From the unique flavors to the incorporation of an apostrophe in the i of its logo, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is a cozy, friendly, neighborhood kind of ice cream parlor. Although neither small nor especially local, Jeni’s still made my list of “green restaurants” around Cleveland. I can justify this decision by its rare business approach and one-of-a-kind array of flavors which boast many Ohio ingredients. On Jeni’s website, the creator claims that her milk comes from grass-fed cows and the Snowville Creamery in Pomeroy, Ohio, near the southern border with Kentucky. Columbus boasts the majority of the shops in Ohio, but a few can also be found in Nashville. There are shops coming soon in Georgia and the Chicago area, as well.
So while Jeni’s might not be Farm-To-Fork eligible considering its wide radius and growing reach, this unique parlor is notorious for its handmade and hand-picked flavors. You can go to a Scoop Shop to get a dish, sundae, or even ice cream sandwich to taste the flavors or just order your own for home from the online store. The flavors currently being advertised include the following: Apricot, Askinosie Dark Milk Chocolate, Backyard Mint, Bananas + Honey, Bergamot (orange), Black Coffee, Brambleberry Crisp, Brown Butter Almond Brittle, Chamomile, Cherry Lambic (sorbet), Cloverton, Dark Chocolate, Double-Toasted Coconut, Goat Cheese with Red Cherries, Grapefruit, Huckleberry, Lemon & Blueberries, Lime Cardamom, Loveless Biscuits + Peach Jam, Mango Lassi, Ndali Estate Vanilla Bean, Passion Fruit, Pistachio & Honey, Queen City Cayenne, Rainbow, Red Raspberry, Riesling Poached Pear (sorbet), Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk, Salty Caramel, Sweet Corn & Black Raspberries, The Buckeye State, The Milkiest Chocolate in the World, Whiskey & Pecans, Wildberry Lavender, and Yazoo Sue with Rosemary Bar Nuts.
After spending the day in Shaker Square, my grandma and I took a short trip over to Chagrin Falls on the way back to Pennsylvania for a snack at Jeni’s. Chagrin Falls is a quaint Cuyahoga town near the Geauga County line and the shop is just as quaint as its surroundings. We were welcomed by the typical large chalk board menus with handwritten titles and cute homemade country decorations. My grandma tasted a few different flavors before settling on two scoops: Loveless Biscuits + Peach Jam and Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk. I wanted to maximize my experience, so I went with three: Queen City Cayenne, Sweet Corn & Black Raspberries, and Chamomile, complete with waffle triangles. The scoops were very tiny and our dishes were $4.50 and $5.50, respectively. We sat inside the shop to finish our ice cream and sip on cucumber water from the free jug at the counter. The cayenne was spicy like I like it, reflecting traditional Mayan hot chocolate (minus the cream and sugar). Sweet corn sounded like a perfect match for ice cream when I saw it, and the berries added just the tang to counteract the sweetness. Chamomile compared to the other two was subtle, but my grandma particularly liked its strong, flowery taste. My grandma’s peach scoop was just what I would expect, real peaches with crunchy cookie bits. Her strawberry scoop was creamier and more realistic than any shop strawberry that you’d find at a grocery store. When we were finished, my picky, small-eating grandma gave herself a pat on the back for having finished her entire order of ice cream for the first time in as long as she could remember.
I would much prefer eating ice cream at Jeni’s than Coldstone, the other popular choice in Cleveland. At Jeni’s, you can get some real, savory flavors that remind you that not everything has to be in enormous portions and obliterated with gobs of sugar and fat. You can learn to appreciate flavors like corn and zucchini and not always coat your sweet tooth with sugary berries and fatty caramels. In fact, going to Jeni’s has inspired me to get back into my homemade ice cream-making. This time, I’m looking at developing some soy ice creams on my home churner using some herbs and other summer ingredients from my backyard!
Grandma at Jeni’s by the falls.
Jeni’s logo sign.
Ice cream sandwich display.
Menus and prices, hand-written.
Looking in to one of the freezers.
Our selections in their tiny, European-style proportions.
Decorations reading “gravel”, the name given to Jeni’s cookie crumble topping.
Looking down on the falls from outside.
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