Albert T.
Yelp
After trying real fruit ice cream for the first time in Port Angeles, we decided to visit Many Bennies the next weekend. This was at 4PM on Saturday, and there was a huge line down the block and around the corner. It took us about 20 minutes to reach and front, and another 3 minutes or so for them to prepare our ice cream.
We saw them making the ice cream through the window - it looked like a medium sized scoop of ice cream, then two smaller scoops of fruit; about a 1:1 ratio I'd say. The only have two machines, so they make the lighter fruit treats (banana, mango, strawberry) in one, and the darker ones (blackberry, blueberry, raspberry) in the other. They don't clean the machine between servings, so there will be some contamination; don't be surprised! I think this is normal operating procedure for New Zealand-style real fruit ice cream shops, at least from my experience from the two that I've visited (neither in NZ though).
I love how they supply lactase pills for those of us unlucky to be stricken with lactose intolerance! Such a nice gesture. They also make their waffle cones in house!
Cup, Sweet Cream Base, Mango ($6) - I thought the Port A ice cream was good, but this one is on another level. It's so smooth and rich, with a fatty and silky mouthfeel that coats the entire mouth with each lick. It's almost like a frozen custard in texture. It's blended until the mango chunks are completely incorporated, giving a good mango flavor without any chunks to break up the lush texture. The mango is typical frozen mango that's on the tangy side rather than a fully ripe sweet mango (although colder foods are less sweet due to the taste buds not being able to sense sweetness as well). This is a stellar ice cream. I'd love to know where they get their ice cream base from if they don't make it themselves. Given the quality of the blend, the base must also be excellent. (5/5)
They didn't include the famous googly eyes in our ice cream - I didn't see any customer receive them, so I guess they ran out for the day?
I wonder if my experience with the smoothness of the ice cream had to do with the mango? Perhaps going with blueberry, as I did with the place in Port Angeles, would make it icy and chunky? I don't know the answer, but I'm excited to find out the next time I visit Many Bennies!