Earnest Ice Cream - Vancouver, BC

Right in the middle of the Thornton Park Farmer's Market is this little cart:

So intriguing!  What's their story?  Well, it's a small ice creamery started by Ben and Erica, both ice cream enthusiasts that believe ice cream should be make earnestly, meaning in small batches using local and in-season ingredients.  There are no artificial colors, flavors or chemical stabilizers, just good old fashioned ingredients which includes local milk, cream and eggs.  In keeping with their mantra is their delivery - the ice cream is packaged in reuseable glass jars and delivering it to the masses at local farm markets stores in their cute ice cream tricycle.  

I've forgotten my cooler and I'm an hour away from home in traffic.  ^&%$ it. Well, that rules out bringing home pints of ice cream but there's still the ice cream sandwiches...

Cardamom Ice Cream Sandwich - $5

"It's our brand new flavour and I think it's our favorite" - Erica
Hm, we'll see about that...  It's also on the pricey side so it better be good.  One bite...   Oh gosh, if you like spices, and even if you don't, this ice cream sandwich is DELISH!  You can taste the cardamom in every bite and it's not too overwhelming or sharp - a nice soft cardamom flavor that's just right.  The cookie is not your typical regular cookie but an almond cake-like cookie that's super light and crumbly.  At the next Farmer's Market, I'm totally going in for another flavor.  The woman next to me had the Rhubarb and raved about it.  Rhubarb, is my next target...  LOVE!

Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich - $5

Delicate more cookie-like crust and rich chocolate flavor...  Mr. Piglet downed this one in seconds.  It's not as unique as cardamom but this one is a classic - I preferred the cardamom over chocolate but it's ice cream sandwiches, every flavor is a winner.

All gone...  So sad.  *tear*


Earnest Ice Cream is also available at the Woodland Smokehouse and Harvest Community Foods.  It's 10 a pint and requires $1 deposit for the jar - if you return the jar, you get your deposit back.  Hm, nice touch.  Usually I don't like to blog about a place without giving a few of their products a try but this sandwich was YUM.  And from the comments from the people around me, I believe the other flavors were just as good.  I know it's a little pricey but the ice cream is homemade with local and natural ingredients paired with creativity and attention to detail.  The ice cream is "seriously good" as their logo denotes.  So give it a try, if not only just a try, because the care and craft really do come through.  Bon appetite! 


Pros:

• Delicious handcrafted ice cream with natural and local ingredients used
• Original flavors
• Supporter of local farmers and vendors

Cons:

• On the pricey side
• Cash only at the farmer's markets
• Not available at your local grocery store - Earnest Ice Cream is only available at Woodland Smokehouse, Harvest Community Foods and various farmer's markets