Garlic in Gilroy

Well, I finally gave in. I had to find out how garlic ice cream tasted. This was last spring, following a much-appreciated visit to relatives up North. I'd passed through the small town of Gilroy a few times but the urge to consume never really convinced me to make the stop at the little market right off the state road.

For one thing, you'd never see the farmer's market til you were passing it completely.... and then it would be a while before you could make a safe and legal U-turn.... so that's probably the dominant explanation for why I never stopped here. It's not hard to find at all.

What of Gilroy? I've never actually visited the major city areas. I've never been to the yearly garlic festival either. It's definitely an agricultural town - there are small farmer's markets and fruit stands all over the roadsides, and the pungent aroma of garlic totally pervades your nostrils as you drive through the city limits. It doesn't matter if the A/C is off or the windows are up. Garlic always wins.

My cousin would probably describe Gilroy as a "drive-by" or "drive-thru" town. And no, those aren't references to gang violence or fast food windows. Those phrases imply that you merely pass through this place on the way to your true destination.

But, like I said, garlic always wins. I needed to find out what garlic ice cream tasted like.

The little shop was cozy and sold all things garlic. There was garlic salsa, garlic candy, garlic bread, garlic butter spread.... you name it and they probably had it. I was only interested in the ice cream. They sold these harmless-looking 5 oz containers for about $1.50 -- available in both vanilla and chocolate variants. I chose vanilla, believing that I'd have a better opportunity to taste the garlic that way.

You got this little wooden spoon with your ice cream cup. It wasn't very convenient, but it worked. I didn't think it tasted half-bad! It was definitely a mix between garlic and vanilla flavors, with all the typical consistency you'd expect from ice cream.

I know many people think garlic ice cream is weird or disgusting. I'd call it offbeat.

Just the thing to eat when you're a little off the beaten path....

Superior Ice Cream

In November 2009, I took a drive up North and made a 20-mile detour off the Highway 99 to the city of Hanford. It's slightly off the main drag - I remember a long drive on a state highway with a depressing speed limit of 55 mph - but it is a beautiful, charming little town. I really liked the downtown area. They have all those little shops lined up alongside one other, and those predictable lamposts up and down both sides of the street. I was refreshed when I saw this place. It was a nice change of pace after 200 miles of freeway.

While walking around the city, I sampled some pizza from Fatte Albert's Pizza Company. It was definitely good stuff. They claim that their 28" round pie is the largest pizza available in the city of Hanford. I ordered a small cheese pizza, and I must say it was one of the tastiest pizzas I'd ever eaten.... even if it was on the pricier side.

After the pizza, I continued on to Superior Dairy. I found out about this place from the EatFeats website. They were supposed to have a huge ice cream sundae on the menu, and I decided I needed to eat it. Life is simple sometimes.

The place looked nice enough from the outside. I was delighted to find that it was open for business. You never know with some of these places.

On the inside, it was clean and reminded me of those old time diners. The only problem I had was the speed of service - I sat in one of the booths quite awhile before the servers paid any attention to me. I was forewarned though: several reviews off Yelp told the same story. I sure hoped the food would make up for the waiting times.

And there it was on the menu: The Superior Oversize Sundae, or the S-O-S, billed as a 7-scoop sundae with the works. I didn't think I'd need any help finishing this one - no matter what the menu said. I confidently placed my order and asked for a Chocolate Coke to go along with it.

My drink arrived several minutes before the dessert. I thought it had an interesting taste. I'd never exeprienced the mix of Coca Cola with chocolate ice cream, but I think the tastes went well together. It was certainly incredibly sweet and sugary. It was good prep for what was coming out of the kitchen.

SOS! This thing was big! At that point, this was the biggest ice cream dish I'd ever ordered. The most intimidating part of it is the mountain of whipped cream that really prevents you from digging into the sundae. And yes, that is a paper umbrella atop the whole monstrosity. I saved it for awhile, but I haven't been able to find it. I assumed it fell apart and I threw it away.

The ice cream tasted delicious.... vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and a bunch of sherbet flavors decked out with flavor sauces and a banana. Unfortunately the tastes became muddled together quickly, but it was really high quality stuff.

I enjoyed every bite of it. I just wish the flavors didn't get so mixed up. Ice cream is one of my favorite foods to eat en masse, and it's a better experience when you can savor the differences in taste. I'm going to blame the whipped cream - it was hard to attack the ice cream with so much cream in the way, and by the time I cleared through the whipped cream a significant portion of the sundae had melted over the goblet. I guess I needed to eat more quickly.

I acheived the all-clear in roughly 8-9 minutes. This wasn't a challenge or anything, but I definitely enjoyed my experience at Superior Dairy. If I'm ever in Hanford, I'll make sure to stop by and sample another SOS. Maybe I'll eat two.