphis. As you can see, it's kind of like Jerry's Sno Cones. You order at the window and then are left to your own devices to find a spot to eat.



The menu is really insane. There's just So.MUCH.Stuff. to choose from. Just one example--the hamburger offerings:



Then there are signs like these everywhere with additional items to choose from.



Seriously, it's crazytown.

I gave the kids some time to read through the choices. Surprisingly they made up their minds pretty quickly. Basic burgers and shakes. Their friend, Theo, asked for a corn dog. They said they didn't want fries, but I ordered some anyway. (I got two for us to split because they are a hearty portion.) I went with a grilled chicken wrap and a shake.

The girl behind the window wrote our order on a big white bag (which was later filled with our food) and then rang us up. Our total was $31.50. She said we got a free pint (?) of ice cream for spending over $30 and asked us to choose a flavor. Of course we went with Girl Scout Samoas.



Then we waited patiently for them to get everything together. (Which really means we hovered by the window salivating.)



There was some discussion about the kids milkshakes. Theo and Satchel ordered "dirt" flavor, which is actually just a sundae flavor, so the girls made them Oreo shakes with chocolate ice cream. (Jiro ordered a Twix shake and I went with peanut Butter.)



Once everything was ready, we did like we do at Jerry's and commenced tailgating. I'm pretty sure the boys were starved from all of our swimming and hiking. The shakes totally hit the spot. Jiro said it was the best milkshake he'd ever had, and he's had plenty.



There wasn't enough room for me in the back, so I sat on the cooler next to the car and handed out the food.



As you can see, it's nothing special. The burgers are thin patties, most likely pre-shaped and frozen. The fries are good--thin and crispy. Theo took one bite of his corn dog and never took a second. I totally didn't blame him.



The hot dog was kind of grey/white and gross looking. Now maybe that's because it was made from turkey or some other meat that's better than usual hot dog meat, but it didn't look very appetizing. I told Theo, who's dad is in the restaurant business and who should know better, that it probably is a good policy to never order a corn dog.

My chicken wrap was pretty good. It needed some sauce though.



Satchel and Jiro liked their burgers just fine, but neither finished due to the amount of milkshake they ingested. It is really hard to eat a meal and a milkshake at The Dip. For that reason alone, I'd say go for the shakes and ice cream, and skip the food.

BUT! I do believe that somewhere hidden in their crazy menu is a real gem. If someone knows what it is, tell me and I will eat it.

What else should I say? We never did get our free pint of ice cream, but considering we had a long drive home, it was fine.

I don't think they have bathrooms, so people with small children be warned.

Oh, they stay open pretty late which is awesome. Look how cute it looks at night:



(Photo borrowed from their Facebook page.)

Check them out the next time you are near Hernando, or need an excuse to get out of Memphis.