Think you have seen it all, between fried ice cream, macaroon ice cream sandwiches, and spaghetti ice cream?
GIF courtesy of giphy.com
Well, there’s a new kid on the block in the frozen happiness department.
Since March, 8 Fahrenheit in Doraville has been delivering a Thai street food–rolled ice cream–to stomachs in Hotlanta.
Rolled ice cream first made the journey to the United States in 2015 with 10 Below in New York’s Chinatown, where lines usually roll right out the door.
Fortunately, Atlantans can now taste the treat without hopping a flight to the Big Apple or Thailand.
At 8 Fahrenheit, you get an ice cream experience that is both entertaining and delicious.
Photo by Hui Lin
The shop is located in northeast Atlanta on Buford Highway, easily one of the most culturally diverse sections of town. Along the highway, you can find cuisines from around the globe and signs in half a dozen languages…which admittedly can make it easy to drive by 8 Fahrenheit (but just trust Google Maps, because it has your best sweet-tooth interests at heart).
The process is straightforward: once you get in the door, you pick a base flavor, mix-ins and three toppings for your ice cream, and take a number. You then wait as artists (no, the term “ice cream scooper” is not sufficient here) go to work.
First, they pour the glorious base, from original to Thai tea to coffee, onto a surface similar to a toasty, round crepe maker…except, you know, frozen.
Then, the hardworking chefs chop in your mix-ins, which range from banana and lychee to graham crackers and strawberries.
After the chopping is done, the mix is spread over a frozen surface and carefully rolled up in sections–with what resembles a putty knife–and added to a cup.
Toppings are layered on with visual appeal in mind, (guuuuys, they toast the marshmallows in front of you), and then you wait impatiently for your number to be called.
While you may not get to watch your cup being prepared, the shop is designed so that you can observe all the artists at work. Also, the space is laid out such that you stand in line to pay and order at the front, but once you are inside, you don’t need to wait too long before you are diving a spoon into your new favorite treat.
Photo by Mollie Simon
At $5.99 a cup, rolled ice cream isn’t the cheapest sweet fix in town, but it’s worth the price and one cup can easily satisfy two people if you are ballin’ on a budget.
So, how does the taste compare to regular ‘ol ice cream? There is definitely a unique freshness to it since there aren’t any preservatives, but all told, it is similar to regular ice cream with a hint more creaminess than airiness.
But, the experience is still 100 percent worth it.
And, if you don’t live in the Doraville area, you are in luck because the rolled ice cream trend is catching traction.
The week of June 27, 8 Fahrenheit is opening a new location in Duluth which will be almost three times bigger than the original space, according to owner Peiqin Lin.
Other cities should watch out for the shops soon, too. Houston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia have all joined the sweet ranks of ice cream rollin’ towns.