Called “PDX Rainwater and Spruce Tips,” the ice-cream celebrates the experience of arriving at PDX, which Salt & Straw describes as “being swarmed by the misty rain as Mt. Hood comes into view, soaking up a deep breath of spruce-laced Pacific Northwest air, being chilled to your bones and loving every moment of it.”
To make the ice-cream, Salt & Straw simmered Doug Fir tea and spruce needles in Oregon rain water and some Jacobsen Salt (harvested from Oregon Coast) and hazelnut bark brittle made with a some local Cocanu chocolate.
Sound intriguing?
Salt & Straw will be handing out free samples of the airport-themed ice-cream at PDX Airport on Wednesday, September 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m on Concourse D.
Larger, single scoop cups of the creamy treat will be for sale at the airport – at Tender Loving Empire and Country Cat – and in town at the Salt & Straw shops from September 13–17 to coincide with Feast Portland.
A third branch is scheduled to open this spring in the H/K Corridor, near the American Airlines Admirals Club.
Services on the menu include manicures, pedicures, massages and more.
And, if you’re flying on Virgin America out of San Francisco between March 4- June 30, you can get free ice-cream – on the ground.
As part of a roll-out for the new menu for first-class passengers on the airline’s long-haul business flights between San Francisco and Los Angeles to Newark, New York, Boston and Washington National Airport, the airline is offering travelers in any cabin a free scoop of Humphry Slocombe’s ice cream.
The San Francisco-based ice-cream maker has whipped up three ice cream flavors for Virgin American – Butter By Moodlight, Red-Hot Banana and Coconut Blond Ambition – and Virgin America is inviting the public to vote via Twitter on which should be the airline’s signature flavor served on board.
Free tastings took place at San Francisco International Airport on Feb. 20, but from March 4 – June 30, anyone showing a Virgin America boarding pass at either of the Humphry Slocombe’s two San Francisco locations (The Ferry Building & Mission) can get a free scoop.
In addition to the new first-class menu, Virgin America is also updating its First Class service settings with hot towel and linen table service available on all flights.
The Machines are located post-security in Concourses B and C (another one will appear in Concourse A this summer) and dispense ice-cream sandwiches and 6-ounce cups of Jeni’s ice cream or frozen yogurt.
Our occasional Snack Saturday feature highlights food treats you can find at airports.
This week we take a look at a MooBella ice-cream-making machine at Boston Logan International Airport.
Ice-cream-making machine at Boston Logan Airport
One of two such machines at the airport (there’s one by the United Airlines gates in Terminal C), the make-your-own-ice-cream machine by the Air Tran gates (also in Terminal C) promises customers that their made-to-order cup of ice-cream (about a dozen flavors to choose from), complete with mix-in, will be delivered in about 40 seconds.
I tried it out (mocha ice-cream, chocolate-chip mix-ins; decadent, I know…) and of course I wanted to know how the machine did its “magic.” So Chan Park, manager of Lean & Green Gourmet, came by and opened the machine. He showed me how the flavors get mixed in with an ice-cream base (premium or light), how that mixture gets turned into ice-cream inside the machine, how the mix-ins get mixed in, and how the concoction gets scooped into the cup.
I’m still not sure how it works. But it does. And while you can get ice-cream scooped the old-fashioned way elsewhere in the airport, having a machine create ice-cream just for you is tasty, entertaining, and fun.
In my msnbc.com column this week –Fresh airport amenities make the wait fly by – I offered a run-down of some of the programs and services air travelers can take advantage of this summer.
Using a touchscreen, customers choose a flavor (12 are available) and a mix-in. The machine then prepares and delivers the dessert. Boston Logan Airport has two MooBella machines installed: one is at Terminal C at the Back Bay Café (Gates 11-21); the other is at Lean & Green (Gates 40-42).
If you test it out, please send a report – and a photo.
What else is fresh and new at airports this summer?
Mimes among the entertainment at PHL this summer
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) now has free wireless and a Passenger Chillin’ Zone with sofas, tables, chairs, ottomans and foliage (Gate D-3). Throughout the summer, PHL is also hosting a Just Plane Fun program with live music, appearances by mascots from local sports teams, contests and other activities.
From now through the end of August, Miami International Airportis throwing weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) parties with a different theme each week. This weekend’s theme is Havana Nights, with domino tables, mojito demonstrations, a DJ, rumba dancing and cigar rolling. August 20-23 you’ll find a flamenco dance show, Latin food sampling and more.
Observation Deck at LAX now open on weekends
AtLos Angeles International Airport, theoutdoor observation deck on top of the Theme Building in the center of the airport is finally open. Closed since 9/11, and during the building’s $12.3 million renovation and earthquake retrofit, the deck is open weekends, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free telescopes offering great views of arriving and departing aircraft, the airport grounds and the surrounding area. Pink’s, an iconic Hollywood hot dog stand, has also opened a branch in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
AtOutagamie County Regional Airport (ATW) in Appleton, Wisconsin, they’re still lining up to get candy from the giant purple machine with flashing lights.
Located pre-security, the Willy Wonka candy machine is one of 25 such machines in the country (there’s one at the Mall of America) and is currently the only one at an airport.
Passengers had so much fun during the special events held at Vancouver International Airport during the 2010 Winter Olympics games that the airport decided to host Take-off Fridays festivals all summer, complete with face painting, DJs spinning music, prize drawings, meal specials and frees samples from a variety of airport shops.
And San Francisco International Airport is presenting You are Hear concerts again this summer. Performances take place every Friday through August 28th between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at three different stages in the airport. This week the line-up includes Quinteto Latino in the International Terminal, Lavay Smith & The Red Hot Skillet Lickers in the United hub and, in Terminal 1, Threeocracy. See the SFO website for the full season schedule.
Well, a lot of the country is having a heat wave. The kind of tropical heat wave Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe and Gale Storm sang about.
And when there’s a heat wave there’s only one thing to do: eat ice-cream and lots of it.
Back in the 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice-Cream Month and set aside the third Sunday of the month as National Ice-Cream Day. And, as this photo proves, President Barack Obama is a big fan of ice-cream too.
(Photo courtesy Wells’ Dairy, Le Mars, Iowa)
So as you’re traveling around this month, be sure to stop and eat some ice-cream. If you’re stuck at the airport, it’s a good chance you’ll find a branch of Ben & Jerry’s, Haagen-Dazs or some other well-known ice-cream or frozen yogurt chain in the food court.
Know of some other airports where you can get great ice-cream? Please share your find in the comments section below.
And while you’re out on the road, why not learn something about this sweet treat? For a recent msnbc.com article, Ice-cream fans celebrate sweet treat – I found a few factory tours that not only offer an ice-cream education but, in the three cases below, a free sample.
Ben & Jerry’s, Waterbury, VT
(Courtesy Jeff Pecor, Yapta)
If you’re in New England and your travels take you anywhere near Vermont, make your way to Waterbury for a tour of the Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream factory. The adventure includes an entertaining “moo-vie” about ice-cream production and a visit to the “Flavoroom” to taste the flavor of the day. Details at Ben & Jerry’s.
Blue Bell, Brenham, TX (Broken Arrow, OK; Sylacauga, AL)
Named for the Lone Star State’s native bluebell wildflower, the Brenham, Texas-based Blue Bell Company offers tours of its ice-cream plants in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama. Each tour ends with a complimentary scoop of ice-cream and the opportunity to purchase additional scoops for $1 or less. Details at the Blue Bell website.
Velvet Ice Cream, Utica OH
(Blue icing getting mixed into a special birthday cake ice cream)
The Velvet Ice Cream factory in Utica, OH makes more than five million gallons of ice-cream a year in “small” (for the industry) 800-gallon batches at the Ye Olde’ Mill, a 20-acre site that houses an ice-cream museum, a historic grist mill with water wheel, a fishing pond and other attractions. Factory tours don’t usually include a complimentary taste of ice-cream, but for National Ice-Cream Month visitors who show up weekdays between 1 and 3 p.m. will get to taste the flavor of the day as it comes off the line. For details see the Velvet Ice-Cream Company website.
If your travels don’t take you near these shops, consider stopping by one of the Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants participating in the company’s “Scoop for Success” program. During National Ice Cream Month part of the proceeds of a specially-designed ice-cream dessert at each restaurant will be donated to Dress for Success, an organization devoted to helping women re-enter the workforce.
And we’re not just talking chocolate sundaes. At Firefly inWashington, DC, the designated dessert is peanut butter ice cream sandwich with chocolate decadence, banana’s foster sauce and praline crumb.
NIOS, in New York City, is serving vanilla bean gelato with caramelized popcorn and caramel sauce. And at the Red Star Tavern & Roast House in Portland, Oregon,the decadent dessert is red velvet doughnuts with bourbon-pecan cheesecake ice cream.
On July 15th, 2010 Kimpton Hotels will also be hosting a National Ice Cream Social. All proceeds from special desserts sold in the hotels’ “living rooms” will be donated to charity.
Do you need any more reasons to go eat ice-cream? Go!
