I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ísbúð

Ísbúð, pronounced Es-booth, is Icelandic for ice cream. The name of the shop, Ísbúð Vesturbæjar, means West Village Ice Cream Shop or West Iceland Ice Cream Shop, depending on which translate program I use. One of their locations was just a quick walk down the street from our house and made for a perfect evening out. Everything I read before coming to Iceland said that ice cream is the favorite treat of Icelanders, so I wasn't surprised when we found this place jumping.

First you choose what kind of ice cream you want - old or new. Don't ask me how they are different - we weren't able to do a comparative taste test - yet. There were too many people in line behind us, so we went with our server's suggestion.

Next, do you want a cone? If you do, do you want it dipped? Or, do you want it in a cup with toppings? Or would you prefer your toppings to be blended in with the ice cream (like a DQ Blizzard)?

For blended treats, the sizes ranged from 1/4 of a liter all the way up to the giant one liter size.

For the 1/4 liter size, you choose three scoops of deliciousness to get mixed in. (I chose three scoops of chopped up Mounds bars.)

In Iceland they love licorice, so there were numerous licorice options (shredded, gummy, chocolate coated, big chunky pieces, tiny little pearls - you name it, they had it.)

Just watch out for the powder that looks like malt - it is most definitely not malt! It's a salted licorice powder that is incredibly strong. We tried suckers in Amsterdam that were filled with the stuff and quickly learned that, how shall I put it... it was an acquired taste. (Translate that to, I thought it was awful, and that's putting it mildly. I've been told that most Americans can't stand the stuff.)

It may not look like it, but I'm holding the 1/4 L size - the smallest blended option!

The ice cream was slightly different from Americtan ice cream. It wasn't as sweet and it had a slightly different texture - almost like it was made with more milk and less cream. Either way, we all thought it was delicious and the kids have already asked when we can go back.