Restaurant Review: Kind Ice Cream

KIND ICE CREAM 9551 76th Avenue | kindicecream.ca Instagram: @kindicecream | Twitter: @kindicecream Co-Diners: The E.A.T Crew

You know what's having a bit of a moment right now? Artisan ice cream. The small-batch, made with love kind. In Edmonton there are two main players; Made by Marcus (which is from Calgary) and Edmonton's very own Kind Ice Cream. Both places serve hard ice cream and both are very good, however, supporting the business from right here at home feels like the right thing to do. Edmonton Journal named Kind the Best Ice Cream Shop 2020 and Best Ice Cream Shop 2021, so it's gotta be good. Kind Ice Cream has two adorable locations, with the original shop situated in Ritchie directly across the street from Ritchie Market. It's one of the coolest little slices of the city and the absolute ideal spot for an ice cream shop. (The second location is in Highlands which is pretty much just as cool.) Opening in 2019, the shop is still fairly new but it finally put Edmonton onto the ice cream map. Kind thrives to use the very best ingredients, crafting some of the best ice cream that anyone has ever tasted. Are they succeeding? I'd say that they're doing pretty well! From their "Always Flavours," the ones that are consistently available, to their "Rotating Flavours," there is always something new and interesting to try. I visited on a Saturday afternoon, it was a beautiful sunny day, and it was most certainly ice cream time. There is very often a long lineup, especially on a nice day. You should be prepared to stand in line for a while, otherwise plan your visit for a less popular time of day. Ice cream at 11am anyone? Don't let people judge you. Alternatively, you could show up on a bad-weather day and easily walk right in. There is no wrong time for ice cream. The shop is small and cute, with a fresh and easy vibe. They've got a bit of neon lighting in there (on trend!) and the simplistic and clean decor works well. There's a surprising amount of ice cream to choose from (who would've thought!) including thirteen different flavours that are always on hand. This month Kind is featuring an (awesome) '90s Series with three bonus flavours that include; Dunkaroos, Deep'n Delicious, and Grape Crush Sorbet. I was pretty pleased to be visiting when I did because anything 90s speaks my language! You can get your scoops delivered to you in a multitude of ways; in either a cup or cone, single scoop or double, and you can upgrade to a waffle cone. The hottest tip around is that if you go for a single scoop they'll let you divide it into two different flavours. It's the best way to go and it gives you the perfect amount of ice cream. However, on my visit I was going big or going home. I approached the friendly staff behind the counter and ordered TWO Double Scoop Waffle Cones ($8.50 each) which equals four different ice cream flavours. I needed to try as much as possible. Once I gave my flavour order I requested that the staff combine whichever two flavours (per cone) that they thought would work the best together and they were happy to oblige.

I LOVE that their beautiful cone holders are made by Ryspot Design, a very awesome Edmonton maker. These sorts of details are not lost on me and I appreciate that so many elements of their experience are kept local. The flavours!!! Here is what I picked! River Valley Road ~ River Valley Road is our take on the perennial classic, Rocky Road. Gooey marshmallows, house-made brownie pieces and crunchy candied walnuts and walnut bitters in a milk chocolate base. Let’s zip along the North Sask together, shall we? This flavour seemed like a must because it's the most "Edmonton" of them all. With a name like "River Valley Road," this has gotta be Edmonton's signature ice cream flavour. Ultra chocolatey, if you're a person who loves chocolate but also wants a little something extra involved, this is the flavour for you. I loved the crunch from the walnuts and the chew from the brownie. My favourite part was the marshmallow and I wish that I had gotten more bites with marshmallow in it! Great for lots of different texture, this is one tasty scoop. Maple Bourbon Pecan ~ Our maple bourbon pecan is the perfect storm of deliciousness. Packed with roasted pecans delicately coated in sweet maple syrup and a hit of Kentucky bourbon, it’s got the crunch, the salty-sweet, and the boozy joy. Of all the flavours, this is the one that I'd heard the most about. This is the one that people seem to love. And I can see why because I loved it too. It might very well have been my favourite. The thing that impressed me the most was that I could really taste the bourbon and it added such a wonderful element in play with the maple. The pecans definitely took on a salty-sweet crunchy quality which is so addictive. This flavour gives you everything that you need and I will keep coming back for it. Salted Caramel ~ We make our salted caramel ice cream the right way. We make our own salted caramels using the best possible ingredients, finish them with a hit of Maldon salt, and melt them down into our sweet cream base to create this mind-blowing flavour. Kind's website has a REALLY neat quiz on it where you can find out: Which Flavour Are You? So fun! The quiz is actually quite involved, asking 16 questions about everything from your favourite places to go and things to eat in Edmonton, the kind of footwear you prefer, and your favourite season. Not only do you find out what your perfect ice cream flavour is but they also give you a Spotify playlist of music that matches your flavour! Upon completing my quiz I was given the result of Salted Caramel and so of course I had to order it. This flavour captures everything that you want salted caramel to be. Extremely creamy with velvety flavours of caramel and a hint of salt. It's exquisite. Dunkaroos ~ Name a more radical ’90s lunchbox treat. We double - no, TRIPLE dog dare you. Our version of Dunkaroos features housemade vanilla cinnamon cookies throughout an irresistible rainbow vanilla icing base. This one was a must-try!!! They really, truly captured the flavour of that Dunkaroos icing. The ice cream tastes like rainbow icing and the bits of cookie within totally round out the experience. I, for one, was always the MOST excited when I had Dunkaroos in my lunch and this ice cream really brought back those memories. I hear that this one sells out on most days. I loved this one a lot and it was probably by second favourite. All of the ice cream was very creamy and delightful. Full disclosure: I had tried Kind on one previous visit and I wasn't impressed because I found that there was quite a lot of ice crystallization within the two flavours that I ordered. The ice cream wasn't smooth. This visit however, was completely different. This time all four of the flavours were lusciously smooth and creamy. I didn't note a single ice crystal even once. I'm not sure if I just visited on a bad day or got a bad batch, but the ice cream that I had on my recent visit was excellent. I also loved their fresh housemade waffle cones which were perfectly light. I was very happy with my Kind Ice Cream experience and I can't wait to see what other flavours they come up with. They have made a fan out of me and I will be back. After all, ice cream fills in the cracks.