McConnell’s keeps it cool with inventive flavors


McConnell’s Ice Cream believes their ice cream should be its own food group. Given their unique flavors and vast array of ice-cream-based concoctions, they might have a case. Accordingly, this past July, a sweltering time when Angelenos often wished that ice cream was the only food group, this historic brand and Santa Barbara, California mainstay popped up in the heart of burgeoning downtown Los Angeles.

Located a short distance from USC via public transport is Grand Central Market, located on 4th Street between Broadway Avenue Street and Hill Street. On the Hill Street side, the market faces the romantic Angel’s Flight railway and Angel’s Knoll Park with a lone park bench visitors might be familiar with from (500) Days of Summer. The movie also featured Grand Central Market, albeit without all the new shops that have recently come to the venue and made it a foodie paradise. Nestled in the center of the hustle and bustle of the market is McConnell’s, wedged between Wexler’s Deli and Lupita’s Fresh Seafood. Even on weekday afternoons, there are a handful of people clustered around the retro-esque red and white counter, which directly faces Sticky Rice.

McConnell’s serves a hand-crafted all-American ice cream, originally from Santa Barbara. The company has been around since 1949 and has always made its cream without preservatives, stabilizers or additives. The ice cream is made in small batches, starting with the custard base made with raw milk that is pasteurized in-house and then going through a high-precision and slow churning process called the French pot, which gives the ice cream its sticky smooth texture. McConnell’s has an edge on the other companies because of its creamery at The Old Dairy, which is the oldest of the nine original dairies in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara has been McConnell’s headquarters for decades. McConnell’s other ingredients are organic and sustainable-sourced from decade-long partnerships.

Santa Barbara chef Eva Ein and her husband, winemaker Michael Palmer, took over the business in 2012. They decided to open up a Los Angeles shop in Grand Central because the market already has G&B Coffee, which had been using their fine ice creams to great success, and because Grand Central has, like McConnell’s, a long tradition.

The space is small, as all the stalls in Grand Central are, but it still manages to pack in a lot of flavor choices, including Yelp favorites Turkish coffee and Eureka lemon with marionberries. Flavors ranged from old school mint chip, vanilla, strawberry and sweet cream and cookies to the exotic flavors that are now trendy in the world of frosty desserts, including the limited edition olive oil and salted almonds, chocolate almond brittle and milk chocolate and raspberry jam. The seasonal flavor for summer is the summer fruit cobbler.

The store also offers a variety of sundaes for less than $7, such as the PB&J sundae, a twist on a school lunch classic made with dark chocolate-raspberry brownies topped with scoops of raspberry and milk chocolate ice cream and drizzled with molten peanut butter sauce. Their shakes sport attention-grabbing names like the “Breakfast of Champions,” which contains sweet cream ice cream, cornflake crackle, milk infused with cornflakes, brown sugar and a variety of secret ingredients. Customers might want to take their dessert to go, though — seating is a bit hard to find during peak hours at the market.

The churros con leche is one of McConnell’s signature flavors and tastes gloriously cinnamon-like. There is also the option of churros con sundae, made with two scoops of McConnell’s churro con leche ice cream with salted caramel sauce, pepita seed brittle and whipped cream. You can also build your own sundae or ice cream sandwich with freshly baked cookies. Hand-packed pints go for $9.

What stands out is that the texture of the ice cream is sticky but smooth, rich and milky. However, the flavors tend towards sweetness, particularly the salted caramel chip. As salted caramel has become so ubiquitous in artisanal ice cream, it is an easy barometer by which to judge. Customers should not find the sweetness cloying, however, and many will find it a virtue rather than a defect. Portions are large and single scoops go for $4.25, while double scoops are $6.50. A recommendation for first timers is the “Flight of Three Scoops,” which at $5.50 allows you to try three flavors in one go.