Update: We tried it! Click here to read our review.
I was told this was supposed to be on shelves starting on April 5th. I was also told before being told April 5th that this was supposed to be on shelves on March 14th. But if you’re lucky, you might be able to find this ice cream with cream cheese and mozzarella ice cream mixed with tomato jam swirls and basil crust cookies at your local Walmart right now. (Spotted by Margaret at Walmart.)
Is this a regional thing? Walmarts in Texas don’t carry this brand; in fact the only place in this whole state that does based on some calls appears to be HEB but only the non dairy flavors
I am in Texas and there are Van Leeuwen stores here + my HEB carries more dairy flavors than non-diary flavors….though I don’t think I would seek out this flavor. I guess it depends on where you are located.
Houston (south east ) Where are you at? I had asked at one of the HEBs here and they’re the ones that told me. I know we have the scoop shop over in rice village but nothing in the stores
You and I have vastly different definitions of lucky, my friend.
^ +1. 😉
FoodBaby had his kids try it and they all liked it. They kept asking if it was strawberry.
Happen to be fortunate enough to have been a somewhat regular customer of Van Leeuwen back when it was just a converted mail truck on the streets of SoHo about 13 years ago.
While I can’t speak for this specific flavor, Van Leeuwen produces a very high quality product across the board. Easily in the top 5 in NYC. The ingredients used in all the flavors are really top shelf.
The only establishment I would list as more highly rated would be Ample Hills. Or maybe Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, if one was seeking a particularly Asian flavor.
Found them at Walmart in Portland today. Did not buy either. But did buy their hot honey flavor.
Which Walmart? I had no idea there was a hot honey flavor!!
It was the one at Holgate & 82nd. The first freezer endcap closest to the produce section. It’s where they usually put all the limited edition ice creams.
That’s the closest one to me! Sweet! Thank you so much!!
It’s a small world! 🙂
That Wal-Mart is gross and disgusting.
(I don’t think you needed the word “that” in your sentence.)
Sure is!! Happy to help. 🙂 They had maybe 6 or 8 of their new limited edition flavors in there. The Kraft mac n cheese also but that was from last year.
All 7 Flavors are in Cedar Rapids Wal-Mart. Tried them all. The tomato sauce syrup is weird but it was okay.
My one & only Van Leeuwen experience was buying their Honeycomb flavor and later reading flavor text on the side of the carton to the effect of: “Did you REALLY think there was honey in here, idiot? Stab yourself in the eye with an icicle.” Not that I’d expect real crust & cheese in the pizza flavor, obviously, but I’ve assumed that all their ice creams are just made with artificial garbage and not anything promised in the name ever since.
Actually they only use natural ingredients.
Yeah? So? Van Leeuwen could use heptane and earthworm casings in its Honeycomb flavor, and it still would all-naturally contain no actual honey.
Honeycomb is a type of candy. Did you think there was an actual honeycomb in there? Bee serious.
Pun intended
Honeycomb is a structure in which bees, the insects that manufacture honey, store honey. I don’t think it’s asking too much that an ice cream named after this substance, which is a common dessert ingredient, contain said ingredient. I know we live in a society where wood fiber is considered an acceptable filler in products meant for human consumption, but we should at least clear that low bar. At the very least, it’s inadvisable for the manufacturer to mock the consumer for buying the product on the side of the carton if said manufacturer expects repeat purchases.
Also, I don’t know what disappoints me more: the fact that you thought substituting “bee” for “be” was such an intricate pun that it required explanation and called for solicitation of compliments on your wit, or that you were so insufficiently committed to your bit that you failed to name yourself “Beemused.”
“but I’ve assumed that all their ice creams are just made with artificial garbage and not anything promised in the name ever since.” Just letting ya know that they don’t use artificial ingredients. And I guess maybe they could have had quotations marks around honeycomb, or called it Sponge Candy.
Err, nevermind…couldn’t have called it sponge candy because you might have been disappointed that it didn’t contain any sponges.
The point is that if a company manufactures what it calls honey ice cream and calls you an idiot for buying said product on the carton expecting something resembling what was promised, you don’t come back like Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football if they put out additional products promising cherries and blueberries. I’m not going to apologize for insufficiently deferent to brands that don’t care about you. No, not even you, Holly. Van Leeuwen will never love you.
Then again, I’m talking to somebody who thinks Pizza Combos are defensible cuisine, so I don’t know what I’m expecting.
“couldn’t have called it sponge candy because you might have been disappointed that it didn’t contain any sponges.”
“Sponge candy,” like “honey,” is the name of a actual food product, so, yes, a sponge candy ice cream could be misleadingly labeled, as the descriptor modifying “ice cream” is that of a real food that could be conceivably included in that dessert. Your mean girl joke unfortunately doesn’t make any sense, Felicia. You need to take lessons in joke logic from your friend Bemused. They’re more than willing to explain how their jokes are constructed, in case you have trouble following.
If you want to continue down this road, though, I could mention that I’m disappointed that, being called “Holly,” you lack the palate or consumer awareness of a nonsentient angiosperm, but, wow, I guess you haven’t disappointed in that department.
I love that people are responding to this with comments like “LOL, you actually have _standards_ for your food, and you _have problems_ when companies lie to you? Loser!” as if they’re not _incredible_ self-owns. “I eat _any_ old slop the brands dole out, and I _love_ them for it. I don’t care what’s in my food at all! Enjoy your ‘quality ingredients,’ _freak!_”
Man, this discussion is getting mean for a junk-food site.
Actually, a follow-up, considering that this thread is turning into a mini-education for some in consumer awareness: Van Leeuwen outright states on the carton of one of their flavors that they lied about the contents of their ice cream (and it’s not an abstract flavor concept like “Planet Earth”; it’s about a mundane ingredient like honey) and laughs at the consumer for taking them at their word. It’s meant as a flippant, jerky joke, but it is accurate: they are lying, as they acknowledge. _Why would you then take them at their word when they say they use all-natural ingredients?_
The packaging has had a couple of versions. It either would be:
“Honeycomb French Ice Cream
Ever since 2008, when Van Leeuwen was born out of a yellow truck on the streets of NYC, we’ve been making good ice cream from good ingredients that makes you feel good.
After all, happiness is healthiness.
And nothing makes us happier than this Honeycomb Ice Cream. Despite it being called honeycomb, it’s not from any honey at all. It’s made with caramel candy. That all might seem confusing until you realize that ice cream is also made without ice. Your whole life has been a lie.
or:
“Honeycomb French Ice Cream
Surprisingly made using no honey at all, honeycomb is a crunchy, chewy caramel candy. We make ours in-house, break it into chunks, and fold it into our sweet cream base. The honeycomb remains crispy on the inside, chewy on the outside, and bleeds micro-ribbons of caramel throughout the ice cream. An Australian classic and new American favorite.”
In both case, the ingredients are:
“Ingredients: milk, cream, cane sugar, egg yolks, organic brown rice syrup or tapioca syrup, coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla extract (grain alcohol, vanilla bean), baking soda, salt”
Difficult to see reaching the conclusion(s) you did about what to expect or your inferred tone from either case, though I suspect your packaging was the former.
I reminded of the old Amelia Bedelia books where old dude wanted a chicken dinner and got served cracked corn, “cause that’s what chickens eat for dinner” lol
OK, let’s try replying to here.
Well, then, we know who’s going to be the first satisfied customer for Van Leeuwen’s Chicken Dinner (featuring cracked corn) flavor.
Also: the dig doesn’t make sense: I’m the one arguing the honey ice cream should have honey and the chicken ice cream should have chicken; you guys are the ones laughing at anyone who doesn’t want cracked corn.
Are y’all just wannabe marketing reps; is that the reason for the cheerleading? I’d expect a street team to have snappier posts.
I’ll have to respond below if not, since it seems we’ve reached the thread limit.
Currently limited to single-sentence comments, so: 1) if you’re correct, Van Leeuwen itself realized that its original promo text was a bad idea, which only proves my point.
Like, if the ingredients list of their Cherries Jubilee flavor mentioned “ice cream does not contain cherries; cherries have been replaced by surgically-excised uvulas,” does that mean they’re being truthful? Like, in one, very specific way, _yes,_ but in the more obvious way, and the more common-sensical way, _no,_ not at all.
because Van Leeuwen has a self-professed history of being less-than-honest regarding its ingredients. Van Leeuwen has several flavors that *sound* just great, but I’m not going to buy their product again, because I can’t trust them regarding what goes in their product, and I don’t want to give my money to people who’ve acted like jerks to their customer base.
I just don’t understand this attitude where loyalty to a brand has to eclipse your own self-interest. It’s just *boggling.*
The only good pizza flavored item I’ve ever eaten is pizza.
Come on now…combos? Pringles?
They’re disgusting.
So far every Walmart , HEB , and Kroger I’ve called do not carry this . As mentioned previously they only have the non dairy varieties at the stores that do carry this brand in Houston…at least within a 25 mile radius. I’m going to check if any stores further out have anything but at some point distance is going to be too much . Ordering this mess online is not cheap either so looks I’m SOL.
4,200 Walmart stores nationwide starting today.
Which invites the question as to whether this is an April Fool’s joke, lol. 🙂 (Yep, I assume not.)
And none in Houston!
Hey, is this thing on?