Summer of Shakes, Vol. 1: Scoops

And so it begins. Inspired by the L.A. Times' recent roundup of local milkshake emporiums, we decided to check out a few shops. In the name of research, of course. Oh -- and it's hot outside.

But damn it, we don't need an excuse, right? Milkshakes are tasty. That's reason enough.

First stop: Scoops (712 N. Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles; Shakes, $3.25). Contrary to the L.A. Times article (and as pointed out below by a reader), Scoops isn't in Silver Lake, but is located right next to the L.A. City College, one block west of Vermont. What is this area called? (I'm looking at you, LA City Nerd.)

Scoops is a rather simple establishment; not much inside, other than a row of very unusual ice cream flavors. At first glance, I'm in heaven. Even as a kid, I always had to order the bizarre flavor. While the rest of my family was content with vanilla, I had to go for pumpkin, or candy cane, or something else. Here, Scoops takes it to a whole different level.



I order "Brown Bread," which boasts a praline-and-cream flavor, with Grape Nuts cereal on top (the owner tells me it's an English recipe, although over there they use some sort of brown bread -- hence the name). Maria orders the Pear/Mint flavor (Scoops is big on flavor mash-ups.)


The owner also invites patrons to suggest new flavors...

Sadly, Scoops didn't live up to my high expectations. My brown bread shake was a little too thin -- and the Grape Nuts just didn't work in shake form. Maria's was better -- thicker and tastier (I'm a huge mint fan), although the mint pretty much drowned out the pear flavor.

I don't want to discourage you from trying it yourself, however: I may still return at some point, because Scoop's flavor combos still fascinate me. But on to our next stop on the Summer of Shakes!