Maine's Mount Desert Island Ice Cream has flavors you won't find anywhere else
The scene: Summer means peak season for two of my favorite things: eating ice cream and visiting the beautiful Maine coast. Thanks to Mount Desert Island Ice Cream, one of the top artisanal ice cream producers in the nation, you can do both in one visit to either Portland or Bar Harbor, as well as at restaurants throughout the state. After all, its namesake island -- which includes the village of Bar Harbor, as well as Acadia National Park, a hugely popular tourism draw -- is spelled like a barren desert, but most locals pronounce it like a sweet "dessert." Whichever side of the cultural divide you fall on, you should not miss the ice cream.
The mini-chain of three retail shops hails from Bar Harbor, and the small, shingled flagship shop on Firefly Lane is the one made famous by a visit from the Obama family, immortalized in a photo on the wall. Since then the ice cream has been featured on ABC's The View, while back in 2011 Food & Wine Magazine named it one of the top 25 ice cream shops in the nation. However, for most travelers, the easiest location to visit is the one in Portland, Maine's biggest city and gateway. Like the Bar Harbor original, it is very well located in the heart of the city's historic Old Port waterfront district, on a block almost every tourist will stroll down. Both locations are simple, old-school ice cream shops, with flavors listed on blackboards out front as well as inside, and a straightforward counter containing the ice cream. There is nothing straightforward or old-school about the flavors however, as innovative twists and regional specialties are where the company excels. There is also a small third location in Bar Harbor at the site where the ice cream is made. As it grows quickly in stature, the frozen dessert is becoming increasingly available in Maine restaurants, and the company has plans to begin selling it at retail in the near future.
Reason to visit: Callebaut Chocolate, Maine Sea Salt Caramel, Bay of Figs, seasonal specials
The food: The often whimsical ice cream flavors rotate and change regularly, and there are only a handful you can count on getting at any time, including the basic but excellent Madagascar Vanilla, the bestselling and delicious Maine Sea Salt Caramel, which takes advantage of a recently trendy but perfectly balanced flavor combination, and the decadent Callebaut Chocolate, simply one of the richest and best chocolate lovers' ice creams available in the nation, straight-up sinful. It is made with the gourmet Belgian chocolate of the same name, the choice of many professional pastry chefs.
It can be tough to move beyond the caramel and chocolate flavors, but it is definitely worth it to try some of the more eccentric rotating offerings – like Cereal Milk, which is supposed to taste like the milk left over after eating a bowl of Captain Crunch. I tried it, and it hits the mark perfectly, so assuming this is a flavor you love, you won't find it better anyplace else – or find it at all anyplace else. The Dude is a popular recurring flavor based on White Russian ice cream, while Girl Scouts Gone Wild crushes Thin Mints into a chocolate base. A must-try, when available, is the Maine Rocky Coast, the shop's gourmet take on Rocky Road, using a Callebaut Chocolate base and adding handmade hot fudge frozen to a thick streaky consistency, house-made marshmallow cream, chunks of Callebaut chocolate and chocolate "pebbles," and it is just wonderful. Fig lovers need to try the Bay of Figs flavor.
Some flavors are more streamlined, like the Vietnamese Cinnamon, which was very clean and good, but not intensely cinnamon-flavored. The Boiled Coffee is ultra-concentrated for coffee ice cream lovers. I found the Brigadeiro to be just so-so, but again, this is a flavor you are just not going to see anywhere else. It's based on the Brazilian truffle of the same name, wildly popular in South America, a typically round chocolate made with condensed milk, chocolate and butter. They offer a range of equally unique sorbets and sherbets, like Hibiscus and Strawberry Buttermilk. There is also an emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients, like Cookies and Maine Cream, Maine Sweet Cream, Blueberry Sour Cream Crumble using Maine's famous wild blueberries, and of course, the local sea salt in the signature caramel flavor. They are all worth trying!
Pilgrimage-worthy?: No, but a must-try if you are in Portland or Bar Harbor, where this is the best of the many downtown ice cream shops.
Rating: Yum! (Scale: Blah, OK, Mmmm, Yum!, OMG!)
Price: $$ ($ cheap, $$ moderate, $$$ expensive)
Details: 7 Firefly Lane, Bar Harbor, 207-801-4007; 51 Exchange Street, Portland, 207-210-3432; mdiic.com
Larry Olmsted has been writing about food and travel for more than 15 years. An avid eater and cook, he has attended cooking classes in Italy, judged a barbecue contest and once dined with Julia Child. Follow him on Twitter, @TravelFoodGuy, and if there's a unique American eatery you think he should visit, send him an email at travel@usatoday.com. Some of the venues reviewed by this column provided complimentary services.