Gen Z Ice Cream in Pleasanton (Rolled Ice Cream, Icicles)

“Are we going to rolled ice or boba tea?” I excitedly asked my parents.

 Everyone else in the room chorused, “Rolled Ice.”

And there we set off on a 1.5-mile walk downtown.

Our cousins were with us for the day. So, we all decided to try out the new rolled ice place, Icicles, in Pleasanton. We were going without much of an idea what they would give us, but we were excited about what we would encounter.

We started at an excited pace. I, my brother, and my cousins all talked about video games and trading cards, being the nerds we were.  A healthy amount of time was eaten up talking about Clash of Clans and our progress in collecting Pokémon cards. But we started to get bored, even though we occasionally had some conversations with our parents. But worse, we got tired. We had already been playing with Nerf guns and cricket for the whole day and were exhausted from the beginning. The parents talked us into walking, telling us that it would just be a quick stroll to the ice cream and back. But instead, it was a long commitment.

After many more minutes of weariness and ennui, we stumbled to the block of Icicles. We were greeted by a waft of ice cream flavors and a large line waiting to get rolled ice. I quickly studied the menu. Best to take something safe in a new menu, I thought. So, I went with the wake-me-up coffee flavor. Once I ordered, I eagerly stood behind the glass, eager to see what the process was to make rolled ice. I watched as the person making mine poured the liquid ice cream base over a cold “plate.” Then, he started to move the base around as the cooling plate did its work, slowly turning it into a creamy-like mass. After a few more seconds of this, he brought it back in a brush-shaped scraper. Then, he began to spread the cream over the cooled plate. Once it cooled off, he began to roll the ice cream into a cylinder by running the scraper between the tray and the thin ice cream. After 6 rolls or so, he put them in a cup and passed them down to the next person for toppings. I got a fire-roasted Marshmallow (prepared with a mini flamethrower and served with a pretzel), Chocolate chips, and Oreo crumbles.

As soon as I got into my seat, I dug into my cup of rolled ice. It was creamy and delicious. It had a perfect texture, that only comes from freshly made ice cream. The toppings perfectly complemented the smooth coffee flavor. It was nearly 10 indulgent minutes until I set my spoon down, satisfied and content. Until that day, I had never even heard of rolled ice cream. Going to Icicles gave me a chance to do one of my favorite hobbies: being a foodie. Now, I just can’t wait to go back there!