The Passion of the Ice Cream

Yes, Lent is over... and that means I can once again partake in beautiful, beautiful ice cream. As regular readers know, I gave up ice cream for Lent, which caused quite an crisis of faith when I discovered that McDonald's had re-introduced their Shamrock Shakes.

Yes, I did somehow justify to myself that shakes weren't ice cream, and I had one. OK, two. But I completely avoided ice cream throughout Lent -- still not an easy feat, particularly the day I discovered several new Ben & Jerry's flavors on sale at the Ralphs.

That streak was broken Easter morning. At 12:15 a.m. (Yeah, I didn't wait that long. And it was bliss.)

Now that I can have ice cream once again, I'm slowly testing all of the new Ben & Jerry's flavors. To help you, gentle reader, sift through the clutter and figure out which new entries are right for you, stay tuned. But first up:

Dublin Mudslide (Irish Cream Liqueur Ice Cream with Chocolate, Chocolate Cookies and a Coffee Fudge Swirl)

Sez B&J: "This one's for folks who fancy a bit more than a wee nip of blissful wickedness amidst rich swirls & sweeties. If you ask us, it's the most delectable Dublin entendre you can get!"

Sez Mike: The idea of Irish Cream and chocolate cookie pieces intrigued me, and the Dublin title and four-leaf clover on the packaging gave me the false impression that it would be minty (don't ask me why). Instead, the Irish Cream was barely noticable as an ice cream flavor, coming off pretty bland. The cookie pieces were the saving grace, but even those tasted pretty much like Oero-ripoff Hydrox pieces commonly found in store-brand Cookies & Cream flavors.

Come to think of it, Dublin Mudslide was pretty much Cookies & Cream with a slight twist. With so many flavors out there to try, I doubt I'll be partaking in this variety again anytime soon.

Next up: Oatmeal Cookie Chunk.