Restaurant of the Week: Bert and Rocky’s Cream Co.

Posted on November 16, 2017 by David Allen

Bert and Rocky’s Cream Co., 242 Yale Ave. (at Bonita), Claremont; open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Ice cream and candy shop Bert and Rocky’s started in Upland in 1989 and expanded to Claremont in 1998; the Upland location, by the high school, has closed, leaving the Claremont shop as the mainstay.

It’s a popular spot with a lot of foot traffic, great homemade ice cream and a community-oriented outlook with school fund-raisers and the like.

I’ve gone to Bert and Rocky’s since its Village location opened — not frequently, but probably once a year. It wasn’t until meeting a friend there during October’s heat wave that it occurred to me to make it a Restaurant of the Week.

They’ve got a couple dozen ice cream flavors, plus sorbet and other non-dairy permutations, at any given time, available as cones (their waffle cones are housemade), dishes, sundaes, banana splits, freezes and milkshakes.

I went for Butterfingers and cream in my go-to size, junior scoop ($3.45). Seems plenty big to me.

Bert and Rocky’s also has fudge, bark, caramel apples, chocolate-dipped items, scooped candy and nostalgic packaged candy like Necco wafers. There are a few tables, a bar, some outdoor chairs and, on most afternoons, a crush of customers — but also a friendly and patient staff.

Restaurant of the Week: Cream

Posted on July 13, 2017 by David Allen

Cream, 960 Ontario Mills Drive (at Rochester), Ontario; open daily, noon to 11 p.m. (midnight Fridays and Saturdays)

Cream is said to be an acronym for Cookies Rule Everything Around Me; the first opened in Berkeley in 2010. One came to the Ontario Mills area in 2016, sharing space in a building with a Noodle World Jr. across Rochester from the Edwards 22.

I had meant to try it at the time but forgot the whole thing until Tuesday, when I met a friend for lunch at Rubio’s (which has a new name, Rubio’s Coastal Grill, and new menu since the last time I ate at one; it’s an improvement, btw) and parked facing Cream. Walking back to my car on a hot afternoon, I decided to hit up Cream before going back to the office.

They have two dozen ice cream flavors and more than a dozen cookies (menu is on the website), with the concept being that while you can get one or the other, you really ought to make your own ice cream sandwich. In real life, the cookies are less blurry than in my photo.

I paired peanut butter twist ice cream with two peanut butter cookies ($4). There’s the option of adding toppings to the sandwich, like chocolate sauce or Nutella, many of them as a drizzle, for another 75 cents, but that sounded messy for eating by hand, so I skipped that step.

The server first warmed the cookies for me — mmmm — and the sandwich made for a nice mid-afternoon treat.

You can get your ice cream in a cone, or get your sandwich with brownies rather than cookies. Also worth noting, it’s vegan-friendly, with two soy ice cream flavors (blueberry and mint chocolate chip) and three vegan cookies, as well as three gluten-free cookies.

Restaurant of the Week: Foster’s Freeze, Glendora

Posted on October 13, 2016 by David Allen

Foster’s Freeze, 418 W. Foothill Blvd. (at Grand), Glendora

In Glendora a few months ago I spotted this old-fashioned Foster’s Freeze and my Americana-lovin’ heart skipped a beat. There are said to be 88 freestanding Foster’s left in California, many of which are in classic buildings. One that I liked in downtown San Luis Obispo, I just learned, closed in 2014. The chain started in 1946 in Inglewood, and that one, at 999 S. La Brea Blvd., is said to still be in business; based on Google Street View, it looks original.

Typically, you have to go to an El Pollo Loco for Foster’s Freeze, and then all they have is ice cream. The Glendora location turns out to be the closest freestanding Foster’s to the Inland Valley.

On a recent hot Sunday afternoon, Foster’s came to mind and I made the drive. The low-slung building with the covered patio and walk-up window seems very 1960s. (Employees had no idea when it opened.) And is that a phone booth out front? Next door is an Alta Dena Dairy with an awesome sign.

As Foster’s has a small dining room, and air conditioning was desirable, I ordered and ate inside: a small hamburger and a pineapple shake ($7.56 total with tax). It was a decent burger with a crunchy sheaf of lettuce, and the shake hit the spot. In an unusual touch, a wall-sized chalkboard allows customers to scrawl a friendly message. I’d have taken a photo but someone was sitting in front of it in the otherwise-empty room.

If you like this sort of thing, by all means check out Foster’s. I’m sure I’ll go back.

Restaurant of the Week: Snow Station

Posted on July 7, 2016 by David Allen

Snow Station, 1 N. Indian Hill Blvd. (at railroad tracks), Claremont

Claremont is a good ice cream town, or more accurately frozen dessert town, for which it doesn’t get enough credit. In the Village there’s Bert and Rocky’s (traditional ice cream), A La Minute (nitrogen ice cream), 21 Choices and Yogurtland (frozen yogurt), with another 21 Choices and a Baskin Robbins near each other on Foothill. And now there’s Snow Station.

Formerly a Verizon store, and then Pie St. pizza, this little shop is at the south end of what we might call the American Apparel building. Blink and you’ll miss it. Snow Station appears to be winning the battle despite its location.

It’s a franchise of a slightly different concept, a vegan ice cream parlor, although it’s not billing itself that way. The offerings are described as a blend of ice cream and frozen yogurt, both non-dairy because soy milk is used. “No longer do vegans and lactose intolerant individuals have to watch while others enjoy ice cream or frozen yogurt,” the back of the menu reads. The result is said to be lighter in calories, which I can believe, because it’s not dense.

Flavors and toppings are reminiscent of Yogurtland.

There are three sizes: mini ($4), baby ($6) and hungry ($8). My first visit was with a friend, and we each got the mini size, which looks like the kind of cup in which you’d get two scoops. For that price you get your choice of ice cream, topping and drizzle. I went with peanut butter, bananas and honey; my friend got raspberry, Heath bar and nothing. (She was a fizzle on drizzle.)

What you get is snowy, almost like shaved ice, snow with milk or homemade ice cream from the days when you churned it yourself. (Have you had the latter two? I have, although it’s been decades.)

“This is very refreshing, isn’t it?” my friend said. “It’s very tasty. This doesn’t give you brain freeze, either.” I agreed.

I liked it enough I went back a couple of weeks later. This time I got pineapple with strawberries and honey, another good combo, at the same size. I will say Snow Station isn’t quite as satisfying as traditional, dense ice cream, or even frozen yogurt. Another customer was heard to say, by way of praise, “It’s almost fluffy.” But it’s unique, light and very good.

Also, it’s kind of cool when a Metrolink train goes by.

Restaurant of the Week: A La Minute Ice Cream

Posted on February 11, 2016 by David Allen

A La Minute, 532 W. First St. (at Cornell), the Packing House, Claremont

A La Minute, with locations in Redlands and Orange, opened a branch a couple of years in Claremont’s Packing House, sharing a former art studio space with Augie’s Coffee, another Redlands-based business.

It was only recently that I checked it out, walking over with a friend after lunch at Crepes de Paris a few doors down. The interior space is large and airy, with modernist communal tables where people sat with furrowed brows staring at their laptops, and winter decor: faux branches suspended from the high ceiling with snowflake designs and lights hanging down.

One person handles the coffee and espresso orders at one register, while at the other end of the long counter, someone else takes care of ice cream orders. They make nitrogen ice cream from scratch for each order, like at N7 and Sub Zero in Rancho Cucamonga. Flavors offered appear semi-permanent compared to the more seasonal N7.

I got orange honey and my friend got salted caramel, both small ($5); a medium is $6, large is $8 and a pint is $10. You can watch the maker in action, with billows of nitrogen pouring from the metal bowl, occasional pouring and stirring, like your food is being prepared by a chemist.

It’s not merely a show, though, as the results are excellent. The orange honey had drizzled honey and bits of orange. The salted caramel had an intense caramel flavor. We both were happy with our choices. We could have had one size bigger for an extra buck, but that’s why America is in the shape it’s in. The small was delicious, but plenty.

Restaurant of the Week: N7 Creamery

Posted on October 29, 2015 by David Allen

N7 Creamery, 7880 Kew Ave., Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga

One of the few one-of-a-kind shops in the Victoria Gardens mall, locally owned N7 sells ice cream, baked goods and coffee. Open until 10 p.m. most nights and 11 p.m. on weekends, it’s a personality-plus environment: a high ceiling that looks like pressed tin, faux brick walls, distressed wood and local art on the walls.

N7 is on the east side of the mall, north of TGI Friday’s and across from the Macy’s women’s store. (The mall is finishing up a millennial-friendly area on the west side, but N7 shows there’s life on the east side too.)

The menu shows the type of offerings: Stumptown coffee, nitrogen ice cream, baked treats, even if some, such as the flavors of ice creams, change frequently. I’ve been to N7 a few times and have always been impressed.

Not a coffee drinker, I’m afraid, but if you are, you’ll find them suitably serious about the whole thing. What I’ve tried is a scone ($3.75, above), cinnamon roll ($4.50) and a hazelnut hand pie ($5), in visits earlier this year, all three delicious and clearly made with care.

I’ve also had the ice cream, which comes in such flavors as madagascar vanilla, guilford chocolate and salted caramel. The one I’ve had is winter citrus with blood orange sauce (above); it’s just as good as it sounds. (If you’re strictly a rocky road person, this may not be the shop for you.)

They make it in front of you, although the setup isn’t designed to show it off the way it is at some nitrogen specialty shops. Prices are $6 for 4 oz., $7 for 6 oz. and $9 for 8 oz. When I had the ice cream, months ago, it was $1.75 cheaper all around; I didn’t blanch at $4.25 for a scoop, but I might at $6.

In everything they do, they emphasize quality ingredients from local, organic and/or sustainable sources, and a ban on preservatives, a stance that boosts the prices, perhaps, but shows they care.

In the back, there’s a lounge with more seating, plus a bookcase with a scattering of reading material. It’s a cozy place to hang out or study.

Basically, this is one of Rancho Cucamonga’s most unique, hand-crafted places, and it’s tucked away in a mall. That’s about as quintessentially Cucamonga as you can get. Give ’em a try. They deserve your support.

Restaurant of the Week: Afters Ice Cream

Posted on July 9, 2015 by David Allen

Afters Ice Cream, 13920 City Center Drive (the Shoppes at Chino Hills), Chino Hills

There aren’t many food items the Inland Valley is willing to line up for. Ice cream at Handel’s, especially on $1 cone days (Wednesdays in Upland, Thursdays in Rancho Cucamonga). Menudo on weekends, various locations. Maybe turkey legs at the Fair.

But there’s almost always a line out the door at Afters, a start-up ice cream parlor at the Shoppes. (The first Afters is in Fountain Valley; a third one is coming.) Part of that is demand, part is cleverness. There may always be 20 people in line, give or take, and that’s impressive. But the staff isn’t in a hurry to move them along, which means the line usually stretches outdoors. A well-connected friend says: “The strategy I’ve heard is, they have two cash registers, but they only open one. They know that a line creates buzz. It connotes popularity.”

I’ve been there three times since its opening in January. (Somehow Afters was able to locate across from Pinkberry, which makes me wonder if Pinkberry failed to get a non-compete clause in its lease.)

Afters makes its own ice cream, in creative flavors such as Vietnamese coffee, acai blueberry, milk and cereal, and cookie monster, and it offers some mix-ins. The thing to get is the milky bun. It’s a doughnut-like bun about the size of a hamburger bun, which they’ll cut open and put your ice cream in, then heat briefly. The bun is warm, the ice cream stays cold. A milky bun with one flavor and one mix-in is $5.

I’ve had jasmine milk tea (with mochi, below), mint monster (with Oreos, up top) and churro (with Cinnamon Crunch ice cream). Once I had the unglazed milky bun and switched back to glazed the next time. I ask the staff what mix-in they recommend with my flavor choice and go with that. They do this for a living, after all.

The result is like a soft ice cream sandwich. You can get ice cream sandwiches at Dripp, elsewhere in the Shoppes, and those are excellent, with homemade cookies and ice cream. The milky bun is unique, though, and while it’s not pie, it’s awfully good. If your attitude is, “Isn’t that just a doughnut with ice cream in it?”, my answer would be, “Basically, yes. And it tastes amazing.”

If the milky bun is too much for you, they sell their ice cream by the scoop.

Their spelling could use some work, I regret to say. Let’s hope no one is using this hashtag. *

* It turns out “No Ragrets” is a sly joke that began in the comedy “We’re the Millers.” See comments below.

Restaurant of the Week: Sub Zero Ice Cream and Yogurt

Posted on October 23, 2014 by David Allen

Sub Zero Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt, 10590 Town Center Drive (at Haven), Rancho Cucamonga

I’d never heard of or noticed this place, but DebB mentioned Sub Zero in a blog comment recently. Sub Zero uses a similar liquid-nitrogen process as the new N7 Creamery at Victoria Gardens. Rancho Cucamonga is practically all-nitrogen, all-the-time.

So I ate lunch at Panera at Haven and Foothill one recent afternoon and then drove north in search of Sub Zero, which is past where you’d think it would be, above the Town Center shops and behind the Mobil station in a small building with no other tenants.

Inside it’s a clean, modern space. I was the only customer at the moment — a few more came before I left — and an employee explained the process. They make their own ice cream in front of you, mixing the flavors in a bowl and then quick-freezing it with nitrogen from a giant tank. Sub Zero is coming up on its second anniversary in Rancho. The Utah-based chain is in seven states. Its founder has a chemistry background.

The menu has 55 flavors, plus mix-ins, or you can simplify things by ordering one of the combinations. Overwhelmed, I did so, getting the Bernoulli Brulee, with caramel, dulce de leche, vanilla and cinnamon flavor, Heath and Twix added. A small was $5.80 and came in a waffle bowl inside a cup.

She mixed the cream and ingredients in a bowl, telling me the ice cream is creamier in their process because it doesn’t have air bubbles. The nitrogen blast had a dry ice effect as vapor swirled around the counter. Perfect for that Halloween spirit.

I shot a video. (It came out sideways. Forgive me. But you’ll get the idea.)

Three scoops of ice cream was a lot for a small size. It tasted pretty good. Actually, I’m very happy with simply having someone hand-scoop my ice cream, and U look askance at Cold Stone and the whole mix-in trend, so I’m not sure I’ll ever go out of my way again to come here. (Although my receipt offers $1 off my next visit.) But the novelty was fun.

Now that I seem to be taking Rancho’s nitrogen ice cream parlors in chronological order, I’ll get to N7 sometime.

Restaurant of the Week: Dripp

Posted on February 17, 2012 by David Allen

Dripp, 13855 City Center Drive (at Grand), Shoppes at Chino Hills

Dripp, a new coffeehouse at the Shoppes center in Chino Hills that opened in November 2011, took the place of a Peets on a busy corner. In a surprise to me, this is a one-off coffeehouse, not a chain, although it certainly could become one. A lot of money was poured into the space to revamp it and install some complex drip coffee equipment.

The beans are roasted by high-end LA coffeehouse Intelligentsia. You’ll have to find someone else to explain or critique this aspect (the website uses such terms as “ambrosial coffees,” “flavor-enhancing methods” and “Japanese drip bar”) because I don’t drink coffee. But I visited recently with three friends and they were impressed.

What I can tell you about is the ice cream. Dripp has eight flavors of ice cream and eight types of cookies. The sandwiches ($4) are made to order and you can choose two different cookie types if you like.

I had peanut butter ice cream between two peanut butter chip chocolate cookies. As you can see, they put a spoon in it and that’s recommended for getting started. The cookies and the ice cream both were amazing. You can also get ice cream solo in one, two or three scoops, or the cookies by themselves.

The coffeehouse looks like hipster central: exposed piping, menus attached to pieces of distressed wood, ropes hanging from the ceiling, antiques, a loft upstairs with sofas and chairs. An annoying notice on the door reads “No Photography,” which is roundly ignored. There’s a shady patio outside.

But, wait: Dripp? At the Shoppes? As my local friend told me: “It’s Chino Hills. We can afford some extra letters.”

The David Allen Blog

Field notes, observations and assorted 909-sense from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin columnist

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