Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Trivet London
      Trivet London - 2 Michelin Stars
    • Bibi London
      Bibi London - Michelin Indian Food
    • Planque London
      Planque London: Tasting the Unexpected
    • Bala Baya London
      Sunday Brunch at Bala Baya London
    • Ta Vie Hong Kong
      Ta Vie Hong Kong 旅 (3 Michelin Stars)
    • Pleka IFC Hong Kong
      Pleka IFC Hong Kong - Italian Japanese fusion
    • Nanjing, China
      Weekend Trip to Nanjing China
    • Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
      Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong
    • Wakaran Hong Kong
      Wakaran Wan Chai
    • Godenya Hong Kong
      Godenya Hong Kong (revisited)
    • The Chairman Hong Kong
      The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star)
    • Hanu Wan Chai Hong Kong
      Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai
    Home » US Travel » California » Los Angeles

    Scoops Westside

    Published: Mar 2, 2012 · Modified: Oct 28, 2014 by Jennifer Che


    This is part 2 of the Los Angeles Eating Adventures Series. The other posts in this series include Peking Restaurant and Sushi Zo. 

    On the west side of Los Angeles, not too far from the glitzy restaurants that Hollywood stars frequent, sits a tiny little ice cream shop that serves up some really unique flavors.

    You know me and ice cream. It's something my body has been accustomed to having ever since I was about two years old. I'm a sucker for creative ice cream flavors, and I seek out cool places that aren't afraid to be creative.

    What's even cooler about this place? It's run by a fellow food blogger - a person who decided to give up his day job as a commercial bank analyst to pursue his passion for all things food.


    Meet Matthew Kang. Matthew write the LA-based food blog Mattatouille. I first met Matthew at the Community Dinner at the first ever Foodbuzz Festival in 2009. Matthew took a huge leap at the end of 2010 by quitting his day job to focus full time on opening up his own ice cream shop. Scoops Westside just passed its 1-year birthday a few months ago, which is a testament to all the hard work Matthew has put in this past year!

    When Bryan and I arrived, we had a really hard time trying to decide what to order. As a huge, huge fan of grape nut ice cream in Boston, I knew I had to try the famous "brown bread" ice cream. The original brown bread ice cream is made from grape nuts and is probably similar to the ones I've had out east. The version at Scoops Westside, called brown brown bread ice cream, takes grape nuts, coats them in brown (?) sugar, and the mixes them with dulce de leche ice cream. What results is a sweeter, more intense, rich, and caramel-y ice cream chock full of grape nuts.

    It was fantastic, though potent! I can see it getting too sweet for me if I eat too much, but the mixture of flavors works quite well.

    Bryan got the pistachio honey, which was quite nice with a strong pistachio flavor.

    They have so many other types of interesting flavors. The lavender honey ice cream had a lovely floral fragrance that I loved. It was probably one of my favorites.

    I tried their nondairy strawberry lychee and blueberry lavender "ice creams" (I think they are made with soy), which were light and refreshing, but really not at all a replacement for ice cream. Think of it as something completely different, like sorbet or sherbet.

    Matthew is a coffee aficionado, and also offers "pour over" coffee from Intelligentsia (as well as other hand-picked artisanal brands, like the Colombian one shown above). I must say Matthew has great taste in coffee (and he's highly skilled in making that perfect pour), because I absolutely loved the flavors of the coffee.

    I almost feel like I'm back in the chemistry lab (my former life!) playing around with flasks.

    In my haste, I almost missed Joshua Lurie from Food GPS, another LA-based food blogger who hang out here a lot (see top picture). We chatted a ton about the LA food scene, and they gave me some great recommendations for places to visit near the SLS Hotel (Jose Andres' Samm inside Bazaar), which is where I was dining later on that night.

    I love the variety of flavors at Scoops, and they change constantly. You can always follow their twitter feed to find out the daily specials. Some more interesting ones that have jumped out at me include unfiltered sake toffee, cheddar Irish Cream, Coconut Wasabi, Maple Black Truffle, Yuzu Basil, Pandan Cheesecake, and Lemon Jalapeno. If I lived nearby, I swear I would stop by every so often just to try some of these crazy flavors!!

    In terms of texture, the ice cream is lighter than the heavy cream stuff we have here in the East Coast. Maybe they are more health conscious out there? At the end of the day, I guess I'm a super premium ice cream girl at heart, so I still prefer the thick, almost "doughy" ice creams we have out East. Nevertheless, this ice cream is still fantastic, and kudos to Scoops for offering such creative flavors.

    Definitely check it out!

    Scoops Westside
    3400 Overland Ave
    Los Angeles, CA 90034
    Scoops Westside on Urbanspoon

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More California

    • Michael Chiarelli Ottimo Yountville California
      Bottega + Ottimo Yountville
    • Ciccio Yountville California
      Ciccio Yountville
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
      Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
    • Cole’s Chop House Napa California
      Cole's Chop House Napa California

    Recent Posts

    • Trivet London - 2 Michelin Stars July 13, 2025
    • Bibi London - Michelin Indian Food July 9, 2025
    • Planque London: Tasting the Unexpected July 4, 2025
    • Sunday Brunch at Bala Baya London July 1, 2025
    • Ta Vie Hong Kong 旅 (3 Michelin Stars) June 27, 2025
    • Pleka IFC Hong Kong - Italian Japanese fusion June 24, 2025
    • Weekend Trip to Nanjing China June 20, 2025
    • Po Toi Island and Stanley Hong Kong June 17, 2025

    Trackbacks

    1. 9 Unique Ice Cream Flavors You Can Only Get in LA - UpOut BlogUpOut Blog says:
      June 30, 2016 at 7:07 pm

      […] know: what? The secret, according to one blogger, is grape nuts cereal—or rather, the recipe takes “grape nuts, coats them in brown (?) […]

      Log in to Reply
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Always Joy Hong Kong
      Always Joy Hong Kong
    • Compline Restaurant Napa California
      Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa
    • Napa, California
      Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed}
    • Ad Hoc Thomas Keller Brunch Yountville California
      Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Support Tiny Urban Kitchen by making purchases on Amazon through our affiliate link:

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2024 Tiny Urban Kitchen