Miami, FL (The Joy of Food) — Azucar Ice Cream Company is the brainchild of Suzy Batlle, a long-time banker who left the corporate world to open her own ice cream shop and make things like Burn in Hell, Fidel ice cream, one of many off-the-beaten path flavors found at the Little Havana store.
Fidel is a chocolate flavor finished with cayenne, with less emphasis on the taste you would normally associate with chocolate and more on the bitter aftermath of really good dark chocolate, then amplified by a strong hit of pepper at the end that creeps up on you and really brings the burn to life. Deliciously, it’s the kind of stuff that stays with you for a while. Revenge is a dish best served cold, but a kick of heat hurts even more.
Almost everyone recommends the Abuela Maria, a luscious mix of cream cheese, guava chunks, and Maria crackers topped with a drizzle of guava syrup. It’s a marriage of contrasting flavors and textures that are cool, smooth, and sweetly delicious, and every few bites, you’ll get a Maria cracker that adds honeyed sweetness and some crunch that turns to dust. The guava drizzle is pure sweet and sour goodness and is optional, so you’ll be asked if you want some added (you do).
Willy Cherino is a grey-hued ice cream that belies what’s actually in it: Jim Beam bourbon and two different types of dark cherries, a combo that brings a Manhattan to mind, a common order of mine in a bar. It’s a flavor you’ve tasted a million times, but somehow this is richer and more intense, just the way Willy Chirino and all of Miami prefer it.
The Azucar storefront is hard to miss, even in this eccentric part of Calle Ocho, starting with the giant, colorful 3-D ice cream cone cutout that dominates the entrance, lighted in neon pink if you visit in the evening. On any given day, they sell ice cream to throngs of people from lists of signature and seasonal flavors, all of it based in a farm-to-cone ideology that promises something better than everybody else. If you heed the advice that Azucar spells out in the store, you’ve got the following to do today: “wake up, eat ice cream, take nap, repeat.” They’ve got the right idea, and some darn-good ice cream.
Written by Joy
Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.
Leave a comment below or get in touch with me via my About page.