Jeni's Gelato

The greatest thing from the north to come from the south! The finest ice cream in Kentucky is, ironically enough, from Columbus, Ohio. Whole Foods Market in Louisville and Lexington are, as far as I can tell, the only places you can score a tub of Jeni's Gelato in the Commonwealth.

I'm no snob (well, yes, I am) except that I think certain stuff is much better than certain other stuff, and the stuff that's better than the lesser stuff is usually, more often than not, finer. Which, I fully admit, makes me a snob (except I'm not.) When it comes to ice cream, I ain't that picky - I'm perfectly at home with Kroger cost-cutter brand, or those tractor-sized tubs of vanilla-chocolate swirl that old farmers buy to stock their big chest deep-freezer out back.

But every now and then, a man should live a little and sample a ten dollar gelato, and when you get that urge, I recommend Jeni's. You have to love the handwritten-with-a-sharpie info on the tubs - usually in perky-gal script - and the flavors are staggeringly in-freakin'-sane: Riesling Poached Pear. Dark Chocolate Peppermint. Cherry Lambic. Grapefruit Hibiscus. Ugandan Vanilla. Bangkok Peanut Butter Coconut. Olive Oil with Sea Salted Pepitas. Wildberry Lavender. Bourbon Buttered Pecan. Cocoa Zinfandel. (wait, let me repeat that one again - are you listening? Cocoa Zinfandel.) Star Anise with Candied Fennel. Blackstrap Praline. Lime Cardamom Yogurt.

And my personal favorite, Oakvale Young Gouda Cheese with Vodka-soaked Cranberries. An ice cream so preposterous-sounding, I had to take a picture of it or no one would believe it.

To quote Lux Interior again, "life is short, and full of stuff." Get some. Get some. Get some. Get some.

- - JSH