Rate-A-Restaurant #373: Magpies Softserve (Silver Lake)

Restaurant: Magpies Softserve

Location: 2660 Griffith Park Boulevard (Silver Lake)



Type of restaurant: Dessert (Ice Cream)



We stipulated: I love soft serve more than anything. I still dream almost daily of the "Salty Bea Arthur," as served at New York's Big Gay Ice Cream shop (which sadly still hasn't opened a Los Angeles outpost, despite promising so). But I also love adventurous flavors, which is why Scoops is my fave ice cream scoop in LA. Magpies promised to marry the two, and I was in.



They stipulated: "Magpies Softserve is a scratch recipe soft serve dessert shop. We make our soft serve mix and all toppings in house. We wanted to expand the flavors of typical soft serve ice cream from the traditional vanilla and chocolate by creating flavors of soft serve that bring us back to our childhood, flavors that inspired us to become chefs. From a Horchata (non dairy), to a Cortadito, a sweetened Cuban espresso to Yuzu Honey, a traditional Korean tea that is unique to the American palate. We had a lot of fun creating flavors that are authentic to us."



What we ordered: Mike: Toasted marshmallow and Corn Almond; Maria: Thai Tea and Sweet Cream; Evan: Toasted marshmallow with caramel and cookie crumble; Nathan: Toasted marshmallow. All junior size at $3.95; the two toppings were 95 cents more.


High point:  Loved the corn almond, which reminded me of the "cereal milk" flavor found at New York's Milk Bar. Plus: The fact that you could split your order and get *two* flavors was well appreciated!

Low point:  It's a small store, so there aren't many places to sit and enjoy your treat. (But that's a common refrain at spots like Scoops too.)



Overall impression: The junior size is more than enough; it's the perfect amount of ice cream. Also loved the free samples as we tested out what we wanted. And the diversity of flavor choices means there's something for everyone.



Will we return: Oh yes. Magpies rotates its flavors, which means there will be always new flavors to try. Not good for my diet, but fantastic news for my tastebuds.