Not yet named food entry: On a Mission for ice cream

I need to give a shout out to my friend, Denise, who told me about her favorite ice cream place in the Mission over three years ago.

Like every red-blooded American, I love ice cream.  I’ve been known even to down a pint for dinner – not necessarily healthy, but damn right satisfying.  So when my friend, Denise, moved back into the area, she made sure that I knew of Humphry Slocombe for I would be ready to visit on my next trip to San Francisco.

“You need to try the olive oil ice cream, and if they have it, the foie gras,” she mused.

“Really, Foie gras? Sounds rich.”

“Oh, it is.”

A sample of Humphry Slocombe's twitter feed - usually menu announcements 

It’s not accurate or fair to say that Humphry Slocombe makes odd or weird flavors of ice cream.  There’s thought and whimsy in these flavor profiles.  Some of the flavors focus on rich savories in a sweet base, like foie gras, prosciutto or even balsamic caramel.  Others pair heat with cool dairy, like peanut butter curry or strawberry candied jalapeño. Yet others just sound fun, like Harvey Milk & honey or the Harry Potter-inspired Butterbeer.  People appreciate complex favors in their desserts.

Every time I return to San Francisco, getting ice cream from Humphry Slocombe is on the short list of things to do.  Outside of visiting with my friends and getting my beloved burrito, it’s really the only other mandatory to-do list item.  It’s always a highlight on my trip.

I tend to stay in the Financial District or SoMa. When I get the craving for Humphry Slocombe, I walk to my closest BART station, Powell or Montgomery Street, and head down to 24th Street Mission.  The trip, though about 5 minutes, feels like an eternity.

I take the escalator to the surface at the northeast corner of 24th and Mission and bask in the life on the street.  The McDonalds on the southeast corner is plastered with Spanish decals promoting the latest fast food treat and I check my El Farolito to see if there is a line or not.  Latinos and hipsters cross the street and barely notice that I’m a tourist.  Eastward, I head toward Harrison, listening to my iPhone set on repeat.  The neighborhood is vibrant and the appropriate background for loud pop music.

Eastward on 24th.

A 48 Quintara-24th Street passes and I wax nostalgic on my first time traveling to San Francisco as an adult. Over ten years ago, I had boarded the 48 bus at Caltrain’s 22nd Street Station a few miles away to make the trip into the Mission to stay with my friend, Denise.  The area has changed but it has retained its soul. The Bay View Bank building is now the US Bank building, but it’s still an out-of-place, 10 story building, standing out like a sore thumb from the busy foot traffic on Mission. 24th street is lined with bodegas, dives, clothing outlets, an Irish bar, taquerías, a laundromat, cafés, pawn shops and colorful Mexican themed murals.  I’m so engrossed in taking the atmosphere in that I barely notice the simple blue and white sign, the harbinger of Harrison Street and ice cream to come.

The very first time I went to Humphry Slocombe, there was no line.  I walked in and studied the menu.  I knew that I could ask for samples, but I was going to dive in, head first. Unfortunately, there was no Foie Gras on the menu, but there was the McEvoy Olive Oil.  Wanting another flavor, I honed in on Secret Breakfast, not really knowing what its secret was.

The Line at Humphry Slocombe

McEvoy Olive Oil tasted like chilled, thickened cake batter with very strong floral notes.  The richness of this ice cream was not lost on me.  I worked through the flavor slowly to savor dense, slick sweetness of the oil, fortified by the olive’s perfume.  Then, I hit the Secret Breakfast.  The bourbon taste is strong and, being one of my favorite liquors, it was welcome surprise.  In fact, I was surprised that I didn’t smell any of the bourbon before tasting it. It is that prevalent. The cream and sugar bring out the rich vanilla and burnt caramel notes in the liquor and the crunch of the cornflakes always brought me back to the moment after drifting off in a bourbon daydream.

It was love at first taste and I continue to love the dairy chemistry at Humphry Slocombe. I do try to have a new flavor or two when I return, but Secret Breakfast is a difficult love to avoid.  Some of the more memorable flavors I have tried are:

• Peanut Butter Curry. The rich taste of peanut butter with the handful of different heats from the complexity and the spice of curry.
• Balsamic Caramel: The tart, astringent, viscous and bold taste of balsamic vinegar with the notes of burnt sugar and salt of gooey caramel.
• "Oh Hell Yes": The tart and rich flavor of cream cheese ice cream mixed with strawberry and blueberry preserves and decadently large chunks of shortbread pie crust.
• Salt and Pepper: (I cheat on Secret Breakfast with Salt and Pepper.) This flavor is about dichotomy, playing with our traditional tabletop condiments. The crunchy and salty bits of sea salt contrast with a smooth, sweet base.  It makes me want to mix salt and sugar together and put in the salt shaker. At the same time, I can’t help but enjoy the different fires from peppercorns and red pepper that balance the cool temperature of this ice cream.

I tell my friends, co-workers, people on the street who mention that they plan to go to San Francisco. I’ve taken city residents, family members and boyfriends to Humphry Slocombe because the ice cream is so good and there’s so much thought put into it. In 2010, I was thrilled since I was going to San Francisco twice.  After I went in May with my cousin, I chatted up Humphry Slocombe with my good travel companion who was going to be traveling with me to San Francisco in August.

A tweeted menu pic.

About a month before we headed out, we were planning some of our vacation ideas via e-mail when he started sending me links of San Francisco places.

“By the way, is this your ice cream shop in San Francisco?” he asked, including the link to an article.

“Why, yes, it is,” I e-mailed back in quick fire secession.

“It made the NY Times and it sounds as wonderful as you say it is.”

Humphry Slocombe is located at 2790 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA.

The image, A tweeted menu pic, courtesy of @humphryslocombe via twitpic.