I'm in that neck of the woods fairly frequently and I'd walked by Scrumptious more times than I can count during its two years of existence, never stepping inside because from the sidewalk, the place looks mostly like an old-fashioned candy store. But after the suggestion popped up twice, I made a beeline for the place -- because I am obsessed with ice cream and I had to know what I was missing.
Scrumptious, I learned, makes dozens and dozens of ice cream flavors in tiny batches, using as many all-natural ingredients as possible. When I stopped by last night, it had a slew of candy-themed varieties -- like gummy bear and cotton candy -- as well as the classics and some other creative concoctions, including chocolate pretzel, caramel cookie and "a mystery," which I learned was really just a mixture of a bunch of leftovers.
I sampled my way through just about all of them. Every version was ethereally creamy and made with an ideal stuff-to-base ratio so that even flavors like gummy bear didn't become sticky and overbearing. Ultimately, though, I went for a scoop of the blueberry cheesecake -- tart ice cream swirled with blueberry ribbons. As he scooped it up, the man behind the counter told me I should call to tell him when I was coming back, since he takes flavor requests and he thought I'd like the blueberry pancake.
Swoon, both on service and the flavor.
I'm not sure what I'd bump from the list of Denver's five best ice cream parlors in order to include Scrumptious, but it's definitely in the upper echelon of scoop shops in the city, and one totally worth swinging into -- especially if you happen to be in the vicinity.
And while you eat, you can browse the bulk bins of sweets and novelties that line the rest of the walls.
