McConnell's Fine Ice Creams — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

I had the McConnell's on Mission Street bookmarked, since it had been featured in an issue of Westways magazine, so imagine my surprise at finding one on State Street! How convenient since I was already parked and walking up and down the street. I went in the store and sampled their Turkish Coffee (one of their most popular), the Churros Con Leche, and their Sweet Cream. I couldn't really narrow down my choices to just one or two, so I decided to get their Flight: 3 Small Scoop Taster.

For my flight, I got the following flavours: CHURROS CON LECHE: What's even more delicious than a churro, freshly-made? One drenched in a delicate and delicious blend of silky smooth, Central Coast, grass-fed milk and cream, organic cage-free eggs, a splash of R.R. Lochead vanilla and a dash of spicy, Sri Lanken cinnamon. Hurra! -- I would disagree and say that a freshly made churro is more delicious. When I sampled it I really liked it, but then the more I ate it the less of a fan I became. The ice cream is good, but no substitute for the real thing. SALTED CARAMEL CHIP: A uniquely deep and complex salted caramel. Almost toffee-like in flavor, brought together with our stunningly rich mix of cage-free organic eggs, pure cane sugar and fresh, Central Coast, grass-fed milk and cream, then topped-off by our signature, Guittard bittersweet, melted chocolate. -- I would have preferred this without the chocolate mixed in, but this was definitely my favourite. Salted caramel is almost always my favourite, so no surprise there. It's very rich, but that's what I love about it. MANGO SORBET: Ripe, golden mangoes, pureed to a buttery, honeyed perfection, with just a trace of lemon juice for acid backbone. -- Doesn't really mix with the first two, I know, but I wanted something light to combat the rich heaviness of the others. I'm usually a fan of mango sorbet, but I was not a fan of this one. There was no buttery honeyed perfection here... it tasted like it was made with frozen canned mango concentrate. So disappointing.

The guy behind the counter was really friendly, and the prices here are pretty good. I thought the scoops for my flight were generous and getting those three flavours for $5 (and change) is a good deal. Had my mango sorbet been amazing, I probably would have given them 4.5--5 stars, but I did not like it at all. And since I feel just okay about the churros con leche, I think I'll be giving them 3.5 stars... but I'll round up to 4 to be nice. Their other flavours looked...

What more can I say? It's McConnell's. Santa Barbara's premier local Ice Cream fixture. Made, as always, with good ingredients, and interesting flavors, the menu is ever-slowly changing, resulting in a somewhat familiar experience, with the options of exciting new tastes that might be possible in the next outing.

This is the "satellite" site to the main one on Mission, with three notable differences, one good, and two regrettable (thus the missing star).

Good: Parking/Location. Anyone who has been to the Mission McConnell's shop can tell you that the parking is a nightmare. It's a testament to how good the ice cream is that it has remained as popular as it is. The proximity to the Ortega Street structure and Paseo Nuevo parking means that you can get in and in line much faster, and without much maneuvering. Plus it's centralized location means, it can be an experience combined with lunch/dinner/shopping.

Bad: No Chocolate dipped waffle cones, and no bowls. While the waffle cones themselves are still made fresh on site, they are not dipped in chocolate like the mission store, I'm guessing for space reasons. I haz a sad.

Bad: No soft serve/Frozen Yogurt. This one isn't for me, as I love their ice cream over any froyo/soft serve, but the popularity of it amongst my friends means that we often go to the other one so everybody can get what they want.

No matter what though, the core product is still good, and will get us coming...

One way to enjoy McConnell's Fine Ice Creams is in an ice cream sandwich. At this location, there is an on-site bakery which makes fresh cookies and other sweets daily. A very popular cookie that locals come in to buy in droves is the Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie. They are buttery and have just the right amount of salt to balance the sweetness of the chocolate. For an ice cream sandwich ($6.95), they are sturdy enough to hold yet give easily when bitten like an ice cream sandwich should. When using these cookies, choose ice creams that have chocolate in them to tie it all together. Rating: 5/5

Here are two ice creams that pair well with the Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Chocolate Covered Strawberries has a richly complex, smooth creaminess of McC's Sweet Cream and Guittard bittersweet, melted chocolate, and ripe Santa Barbara strawberries. The base has a creamy strawberry flavor. The melted chocolate forms ribbons in the ice cream and adds a crunchy texture. The chunks of strawberry add a refreshing sweet tangy flavor. Rating: 5/5

Rocky Road is Valrhona chocolate, salt roasted almonds, plump little marshmallows in a base of Central Coast milk, cream, cage-free organic eggs, and pure cane sugar. The base has a deeply rich chocolate flavor. The marshmallows and nuts add both fluffy and crunchy...