Pittsburgh icecream spots?

I'm looking for a few good Pittsburgh ice cream recommendations.

I was a regular at Dave & Andy's back in September, but I can't say it blew my socks off. Does it ruffle your feathers a bit to read that? I mean, they definitely get points for originality of flavors. But the execution left something to be desired.

Take their birthday cake, for example. I adore mushed up cake and ice cream. Their version even had cake sprinkles added in! But a spoon full left my mouth aching, from sharp ice crystals and too hard to munch sprinkles. And the cake tasted a bit like crumbly pumice stone - as though it hadn't been properly incorporated with the ice cream mix before freezing.

So surely the Burgh has better spots to offer. Know of them? Please share!

Dave & Andy's Homemade Ice Cream
207 Atwood Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412.681.9906

My Thanksgiving Menu

A hodge podge of fancy new recipes and tried and true traditional favorites:

Aperitif: Fresh cranberry cosmos

Appetizer 1: Bacon-wrapped, goats-cheesed stuffed dates

Appetizer 2: Pistachio arancini with cranberry sauce

Wine 1: Prosecco!

Course 1: Butternut squash soup with ginger cream
Side 1: Indian handvo

Wine 2: Greener Planet Tempranillo-Grenache

Course 2: Roast turkey a la Anderson ! (friends are bringing the bird, using their family recipe)

Sauce 1: Apple cider gravy

Side 2: Homemade green bean casserole

Side 3: Mixed indian dahl with chickpeas and red kidney beans

Side 4: Basil rice pilaf

Wine 3: Fritz Zinfandel

Course 3: Spice crusted pork tenderloin

Sauce 2: Mustard tarragon sauce

Side 5: Chestnut, apple and leek bread stuffing

Side 6: Roasted white and red sweet potatoes with fried sage and honey butter

Dessert: Pie assortment !

Looking forward to the cooking and eating . . .

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours !

Wha' Cola? Pakola!

I'm generally not a soda drinker.

But the other day I saw an 8oz can so unusual in an Indian grocery store, I had to try it. It was green. Like, bright candy apple green. Any Pakistani reading this probably already knows what I'm talking about.

It's calld Pakola and it's a self-proclaimed "Ice Cream Soda." The flavor is unlike any ice cream you've probably ever had, though. Let's just say this flavor doesn't exist in Baskin Robbins. If you've ever had South Asian ice creams, you may recall the overwhelmingly floral and fruity taste of something called "Tutti Frutti." Well that's more or less how this can of pop tastes. It's a strong, sweet taste. Almost like cotton candy mixed with jasmines and roses, if you can imagine that on your tastebuds.

But while the flavor may be vaguely identifiable, the sensory experience of staring at a bright green, bubbling glass of soda is still disconcerting. I've never had ice cream with this texture or presentation! If you have a sweet tooth and a sense of adventure, the 160 calories per can are worth the splurge.

So what is it, exactly? Pakola is a Pakistani soda that is made by Mehran Bottlers. As the name suggests, it was the first national brand soda in Pakistan (Pakistan's Cola = Pakola). The peculiar green refreshment is the original flavor, but I understand in Pakistan you can now get Pakola in other flavors like Lychee and Orange (which is actually Orange).