Rollup Ice Cream & Tea
3262 Stadium DriveGetting out and getting exercise is one of the few things we can still do while we’re under this Stay At Home, Stay Safe Executive order. We’ve taken a few walks in our neighborhood and yelled conversations at the neighbors from across the street but we really wanted to get out of the house.
We got the kids up and headed out to Asylum Lake. We figured if we went in the morning, there would be even less people there and we were right.
The kids loved exploring the Preserve. They had to climb every downed tree we came across and both of them were muddy five minutes into our walk.
We promised the kids a treat after we got done with our hike and used it as a bribe to get back in the car. There’s an ice cream place that just opened and they’re still doing carry-out.
Rollup Ice Cream & Tea is on Stadium Drive in the Stadium Shoppes strip mall. Their location is kind of hidden by the Air Force recruiting center and the building near the road the houses Biggby Coffee. The location has been pizza places in the past. At one time it was a Gumby’s Pizza and after that, a Jasper’s. Most recently, it was a vape shop.
The restaurant right now looks pretty bare due to the shut down order. The tables are pushed to one side with chairs on top of them. The booths are all taped off so you’re not even tempted to sit down. Right now, it’s get your ice cream and get out as we try to keep everyone safe.
The order counter is kind of in the middle of the room. There are electronic signs on the walls with the menu. You order and pay at the front of the counter then the cashier hands back a cup with your name and order on to it where the rolled up ice cream is made right in front of you.
The really cool thing with roll up ice cream is watching them make it. We’ve seen this a few times before. The whole family went to a place in Milwaukee a few years ago while we were on vacation then J and I stopped at a small shop on our last night in San Juan last fall. This is the first time we’ve seen roll up ice cream anywhere in Michigan.
The ice cream is literally made right in front of you. The employee takes a cup of cream and pours it on to a chilled metal plate. The ice cream freezes as they work it into a really thin layer. The toppings needed to make the ice cream are mixed in during this process. Once the ice cream is frozen in a super thin sheet, the ice cream is rolled up into six strips and put into a cup then finished off with whipped cream and various toppings depending on what you order.
So, what did we order. I picked the Cookie Dough Delight. The ice cream is vanilla and it’s mixed with cookie dough pieces. The ice cream is finished with whipped cream, caramel syrup and a chocolate chip cookie. Cookie dough is by far my favorite mix-in for ice cream. I used to go between Reese’s PB Cups and Oreo…but at some point cookie dough took over the top spot. This ice cream had big chunks of cookie dough mixed in to the thin layers of ice cream and it was super tasty.
L’s pick was Birthday Cake. In this one, the vanilla ice cream is mixed with chunks of cake. It’s topped with a sweet whipped cream, sprinkles, and a mini-cupcake. The mini-cupcake was really a show stopper with this one. L’s eyes got so big when the cup was handed to her. She was just expecting ice cream and it was like a little bonus when she got the cupcake too.
B’s pick was Unicorn Sparkle. This boy really likes unicorns so it was no surprise this is what he chose. The vanilla ice cream was mixed with Fruity Pebbles then topped with a sweet whipped cream, caramel and more Fruity Pebbles. B doesn’t even really care what it tastes like…he just wanted something called “Unicorn Sparkle.” The ice cream was really good though and the Fruity Pebbles gave it a crunch. He’s never had Fruity Pebbles before and I haven’t even thought about them in years so it was fun seeing them on ice cream like that.
J picked the Sweet S’more. This one is made with chocolate ice cream with a marshmallow sauce, Graham crackers, a chocolate bar and a toasted marshmallow. Yeah…they actually put a marshmallow on top of everything then toast it with a little torch. J said it tasted like it just came from a camp fire.
We ended up just sitting in the car and eating even though this place isn’t very far from our house. We were still just happy to be outside and the kids were watching The Lego Movie in the car….that’s still a new thing for us so it made everyone happy.
The bill before tip was just under $30 for the four ice creams. It sounds expensive for ice cream but you’re paying for premium ice cream and a premium experience. When things get back to normal, we’re looking forward to going back and just enjoying ourselves with delicious ice cream.
SW Michigan Dining 