Location: 3110 Mt. Pleasant St. NW
Readers’ pick: Happy Gemini’s olive oil gelato & cocoa crumble
On a hot night at the end of March, a long line of customers stretched outside the door of Mount Desert Island Ice Cream, craving a taste of the shop’s odd assemblage of flavors.
I arrived and saw customers enjoying their treats on the porch outside of the gray Mount Pleasant building and was immediately hit with the aroma of sugary waffle cones when I walked through the wooden doors. There was a lengthy line, especially for a Tuesday night, which built up my decision anxiety as I pondered my flavor selection.
Mount Desert Island Ice Cream is a “premium” ice cream company, which proudly tells visitors on its website that they make their lemon ice cream by juicing individual lemons, and their vanilla ice cream by scrapping individual vanilla beans. The franchise has four locations outside D.C. — two in Maine, where the company started, and two in Japan.
On my visit, I decided to go with Pretzel Terminal, the official flavor of the District’s own heavy metal band, Darkest Hour, in honor of their album “Perpetual Terminal.” I was drawn to the D.C. roots of the name and the combination of toppings. The flavor features a salted chocolate base with pretzel toffee and a fudge ripple mixed in. I was curious about the salted chocolate, a flavor combination I had never tried before.
Mount Desert Island Ice Cream does not offer just one scoop but sells one and a half as the minimum amount, allowing customers to mix and match their top two flavors ($6.60). I decided to pair the bitter yet salty chocolate flavor with something a little lighter for my half scoop in the form of Salt Wildflower Honey, containing sea salt from Maine and honey from wildflowers because the flavor combination was appealing especially with the main flavor in mind.
With a backdrop of Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” playing on the speakers, I sat myself down on one of the light blue stools at a counter against a white brick wall and began my taste test.
I had taken a gamble on the flavors — the shop does not offer samples to be environmentally friendly and eliminate waste. Other contenders included Bay of Figs, Vegan Spicy Chai and Blueberry Sour Cream Crumble. I ended up pleased that I rolled the dice because the salty chocolate was an ideal balance of a salty and sweet, a combination of a snack and treat that I find myself craving nightly.
The ice cream was different with each bite, some salty from the pretzels and some sweet from the toffee. The consistency of the frozen treat itself was oddly stretchy as I pulled it up from the cup. Nevertheless, the fudgy swirls were my favorite part, balancing the crunchy toppings with their smooth texture. I discovered a mountain of toffee at the bottom which left my teeth sticky, but I enjoyed all the different textures of the mix-ins. The treat was the right amount of bitter, sweet and tangy.
The Salt Wildflower Honey flavor was lighter in comparison to the heavier mix-ins of Pretzel Terminal. The addition of gooey honey made the ice cream stretchier than the first as I scooped it out of my cup. I am not one to usually enjoy floral flavors because I’m not a fan of perfume-tasting sweets, but the salt cut the wildflower honey’s sweetness, making each bite an enjoyable combination of flavors.
As I finished up my cup of Pretzel Terminal, I made my trek back to campus with my nightly salty and sweet cravings both satisfied.
