Speaking of Christopher Elbow...

I was babbling about Christopher Elbow's chocolate shop the other day... but failed to mention he opened up an ice cream, called Glacé, this year.  Now his chocolates are good, and from what I hear, that's where his heart is at, but the ice cream shop is above and beyond amazing.

Just like the chocolate shop, we had a little bit of trouble finding the place the first time we tried to visit but this time it was due to a technicality, not because of an understated location and signage.  Glacé is on Main street, just south of the Plaza library...but like all the other wacky streets in Kansas City, if you drive south on Main Street from downtown, "Main" moves over a block right at the plaza library...so we kept driving in circles, pointing out every peculiar looking house saying "Maybe thats it"...nope, its just one street to the west, next to Spin Pizza and slightly north of Eggsettera. It stands out quite well, thanks to the huge line of people flowing out of the building...

Now that its getting colder it seems that the crowds are dying down to a moderate number, but this summer no matter what time of day I went, there was always a line...but they move quickly, almost too quickly... as you stand in line it is imperative to stay alert, the flavors are posted on the wall, and you have to choose 1, 2, or 3 flavors.  Lets be honest, who wants just one?  So the entire time your in line everyone is madly scheming..."maybe I'll have the Venezuelan spiced chocolate with the salty pretzel...no wait maybe the cilantro with the lavender....no, no, Vietnamese Cinnamon and Coffee...."

Once your at the front your next decision is simple, regular or large cup, and the talented people behind the counter will pack that styrophome cup like a pie chart with 1, 2, or 3 flavors.  Personally I think this is awesome...while the classic tower of ice cream is impressive, I never actually want that much ice cream, I just wanted the variety...and when ice cream stores stack one flavor on top of the other it's hard to mix them together.... Glacé’s ice cream seems to be designed to mix together. The way they slam all the flavors into the cup side by side, it's very easy to eat one flavor at a time, or blend them together as you go.
So what makes his ice cream so amazing?  Well for starters its the unique flavors, he has simple vanilla bean, but who wants vanilla when you can have Boulevard Brewery Doppelbock, or Rosemary Caramel?  Secondly you can taste that ingredient list is pure, there's no unnecessary junk added in to extend the shelf life...and thirdly, as I was talking about before, he uses Shatto milk (I swear even mac and cheese tastes divine when made with Shatto milk), but this speaks to the quality of ingredients he has chosen... shatto milk is a local milk company that is ranked second best in the world, any ice cream that uses their milk as the base is equally a-m-a-z-i-n-g.  Mark my word, in a year or two, this place too will be nationally recognized.

Here's his website: http://glaceicecream.com/