ICECREAMOLOGY

Ice cream is a worldly culture phenomenon. Tonight I sampled an Italian piece of the phenomenon at Rancatore’s Ice Cream in Belmont. Captain America and I teamed up for the drive over which easy since the local schools are on vacation right now.

Despite the Italian name, Rancatore’s was uniquely decorated with framed magazine covers, different color chairs, and a community bulletin board. I was reminded of a school playground.
Adding to the community atmosphere are the friendly employees at Rancatore’s. They were grooving to the funky music and patient with my long decision making process. Once I decided, they were prompt and friendly.

Payment Methods: Cash

Toppings:15 toppings

Rating Breakdown:

Scientific Ice Cream Sample: Large Dish Of Ginger Snap Molasses Yogurt

Price Paid For Sample: $4.52

Value: With a deep and wide bowl, my copious serving was a great value. I paid $4.52 for it, a good price for suburban ice cream.

Location: Rancatore’s is not well located. It sits on a main street in Belmont, but the area is lacking cultural activities such as restaurants, bars, and coffee houses. It’s accessible by bus and car, but not train.

Menu: Sadly, the menu is limited despite it’s 30 flavor selection. Many ice cream shops suffer from candy-based flavors, Rancatore’s is no different. Only a few flavors are fruit based. All the flavors are uniquely named. Flavor names like Grape Nut Raisin make Rancatore’s memorable.
The toppings selection also limited the menu’s fun factor. Only 5 wet toppings and 10 dry toppings are available. Most disappointing is the lack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Quality: I mistakenly ordered frozen yogurt. The sample was hard, and slightly smoother than most ice cream servings. Slightly frosty and colder than most ice cream, it still tasted similar to regular ice cream.
Molasses is a rich element which carried over to the frozen yogurt sample. Simultaneously, it was lighter, but not overly light.
The ginger and molasses mix creates a unique bitter sweet taste. It’s similar to a sweet tasting coffee with sugar in it. The flavor tasted exactly like ginger snap cookies, which are addictive!
Consequently, the ginger and molasses taste is partly why I have come to love internal mixings. They are small, easy to chew, and add the necessary flavor without overwhelming the sample. They were expertly executed.