The Scoop: Hey Diddle Diddle, There’s a New Ice Cream Shop in Town!

After our recent East Bay ice cream sandwich debacle (Synapse 4/17/14, “Dream vs CREAM”), the Scoop team approached our next tasting destination—Over The Moon—with a mix of hope and trepidation. This newcomer to the SF ice cream scene has already opened two locations (one in the Marina district and another on the Embarcadero) since December of 2013. It has a 4.5 star rating on Yelp along with an enchanting website; and yes, they offer custom-made ice cream sandwiches in addition to scoops. With a sunny Saturday afternoon on hand, we made our way to Over The Moon’s Marina location to investigate.

We were pleasantly welcomed into the small Chestnut Street shop by a friendly scooper whose passion for ice cream was evidenced by the ice cream cone tattoo on her inner wrist. She was sweet and patient as we checked out the shop, which was larger than it first appeared, with extensive seating in the back in addition to a few seats near the front window. Hand-written chalkboards heralded the store’s offerings, which include handmade ice cream, frozen yogurt, cookies and custom-made ice cream sandwiches. The flavors were a nice mix of standard and innovative, and you can bet our samplings spanned the spectrum.

I started with a taste of the Pistachio, which was absolutely scrumptious—true to the flavor of the nut, with a thick, creamy consistency. Next came a sample of the Ginger, which had a subtle spice to it for a mild but pleasant flavor. The Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Cookies & Cream were all well done—nothing to write home about but certainly tempting in their own right. The Mint Chocolate Chip was dubiously green and the biggest flavor let-down of the day.

Some of Over The Moon’s real winners were the Whiskey Praline, Coffee Caramel Crunch and Honey Lavender, all of which generated “ooohs” and “aahhhs” from The Scoop team. Other creative concoctions included the Peanut Butter & Jelly, Coconut and Cherries & Cream. The only sorbet option was a Lemon Sorbet, the tangy sweetness of which won Dawn over and earned high marks for its unique flavor and smooth texture. I was sold on the Pistachio, while Ian made the Whiskey Praline his indulgence of choice ($2.35 for one scoop, $3.35 for two scoops, and $4.35 for three scoops).

None of us opted for an ice cream sandwich ($3.75); when we told the server that we were intrigued by the idea but hesitant to risk overwhelming our ice cream with too much cookie, she suggested that we could do a one-sided sandwich, with a cookie atop our scoops ($2 for two cookies, $5 for six).

Brilliant! Flexible! Yes! The cookie recipes are inspired by the owner’s Grandma Millie, who was previously a bakery owner herself in SoCal. Ian opted for a chocolate chip cookie, and I got the snickerdoodle. While I thought the chocolate chip cookie was pretty tasty, Dawn and Ian disagreed, noting that it was too sweet for their tastes. Unfortunately we all thought that the snickerdoodle was too doughy to be enjoyable.

Sitting near the window, we people-watched while enjoying our ice cream, catching up and reminiscing about our experiences during our third year of medical school. The shop created a pleasant atmosphere where families could peaceably mix with the Marina crowd, and the tatted server did a brilliant job catering to all. With our cups licked clean and some crumbles of cookie left over, The Scoop team agreed that Over The Moon is a solid ice cream option at a good price, although a step down from San Franciso’s trendier (and torrentially mobbed) ice cream locales.

Over The Moon (two locations)

2411 Chestnut St.

415-359-0055

Sun-Thurs noon-10 p.m.

Fr and Sat noon-12 a.m.

4 Embarcadero Center

50 Drumm St. on Justin Herman Plaza

415-445-9107

Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (closed Saturday & Sunday)