Cali Cream — Restaurant in Encinitas

What an awesome evening, for the 3rd time this week...You see I burned my mouth eating hot chili so was not able to tolerate "regular" food...except ice cream. It was my first time at Cali Cream (formerly known as Handels). The menu has changed, slightly, but the ingredients have gone above and beyond. The cream Ken and Juli (owners) use is Local therefore much fresher. How do I know this? Ken and Juli spent about 25 minutes talking with my family and I. They are also working with a Pecan grower in Texas (growing Pecans since 1888) so their Butter Pecan has the freshest Pecans possible. They are also talking about a Rum-Raisin Ice Cream...I can hardly wait. Ice Cream for adults! Love it! Ken and Juli are the epitome of Downtown Encinitas...super down to earth. All their success has not gone to their heads, they are very grateful to be in one of the most amazing areas in the world, Moonlight. They've worked really hard to get to this level. If you get a chance ask Ken and Juli what they had to do to get the store opened, 1st Handels and as the now incredible Cali Cream (I encouraged him to write their story so it can be shared, they are such an inspiration). Please stop by and then share what you think. I know you will enjoy the changes they've made...

Second visit: Again, excellent ice cream. Ice cream was more firm this time. Same-sized (and generous) servings for the 3 people in our group.

Cookies and Cream was excellent. Mocha Almond Fudge was pretty good. Black Cherry was our least favorite.

No doubt that this is excellent ice cream. Creamy and tasty ... right up there with The Ice Cream Store in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Chocolate Chunk definitely satiated my craving for chocolate and my partner loved the Butter Pecan.

Three issues, though: 1 - inconsistent quantities: my partner's amount was way more than mine; (perhaps have a scale so that everyone's portion is the correct amount? did my partner get too much or did I get too little?) 2 - the ice cream bordered on melted/soupy; I'd like my ice cream more firm; (perhaps make the freezer a bit colder?) 3 - the chocolate chunk could've used some nuts ... (perhaps add some walnuts or pecans?)

Rankings: Butter Pecan first with Cookies & Cream a very close second. Mocha Almond Fudge comes in third and Chocolate Chunk fourth. Black Cherry, a relatively weak fifth place.

Looking forward to trying the Graham cracker ice...

BEST ICE CREAM IN CALIFORNIA ! On Friday after a fabulous lunch at CHIKO across the road we walked down here for delicious ice creams. We have been enjoying ice creams from Cali Cream for many years for a number of reasons.....really great tastin' ice cream, loads of fun flavors, fantastic service, no high fructose corn syrup ( cheap sweetener that Handel's and Baskin-Robbins use ) and super cool owners Ken & Juliana. It was around 2.30pm when we arrived with our 2 young grand daughters. A friendly cashier / server named Canon looked after us perfectly...helping our wide eyed girls with their selections. My wife asked for Graham Central Station ( her fav ), I selected Mango Watermelon, our youngest wanted Bubblegum and our older grand daughter picked out Twix. Everyone totally loved their beyond delicious ice creams. Before we left I caught up with Juliana the co-owner with her husband Ken. I had to thank her for their super kind gesture a few years ago when our daughter had major surgery. ICE CREAM...