REVIEW: Coolhaus Louis Ba-Kahn Ice Cream Sandwich

Coolhaus Louis Ba-Kahn Chocolate Chip Cookie + Brown Butter Candied Bacon Ice Cream

In 1992, my mom fell into the craze that was the Bacon Wave, and when you have a dishwasher-friendly, $19.99 reusable rack specifically devoted to making pork products in 60 seconds, there is no reason not to have pounds of crispy pig belly coming out of that microwave as often as possible.

It was during these breakfasts that Cupid struck my knees, knuckles, and toes with 28 arrows, all of which were directed at ways to enjoy bacon. I had it on sandwiches, astride pancakes and waffles, with syrup, without syrup, in grilled cheeses, between Pop-Tarts, chased with eggs, covered in cinnamon roll goo, and in its simple, unmasked, curvy-crispy form. Yes, I had bacon in all these ways, but never in an ice cream sandwich.

Until today.

Lo and behold, a company has mass-produced an ice cream sandwich that a) is roughly the size of a mastadon’s kneecap and b) contains bacon. Yes, indeedee, smashed in those two giganto-mongous discs is Coolhaus’s Louis Ba-kahn, an ice cream sandwich composed of chocolate chip cookies and brown butter and candied bacon ice cream.

Coolhaus Louis Ba-Kahn Chocolate Chip Cookie + Brown Butter Candied Bacon Ice Cream Cookie Sandwichy glory

Cue the trombones and the trumpets. Heck, pull out the entire wind orchestra, because this ice cream sings. If Ben and Jerry’s could be considered super premium ice cream, this stuff would be ultra super mega platinum premium ice cream (or some other absurdly adjective-filled variant thereof). This softball-sized scoop melts slower than me on the way to a dentist appointment, allowing the consumer to take his/her glorious time. Taking a bite sans bacon, this crème de la vache has a presiding taste of sweet, sugary cream with a backdrop of vanilla.

Tasted on its own, the brown butter flavor of the ice cream eludes me, but when eaten with the brown sugar chocolate chip cookie, the nuttiness of the butter smooshes with the brown sugar in the cookie to create some nutty, sweet gastronomical frenzy. It is here that I realize I am embarking on an ice cream frontier not even Bear Grylls has trekked before. Every bite highlights the thick custard. This is not made by a waif Skinny Cow. This must be a Paul Bunyan cow: a big, friendly bovine living a happy life munching on daisies in a field somewhere.

But brown butter bacon ice cream cannot live without its Porky Pig compatriot. Luckily, small crispy bacon speckles are given a generous showing. These little dots of joy retain the look and feel of sprinkles, adding salt-and-smoke speckles throughout. It’s magic. I’m convinced this is the stuff Peter Pan’s pixie dust is made of.

And let us not forget the vessel of delivery: the chocolate chip cookies. This particular riff has a soft crumb, yet remains pliable, sturdy, and doughy enough to hold the mini mountain of ice cream inside (no small feat). Unfortunately, the chocolate chips in the cookie are too scarce to contribute their cocoa glow, but the vanilla bacon brown sugar combination is enough to make up for the loss.

Is this a good ice cream sandwich? You bet, but, considering the price tag, I’d encourage it to push itself just a smidge further. Bacon, while beautiful, can be an assertive flavor and, at times, I found it overshadowing the sensitive vanilla and brown butter, which made me sad. There is no need for sadness here. Something to bring back the sweet nuttiness, maybe a peanut butter swirl or a cinnamon sugar cookie, might’ve kept the sweet-and-nutty flavors in check with the bacon.

Coolhaus Louis Ba-Kahn Chocolate Chip Cookie + Brown Butter Candied Bacon Ice Cream In the shadow of the wrapper

But I’m nit-picking here. In the end, Coolhaus delivered a solid, innovative showing. At over 500 calories, my doctor might dub this a, “sometimes food,” but you know what they say: live life to the fullest because you never know when you’ll get smooshed by a display of canned tuna. So go out there, avoid getting smooshed, and maybe eat some bacon brown butter ice cream while you’re at it.

(Nutrition Facts – 520 calories, 250 calories from fat, 26 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 125 milligrams of sodium, 0 milligrams of potassium, 62 grams of carbohydrates, 4 gram of dietary fiber, 46 grams of sugars, and 8 grams of protein.)

Item: Coolhaus Louis Ba-Kahn Ice Cream Sandwich
Purchased Price: $4.89
Size: 1 sandwich
Purchased at: Whole Foods
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Loads of ice cream. Bacon sprinkles. Nutty, salty vanilla cream. Cookies actually hold giganto scoop of ice cream. Innovative. Made from happy cows. Reasons to buy a Bacon Wave.
Cons: Brown butter flavor can get muddled. Cookies could use more chocolate chips. Pricey. Getting smooshed by canned goods. Dentist appointments.

FAST FOOD FIVE – 10/21/2013

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Here are five recent fast food news bites:

McDonald’s is testing products with jalapeños. Now that they’ve worked with habanero and jalapeño, I hope ghost chili peppers are next so that I can make my face as red as Ronald’s hair when I eat McDonald’s. (via Grub Grade)

The Golden Arches is also testing affordable, new McChicken and McDouble varieties that’ll continue to make their Mighty Wings look expensive. (via Burger Business)

Jack in the Box now offers a pumpkin spice coffee. But I’m really excited about them selling holiday Jack antenna balls. (via Business Wire)

Are you angry about Burger King not offering their Angry Whopper anymore? You can stop being angry because it’s back…for a limited time. Well, at least you can stop being angry for a little while. (via Burger King)

Chipotle’s Boorito is back! Visit any Chipotle in costume from 4 p.m. to closing on Halloween and get a burrito, bowl, salad, or tacos for three dollars. If you don’t have a costume and going to Chipotle after a day at the office, just say you’re dressed as an office worker or job interviewee. (via Chipotle)

(Thanks for the image, Kassie!)

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Mega-Sized Nosh Show Episode 15

NoshLogo15

In this episode, we welcome the Nerd Lunch Podcast crew and all SEVEN of us talk about Pecan Pie Pringles, Sprite Cranberry, a Black Ninja Burger from Burger King in Japan, and a donut-muffin hybrid from Starbucks U.K. We also discuss Pop-Tarts and Oreo flavors that should be made.

Here are links to most of the things we talked about on the show.

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, or, if you want to listen in the podcast player of your choice, subscribe to the show’s feed. If you enjoy the show and subscribe to it on iTunes, we would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to rate us.

You can also download the episode or listen using the player below:

Thanks for listening!

QUICK REVIEW: Keebler Town House Mediterranean Herb Pita Oven Baked Crackers

Keebler Town House Mediterranean Herb Pita Oven Baked Crackers

Purchased Price: $3.50 (on sale)
Size: 9.5 oz.
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Pizza snack-like flavor. 0 grams of saturated fat. Great crunch. Oven baked. Keebler recommends you eat them with dip, but they have enough flavor by themselves. Leaves just enough seasoning on your fingers to make cleaning them enjoyable.
Cons: Googled “Mediterranean herbs” to find out what they are and none of them are listed in this cracker’s ingredients, so I’m not sure what the herby stuff on each cracker are. Maybe the box is supposed to say “Pizza” instead of “Pita.” Not made by elves with magic in a tree; they’re made by machines with ovens in a huge factory.

Keebler Town House Mediterranean Herb Pita Oven Baked Crackers Closeup

Nutrition Facts: 6 crackers – 70 calories, 20 calories from fat, 2.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 1 grams of protein.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES (PUMPKIN EDITION) – 10/21/2013

Here are some interesting new and limited edition products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Nature Valley Limited Edition Pumpkin Pie Granola Thins

There’s a baking blogger out there who’s using this as pumpkin pie crust. And there’s a junk food blogger out there who’s posting just a photo of the box. (Spotted by Aaron at Wegmans.)

Maine Root Pumpkin Pie Soda

Pumpkin pie soda means one thing: pumpkin pie burps. (Spotted by James at Fresh Market.)

Archer Farms Pumpkin Harvest Salsa

Having corn in salsa freaks me out. Having corn AND pumpkin in a salsa makes me shudder. So place these around your house if you want to scare me. (Spotted by Brandon at Target.)

Archer Farms Pumpkin Spice Instant Oatmeal

This will warm you up after a long night of TP’ing trees, throwing eggs at peoples houses, getting caught by the cops, spending some time in a cell next to someone who may have murdered someone, and getting bailed out by your angry parents. (Spotted by Marvo at Target.)

Thomas' Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Bagels

If you get sick of eating Thomas’ Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice English Muffins, you can eat Thomas’ Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Bagels. Variety! (Spotted by Harrison at Walmart.)

Bailey's Seasonal Favorites Coffee Creamer

Ugh. Non-alcoholic. You disappoint Bailey’s. Could’ve made a workplace fun. (Spotted by Joshua at Walmart.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

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