You can smell Jeni’s before you see it. The saccharine scent wafting from the store coats a small corner of Narberth in a pink cloud. Although Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream opened quietly on Haverford Avenue in mid-August, there has been nothing quiet about the crowds around the store. After the permanent closing of Village Treats, Narberth has been hankering for a new ice cream spot. Jeni’s status as a chain has caused some Narberthians to feel nostalgic for local businesses. However, Jeni’s bright color scheme and charming decor create a comforting and local atmosphere. The shop has been met with success— customers fill seats, lines fill the storefront, and teenage workers fill cones. But is the ice cream really as delectable as the hype suggests?
Walking into the store, a customer is met with a dizzying array of complicated flavors: Miso Butterscotch Brownie, Sweet Potato and Marshmallow Praline, Maple Soaked Pancakes. We opted to try a wide variety; some fruity, some chocolatey, some seasonal. The Miso Butterscotch Brownie was delicious—for the first ten seconds you taste it. Then, a strong hit of miso bursts onto your palate, overwhelming the fudgy-brownie flavor. The Pumpkin Seed and Rye cookie flavor was startlingly savory and borderline inedible. It was overwhelmingly rye flavored, like biting into a spoon of rye seed. Brown Butter Almond Brittle was a welcome reprieve after that bite. It tasted pleasantly of marzipan and sugar cookies. Another bakery-inspired flavor was the Brambleberry Crisp. A ribbon of berry along with chewy clusters of oats made this flavor a hit. However, it could have used a touch more fruit flavor to really achieve star status. A sleeper success was the Wildberry Lavender flavor. A smooth berry flavor, along with a subtle hint of lavender, propelled the flavor to be our favorite of the night. Jeni’s homemade waffle cone is more reminiscent of a breakfast waffle than a typical sugar cone— it’s buttery, salty, and slightly sweet.
On the way out, we bought a pint of ice cream. Its incredibly steep price of twelve dollars suggested elite prestige and quality. The flavor, a fall specialty called Bay Leaf Cheesecake, matched in the same off-putting savory quality as the Pumpkin Seed and Rye Cookie flavor. Although the Jeni’s container describes it as a “refreshing and subtly herbaceous cream cheese ice cream with a crisp graham cracker swirl,” there was nothing subtle about the earthy aftertaste that one gets after a spoonful or the granular texture of the graham cracker.
While the experimental quality of each flavor adds to the allure of the shop, with its nightly mass of customers, it is clear that the most excellent flavors at Jeni’s were the most simple.
