Scoop du Jour has been in Madison Park since 1984, if you can believe it. Häagen-Dazs had started in Brooklyn a couple of decades earlier, and Baskin Robbins two decades before that, but in Seattle there really was only one "ice cream parlor" at that point, Farrell's, down at Southcenter.
Edward Washington grew up in this neighborhood, attended the Bush School and went on to the University of Washington. In 1984, he returned to Madison Park and with his parents opened Scoop du Jour. Over thirty years later, he's still at it. Toward the end of last year, he closed the place for several months for renovations and remodeling. A wise move, but the good news is that Scoop has now reopened.
Cloud Top in California will provide the frozen yogurt that Scoop will begin serving later this spring. The new dispensers are already installed and ready to go. One of the spouts will be reserved for Cloud Top's celebrated vegan coconut milk; the others will rotate flavors There will be a choice of sprinkles to top off the servings.
In addition to the ice creams, there's a broad menu of burgers, BLTs, and sandwiches. The burger, tall with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle slices, and a generous patty, is served with chips. Good idea, in my view, to keep away from deep fried anything (potatoes, bacon) when you've got all those tubs of ice cream in the dipping cabinet.
The ice cream at Scoop comes from a quartet of local suppliers, notably Olympic Mountain Creamery, one of the top providers for the local wholesale market. Also on the list: Portland's Alpenrose, and Cascade Glacier (which supplies the popular "birthday cake" flavor). These are not the Molly Moon, Bluebird, or Full Tilt super-premium artisan ice creams you find on Capitol Hill; they're delicious and unpretentious. You've heard of Rocky Road as an ice cream flavor; Scoop goes it one better with a "black tar" ice cream. (It's really licorice, but don't tell the giggling kids.) These are better than supermarket brands, but only by a few degrees. If you don't absolutely need to leave with a waffle cone of chocolate raspberry swirl in your hand, you should simply buy a pint and take it home.
In fact, I'd take that burger home, too, and hit it with a shot of mustard or ketchup. The tuna salad sandwich, too, benefited from an introduction to the salt shaker and some herbs. I'm beyond complaining about ten-dollar prices for burgers but do remember that this is the high-rent district. Your $20 bill will get you a sandwich and a cone, but don't expect a lot of change.
Leave a comment