Soft-serve ice cream is one of those simple summer pleasures that requires absolutely no subtlety in order to be good. (At its worst, it's too aerated and leaves a residue on the roof of your mouth, but usually it's just ordinary, and ordinary soft-serve is more than okay). At Ice Box, the newest occupant of Second Act Marketplace in the Haight, the soft-serve is a $6 splurge that comes in mostly the same flavors you'd find at the beach or a carnival midway, only more intense. And it's so thick and creamy that you might actually be surprised.
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A collaboration between one Roma Gray and Dixon, Calif.'s Eatwell Farm, Ice Box is pretty simple. There's Classic Vanilla, Stoneground Chocolate, Summer Strawberry and Goat Cheese, churning and spinning in two machines named Helga and Oola. And a single cone -- handmade, buttery, and, in my case, with chocolate-vanilla swirl -- is a lovely afternoon treat. (Ice Box closes at 6 p.m., so it's probably not going to be anyone's dessert.)
The only problem is that Second Act is sort of, well, ugly. The hum of machinery overwhelms the music, and the smallish rear area for sitting down with whatever you may have bought (ice cream, a juice from Raw, a po' boy from High Cotton Kitchen) feels like a cut-away from some sad mall food court. Considering the nature of the space as a neighborhood gathering spot, it's strangely uninviting. After using the restroom, I noticed an open back door, which had a sign saying "No Alcohol Beyond This Point." The market's backyard turned out to be a large, slightly disheveled garden full of rose bushes in bloom. Initially delighted, I then noticed a second sign saying it's closed to the public. Oh, well. We'll just have to take that delicious soft-serve to go.
Ice Box, inside Second Act Marketplace, 1727 Haight.
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