Victor and I had plans to go to the Shanghai Exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and eat ramen at Katana-Ya this weekend, but we forgot about the Saint Patrick Day’s parade. So instead of going to the museum, we took advantage of the really nice weather and ended up going over to Bi-Rite Creamery for some ice cream!

Bi-Rite Creamery is off the corner of 18th St and Dolores St near Dolores Park. This little shop has limited seating inside but is always bustling with people. You can walk in and skip the long line if you are purchasing pint size ice cream to go, but if you are like many others, be prepared to stand in a long line that practically wraps around the corner of the street. The wait is not very long though, and it is definitely worth it. Bi-Rite has some unique flavors. The 7×7 list of 2010 Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die recommends the salted caramel flavor, but there are other unique flavors such as orange cardamom, brown sugar with ginger caramel, honey lavender, earl grey, roasted banana, coffee toffee, etc.

Salted Caramel and Orange Cardamom Ice Cream at Bi-Rite

Salted Caramel and Orange Cardamom Ice Cream at Bi-Rite

I’ve gone a few times now and have a couple favorites. The orange cardamom flavor was lightly sweet and very refreshing. I can eat it for days. I also liked the brown sugar with ginger caramel. I’ve also tried a couple that I didn’t like as much. I’m not a fan of the salted caramel. The combination of saltiness and a mouthful of caramel sweetness isn’t for me. Another miss was the honey lavender, which reminded me of lavender scented soap.

Despite the two misses, I’m still down for another Bi-Rite stop whenever I’m in the city. Bi-Rite serves ice cream by the scoops in a waffle cone or cup. You can sample all you want, but try not to hold up the line. You can get a single scoop, 1-2 flavors on a double scoop, or 2-3 flavors on a triple scoop! I don’t remember the pricing for the different scoops, but a double scoop was $4.75. Bi-Rite also has fresh cookies, chocolate and caramel spreads, sundaes, cakes, and cupcakes for sale. Check out a complete menu at Bi-Rite Creamery’s website.

Bi-Rite is located at 3692 18th Street, San Francisco | 415.626.5600