On hot days, there is a line out the door at Screamin Mimi's in Sebastopol. Rather than looking at it in dismay and heading off to some franchise ice-cream shop, people continue to attach themselves to the end of this line, awaiting the sweet, sticky promise within.
"But is it worth it?", you may ask...I have to answer with an unequivocal "Yes".
A small local business, Screamin' Mimi's makes all their own ice-cream and sorbet by hand. If you haven't tried it, you can't understand, and should go try it right now, so you do.
The cold yummyness that they sell is so sweet and rich and gooey...so flavorful and unlike anything you could buy anywhere else...at least that I know of.
For their sorbets, they take fresh fruit and...I don't know...maybe some sugar...and mix them up. Nothing fancy, perhaps, but wait until you taste!
Their sorbets are, for the most part, fat free and come in such flavors as passion fruit, raspberry and chocolate.
The same can't be said for the ice cream, I'm afraid...but it's worth the extra calories for the divine taste...from their signature "Mimi's Mud" (a chocolate combination to die for) to something I believe they call "white tiger" (vanilla ice-cream, Grand Mariner, candied orange peal and a chocolate ribbon), all of their frozen goodies are worth trying at least once.
The shop itself is a visual treat as well, decorated by a local artist, and having regular showings of the work of photographers and painters from the area...and speaking of from the area, if you aren't, there is a map on the wall where you can stick a push-pin to show where you hail from.
They also have a monthly pet photo contest, voted upon by the customers...just bring in a pic of your pooch and pin it to the wall (in the designate area of course) and you might win store-wide recognition! I believe there might even be a prize involved.
So next time you drive by the quaint corner shop with a line down the block, go there anyway. You'll be glad you did.
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