970 N. High St.
Columbus, OH 43201
614.914.8624
website
Having first opened its doors in Columbus, Simply Rolled Ice Cream takes inspiration from the kind of rolled ice cream popularized in Thailand and then expanded to major U.S. cities. This technique – pouring out cream and ingredients on a frozen surface and chopping them together while they freeze – is popular not just because it’s more theatric than the typical ice cream, but because it’s also following the “fresh” trend, which is to say, fewer processed ingredients and more simple food. The line’s out the door in the three locations now open in Ohio, which bodes well for this concept’s future.
The rolled ice cream is a real treat for how easily customizable it can be, but there are a few dedicated options you can try. Among them:
- No. 2: Strawberry Serenity: Vanilla cream with fresh strawberries and graham cracker chopped in, giving it a fruity and slightly crunchy flavor. Strawberry as a flavor is naturally bright but muted from the lack of excess sugar in there.
- No. 3: Oreo: Mashed up cookies worked into the ice cream served up with hot fudge. In this case the technique isn’t so opportune; where traditional ice cream leaves room for giant chunks of cookies in this particular flavor, it’s largely pounded out in the rolled ice cream, unfortunately.
- No. 5: Sweet Thai Twist: This one features a “Thai Tea” flavored ice cream, which is to say it’s got a sort of earthy flavor (Thai styles often use Ceylon tea from mountainous regions) with a light hint of citrus in the end. Then the ice cream is dusted with generous amounts of Cinnamon and some marshmallow. Sweet and cinnamon say it all.
There’s routinely a line out the door especially on warm nights, and it moves relatively quickly, though not as quickly as your standard ice cream shop. That’s because the flavors are concocted by hand to-order. So sit back and watch the ice cream made in front of you!
The summertimes see this shop especially popular. The line is literally out the door most weekend nights and into the street, mostly because there are a lot of college students, young people and Short North denizens with a sweet tooth. But there are very few rolled ice cream shops in the Midwest outside of Chicago, and there’s just something interesting about coming to visit here.
It’s cool to see rolled ice cream thrive in Columbus, and definitely bodes well for the great things to come in the Short North. I like this place, no matter how long the line.
Recommendations
- The signature rolls are a favorite and a go-to, but every month there are specials, too, like ice cream “burritos” and new flavors to try.
- Come when it’s warm out; the line is gonna be out the door on hot nights but space inside is limited.
- Get on the email list for specials and, most importantly, discounts on future visits.
Another Food Critic 