November 6, 2009
(last updated May 18, 2014) 
Vegan Ice Cream Takes Over the World: An Interview and Giveaway with Rob Sedgwick of Stogo Ice Cream
Hey kids.
Is there a much beloved food—a treat, a comfort meal, or an all-American favorite—that you’ve never quite “gotten”? A dessert, maybe, that others devour with relish and abandon, but you’ve simply never really liked? Chloe, for example, just doesn’t like chocolate. She doesn’t dislike it, exactly: she just doesn’t crave it, or think about it, or fantasize about it on a semi-regular basis.
Obviously, this is akin to sacrilege in my book! But there are a ton of favorite foods that I simply never liked at all—long before I was vegan. These include, in no particular order:
• Pizza
• Chinese takeout
• Cake
• Any kind of cheese that has a scent (ie, the expensive ones that people love to taste and sample and serve with wine)
• French Fries
So OK. Cake’s not for everyone. But there’s one standout in the list of foods I never really “got” that shocks everyone, omnivore and vegan alike: ice cream. That’s right. As insane as it sounds, I was never much of an ice cream fan! Never bought it, never ate a lot of it, never sought it out. I can’t really say why this is: perhaps it’s the fact that I’m always cold, so cold treats don’t typically entice. Maybe it’s the fact that dairy hasn’t agreed with me since…well, ever. Maybe it’s the fact that ice cream often just strikes me as a little boring.
Maybe I’m just always so distracted by the prospect of chocolate to care about any other kind of dessert 🙂
Whatever the case, I am one of very few individuals who does not count ice cream among their favorite treats—a shame, since there are so many incredible varieties of raw ice cream to savor! I can certainly enjoy it (a scoop of the Oreo ice cream at One Lucky Duck, for instance, is likely to make me really, really happy). I just don’t sit around thinking about it.
But I’m weird. Most people adore the stuff. And they’re in luck, because there is never a shortage of new brands, flavors, and makers of ice cream. For many years, the ice cream market was a grim scene for vegans: sure, they could find ultra specialty brands, but the cost of shipping was a fortune. Nowadays, vegans have a huge variety of soy and rice-based brands to try. Better yet, there are now at least two major brands available nationwide that use coconut milk as a base: So Delicious and Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss. If you guys haven’t tried these brands, I really recommend them. They’re delicious, made with minimal and quality ingredients, and they’re a joy even for those of you who aren’t vegan, or lactose intolerant, or whatnot. (For more on the Coconut Bliss brand, check out VeggieGirl’s recent post!)
Here in New York, we’re lucky enough to have a local business that specializes in outstanding vegan ice cream. Stogo has gotten lots of love around the blogosphere these days, and with very good reason: it’s the non-vegan vegan ice cream. I do not say this to suggest that vegan ice cream is not a great thing in its own right. But what makes Stogo so wonderful is that it looks and tastes like—and, in my opinion, it surpasses—the best conventional ice cream you’ve ever had. The stuff is incredible: rich and creamy and decadent enough to please even ice cream snobs. And yet, it’s 100% vegan, made with high quality, organic ingredients, and absolutely free of refined sugars, GMOs, preservatives, and artificial flavorings.
A few months ago, I had the great honor of interviewing Rob Sedgwick, co-owner of this wonderful establishment. Rob is a professional actor (in case you were wondering, yes, he’s the younger brother of Kyra Sedgwick, so it seems that thespians run in the family!), a member of my gym, and, it turns out, the cousin of an old friend. I’d met Rob quite some years ago, and we’d lost touch; when I learned that he was the owner of Stogo, it was a nice excuse for me to say hello again.
I met up with Rob and his partner, Steve Horn, on an unseasonably rainy and cool late summer day. It wasn’t a perfect day for ice cream, but Rob and Steve’s warm, affable, and generous attitudes quickly had me excited for my own special tasting. Before digging into the array of Stogo flavors, I had a chance to ask Rob and Steve about their vision for Stogo.
The idea is simple: vegan ice cream that’s marketed like regular ice cream. Rather than emphasize the fact that their ice cream is vegan, Rob and Steve focus on the fact that it’s really, really good. Good enough to stand alongside Häagen Dazs, Ben and Jerry’s, or any other favorite brand. Its excellence is what makes it sell; the fact that it’s vegan is what makes it (to me, anyway) truly special.
Rob and Steve are old friends; they met over ten years ago when Rob was working at a restaurant called Goodbye Columbus. A few years ago, Steve told Rob that he was interested in making a great vegan ice cream. Rob concurred, and the two budding entrepreneurs enrolled in Malcolm Stogo’s famous ice cream making school. Stogo, who helped to create some of the most popular ice creams on the market (Carvel, Häagen Dazs, TCBY, Columbo) loved their work, but reacted with shock when they told him they wanted to make a vegan product. “Vegan?! [pronounced vay-gan]” he cried. “Vay-ganism?!”
As soon as Mr. Stogo witnessed Rob and Steve’s hard work and savvy, though, he began to sing another tune. He, along with Gene Stone (co-author of the bestselling Engine 2 Diet), invested as founders, and Stogo was born. The restaurant opened in December of 2008—hardly an auspicious season for an ice cream launch—but was an instant hit. In the last year, Stogo has been featured in The New York Times, New York, countless blogs, and various vegetarian and vegan magazines. Meanwhile, it’s become the favorite treat stop for vegans all over the city – including my pals Heather, Ashley, and Lindsay!
Rob and I then strolled over to Stogo for an ice cream tasting and a chat about the store’s progress. He was gracious enough to answer my most burning questions about the business.
1) Can you say a few words about why you and your partner, Steve Horn, thought to start a vegan ice cream shop?
It was all Steve’s idea, and I backed him. He felt that there was nothing out there that was vegan and tasted good, and that there was a better, healthier way to make the stuff. His (and now my) fantasy was a vegan Ben and Jerry’s.
2) Part of what I love about Stogo is that the “veganism” angle isn’t overplayed: you guys focus on good taste, not a specialized diet. Obviously, I want people to wave the vegan banner confidently, but if not dwelling on the product’s veganism is likely to entice those who would never give dairy free ice cream a chance otherwise, I’m sold! Tell me more about how you guys have tried to market the Stogo product and why.
I think your second question relates to what I said above: we want to become the vegan Ben and Jerry’s, minus the ‘vegan tag.’ As we say in our mission statement and to customers in the store, people like to hear more ‘dairy free,’ ‘organic,’ ‘no refined sugars’ etc.—not necessarily vegan, per se. Our basic angle is that we’re great tasting place for desert that happens to be healthy.
3) One of the things that distinguishes Stogo from other vegan ice cream brands is that you offer two non-soy bases (coconut milk and hemp milk), and you never use refined sugar. What inspired you to branch out beyond soy?
Again, this was Steve’s idea, to give the customer a broader choice. Also, some people have an aversion to soy (most who claim allergies to it are, as you know, reaching). The coconut has more flavor because of the higher fat content, so people who are used to more traditional ice cream are pretty much at home, and the hemp was installed just to give the customer another, perhaps more exotic choice.
4) OK, think quick: what’s your favorite Stogo flavor?
My favorites are off the bat chocolate coconut and salted caramel pecan. But we’ve got a flavor for every taste!
5) What do you imagine for the future of the Stogo brand — and other healthy, enlightened products?
I don’t know about other products, but we are thinking either upper west side for our next place [yes please!!!!!] and/or CA. We are still refining the store, and, moreover the product. That doesn’t end. We’re coming up with new flavors all the time in addition to taking suggestions from customers, employees, anything to make it the best it can be. We’re frankly thrilled at the response we’ve been getting. Also at some point, hopefully soon, we will be getting into the pint business and be at a store near you!
I know that LA weather favors ice cream, but I, for one, am hoping that that next location is the Upper West Side!
After our sit down chat came the highlight of the afternoon: the tasting.
I began with the most popular flavor: salted caramel pecan. Take it from a non-ice cream lover, people: this stuff is amazing. (What IS it about salt and caramel?). Then, I tried the mint chocolate chip (the favorite flavor, apparently, among male clientele). It was also great, but what I really wanted to try were the coconut flavors.
As you all know, I’m not a fan of processed soy (even the organic, non-GMO variety) and I prefer my clients to try coconut milk based ice creams. And the Stogo ice creams are, by far, the best I’ve ever tried. I tasted chocolate, vanilla, and pina colada, and they all blew me away! So much so that Rob sent me home with a complimentary pint of the chocolate and the pina coloda (the latter was my favorite of the day). Not surprisingly, these didn’t last long!
Before heading out, I also had a chance to taste the hemp flavors (not quite creamy enough for me, but good) and to eye the amazing chocolate collection (Fine and Raw is sold here!):
So have I been converted into a diehard ice cream fanatic? Nope. Favorite foods are favorites for a reason, and I’ll always prefer dark chocolate or vegan mousse to ice cream. But it was a real treat to have my eyes opened to the wonderful tastes and possibilities of dairy free ice cream.
More importantly, I delight I the fact that, with each passing day, there are more and more vegan businesses working to conquer the notion that vegan dining is a “substitute” or a sacrifice. It isn’t. In the hands of capable chefs, vegan foods stand on their own merit as gourmet items to savor and enjoy; they demand no sacrifice from discerning foodies. And restaurants like Stogo are blazing the trail, showing consumers everywhere that good “healthy” and “delicious” can—and always should—coexist.
Thanks, Rob, for such a wonderful day, and for all that you and Steve do.
And now, a new giveaway! For all those of you in New York, or who plan to travel to New York, I’m giving away twenty dollars worth of Stogo Ice cream! To win it, simply:
1) Comment on this post, letting me know which Stogo flavor you most want to try, and
2) Announce it on your blog or Tweet it.
Winner will be announced two weeks from today.
There’s a sweet start to your weekend!
Happy Friday, all.
xo
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Categories: Uncategorized,
Ice Cream
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Chocolate Chip Cookie (soy) or Vanilla Bean (coconut!)
Sorry that I almost missed this entry. Whew 🙂 Glad I didnt!!!!
The Stogo flavor I desire most is orange-vanilla. Orange is just so delicious in so many forms and combined with vanilla it’s like a creamsicle I enjoyed in my childhood. I’ve always been an ice cream & fro-yo addict and it’s been hard to find really fantastic ice creams as a vegan. I found a few I love but Whole Foods never carries the flavors in Manhattan.
I linked back to the giveaway: http://healthyandsane.com/2009/11/re-inspired/
I would love to try the chocolate hazelnut. It’s my favorite kind of chocolate combo… mmm 🙂
linked back!
http://tri2cook.blogspot.com/2009/11/kindness-all-around.html
Fudge Brownie!
http://twitter.com/kill_a_roo
I’m here on Long Island contemplating taking a trip into the city this weekend just to visit this Stogo place. The salted caramel pecan sounds delightful, as does the hemp based maple walnut. Great review!!
Would love to try the salted caramel pecan!
The salted caramel pecan sounds divine! Count me in!
the salted caramel pecan sounds delicious, as well as the fudge brownie!
Wonderful interview Gena! Ever since our tasting @ Beam Green I literally have been dreaming about Stogo’s but didn’t get a chance to visit before going back to school. We only got to try two but I’m already pretty muchconvinced that my favorite is chocolate, what can I say I like a good classic and I am adore it nearly as much as you do :). I’m tweeting about this contest…. right about now!
Yum. I’d like to try the chocolate hazelnut.
The coconut-based vanilla bean sounds fabulous! I’ll be in NYC atleast once in the next few months, so I definitely would love to try STOGO!
thanks for the giveaway!
Holy crap! The salted caramel pecan sounds incredible. That would be my vote.
I’d most like to try the toasted almond joy!
chocolate caramel pecan sounds divine!!
Here’s my twitter! http://twitter.com/eleanorbabyy
salted caramel pecan or toasted almond joy!
Chocolate chip cookie!
I’ll tweet and blog this baby!
xoxo
Maggie
MYBREAKFASTBLOG.COM
..Annd here’s my tweet: http://twitter.com/bittersweet__/status/5550931454
It would be hard not to want a scoop of everything, but the caramel pecan sounds the best to me!
well i have never had coconut based ice cream, and since i avoid soy i really need to!! the coconut creampie looks good, which is weird because normally i dont think i would want that.
totally wanna try coconut vanilla 🙂 mmm mm sounds so good!
i’ve been wanting to try stogo for awhile. the coconut banana mango sounds amazing.
Oh myy goshh. Those flavors sound amazing. I would LOVE To try the mexican spiced chocolate. One of my favorite flavors of ice cream used to be chocolate with cayenne (before I was vegan)
i can’t wait to go home and get me some stogo’s. i try to have a new flavor every time i go. of the ones i haven’t had yet, i’d love taste the mexican spiced chocolate and maple walnut
I want to try the chocolate coconut-based ice cream and the Maple Walnut hemp-based ice cream.
I’d wanna try the peanut butter fudge or the pommegranate chocolate chip! Sounds awesome.
i love stogo!!!! my favorite is the salted caramel pecan, or the red velvet cake!! such good ice cream, and i’m not even vegan!
what a great interview! i’d be all over their coconut milk-based flavors, especially the vanilla bean and coconut banana mango 🙂
I trust the expert– salted caramel pecan!
My tweet:
http://twitter.com/TheSkinnyPlate/status/5523623244
Yum. I want Peanut Butter Fudge.
The coconut key lime sounds delish!
salted caramel pecan for sure!! Looks amazing
I tweeted yesterday! I most want to try Almond Joy flavor! (Confession: I already tried it but I want it again)
I LOVE STOGO. I used to work directly across the street, and it was my favorite post-shift treat! I really love the bananas-foster flavor and would LOVE to try the salted caramel pecan. I want to try them all!
I have to admit the flavor that caught my attention the most is the salted caramel pecan. I usually like to go against the grain, but sometimes there’s a reason why something is the most popular! It sounds absolutely delicious!
“Jared believes that meat is essential for some of us. I would disagree here, but I respect that this is what a biodiverse model means to him.” Gena, Sept 18.
Just backtracking to meatosaurus again, as it niggles me.
Gena, I read your blog daily. I am a raw foods enthusiast, and a vegan for many, many years. I sincerely would like you to think about what niggled you, about meatosaurus? The fact that he called you an “idiot”, or that he ate meat (as you slurred him for that, I assumed that’s what it was til I remembered your Jared line).
You obviously don’t “respect” meatosaurus’ understanding of the biodiversity model. Can it be that Jared is your friend, and meato, your enemy? Is he beyond redemption and therefore a good target for you?
I know I’m sounding like a troll. I just really would like a little honesty rather than fine words every now and then, especially as your schtick is to be non-judgmental. The self-contained, kind of “calmly explaining to those less capable” tone a lot of Americans have really wears me down. But I love your recipes.
Susie,
The tone of my retort to “meatosaurus” was exactly in line with his tone to me. I responded to him with flippancy and disdain for his lifestyle choices because that is what he so carelessly flung out to me — and on my own blog, too.
I am as passionate a vegan as you’ll find, but I do respect those who choose to keep a certain amount of organic, grass feed meats in their life. I wish that they would choose differently, but this blog is intended to be a welcoming place for those who live all sorts of lifestyles, and not an exclusive forum for vegans. As I think I explained to you in my post about Jared, I do believe that biodiversity is valid insofar as we all need different kinds of diets and foods; I would argue that meat doesn’t need to be one of those for any of us and in fact should not be, but I’m not going to skewer a man who eats meat with a higher level of conscientiousness than most, who presents his lifestyle to me in a kind, decent fashion, who supports my own lifestyle warmly, and who is doing much good to support a number of causes that I find worthy (restaurant guides for those aiming to eat better, for example).
What I have no patience for are those–carnivores are not–who hurl insults and caddy remarks at each other. Especially in public spaces that are not of their making, and to which they’ve contributed no effort at all.
The disdain I expressed to meatosaurus was not — as you suggest — a hypocritical condemnation of one man’s lifestyle when I’m happy to condone it in another man whom I also happen to like. It was an aggressive and dismissive response to rival the aggressive and dismissive comment flung at me. Meatosaurus, as he or she likes to call him or herself, expressed hostility towards my lifestyle choices (I can only assume that “idiot” is an expression of hostility to raw vegan, and not to something dumb I said in the post). I expressed hostility right back. I can extend welcome and toleration to all those who happen to eat differently from me, but who respect what I do; to those who judge, I’ll express judgment in return. It’s playing fire with fire, and while it’s not entirely friendly, I do not think it was an innapropriate rejoinder to the dialogue that Meatosaurus began. It’s a fair response to being called a fool in a forum which one labors hard to keep civil and kind.
I’m sorry to say that I rather resent the implication that I am not honest, or choose fine words over sincerity.
Gena
Yes, I understand the reproach to hostility.
So, the gist is that your reaction is to this rather than the “slaughter-happiness” you accused meatosaurus of then?
Because those into biodiversity can also be accused of this.
I don’t believe you are dishonest. But I do think that a bit of hubris can creep into your tone at times.
That’s right. I was responding to the hostility of the tone with a remark akin to the remark made to me — from the opposite perspective, of course.
And like his original comment, it was slightly lighthearted.
I’m sorry you think that there’s hubris in my voice. I’m always honest, and I try also always to be fair, and kind, and civil to everyone who reads my blog. You don’t seem to feel this energy, but I hope that in any case there are other things you take away from reading that please you.
Coconut key lime, please! I recently discovered the most amazing raw coconut ice cream here in San Diego: http://www.tomberlies.com/vanilla-bean-ice-cream.html. The recipe is pretty similar to ones I’ve seen for making your own coconut ice cream. Speaking of which, your pumpkin smoothie was amazing- and I bet it would make a great ice cream! Ice cream used to be my favorite food and something I had zero self control around. After ditching cow dairy I don’t like regular ice cream as much and love my coconut and hemp options.
PS tweet! laura_kristen
The Pomegranate Chocolate Chip sounds amazing. I would love to try it!
that would be SO cool if they opened another on the UWS. like you, ice cream has never been one of those things that i sought out…im not sure why, since i am not lacking in the sweet tooth department (hello, dried fruit obsession). but there you have it. still, ive been meaning to make it to stogo since it opened, and have yet to do so…foodie fail!!!
how could i choose just one flavor?
the salted caramel pecan sounds interesting…i mean it must be the favorite for a reason, right? but id probably go with a coconut-milk based flavor, like chocolate or coconut banana mango.
YUM!
Well, salted caramel pecan certain piqued my interest, but I can never make ice cream flavour choices until the last moment… (Indecision abounds!)
I’m looking forward to going home (to NY) this holiday season, and some coconut-based vanilla ice cream would make is so much sweeter.
Thanks for the great blog!
I’m in boston but I WILL make a special trip to NY if I win (it doesn’t take much to get me on the megabus to NYC!). I love ice cream, although I haven’t had it in quite some time – quit the dairy a while back. I would love to try the salted caramel pecan (quickly followed by pina colada), etc. etc until I’ve tried them all!
sooo wishing i was in nyc RIGHTNOW to try out stogo. the ice cream looks and sounds incredible, and i’m uber jealous that you have this nearby! london doesn’t have anything as wonderful (and allergen-free) as this. oh and my soy allergy is for real and i promise i’m not reaching 🙂
Just reading your post has me craving the pina colada flavor. I’m a huge fan of coconut-milk ice creams 🙂
Hi! I’m from CA but am going to be in NY next week and would love to try that Cardamom Pistachio – wow, that sounds good.
Thanks for all that you share on your blog!
best. giveaway. ever! i have sampled their ice cream and can attest to the deliciousness, and ice cream is my favorite dessert. 🙂
great interview as always – i love what you said at the end about vegan foods standing on their own. i think the marketing we’re seeing with stogo (or sprout craft in your last interview) is key to making people more receptive to healthier items. like you said, if the chef is capable, then the food will speak for itself.
I love your interviews girl!
And oh man, I am sooooo making you take me for some of this goodness when I next visit NYC! 🙂 xx
I’ve never been a big ice cream fan, either. I’d take a good lemon gelato over ice cream any day. Actually, I prefer your banana soft serve to just about any ice cream I’ve ever had.
I really really want to try the salted caramel pecan!
Forget the ice-cream. Rob is hot…sorry CD. 😉
AGREED!
I will 100% for sure go to NYC just to sample some of that hemp ice cream.
And of course, I will need to make a weekend of it and visit every raw restaurant reviewed on this blog.
Oh, and maple walnut sounds amazing! I’ve never had hemp-based ice cream!
I wanna try to coconut based pina colada!!!
Cathe Olson, a vegan ice cream cookbook author, has a ton of great vegan ice cream recipes on her blog.
http://catheolson.blogspot.com/search/label/ice%20cream
OMG me and my roommate were just saying how there were no vegan ice cream places in Michigan!! I’m from NY originally but going to college in MI showed me how much more the city has to offer for vegans (though ann arbor is doing its fair share…just not in the ice cream department!) Wish there was a stogo here but i guess ill just have to wait till i go home to NY for break…itll definitely be a stop i have to make…hmmm too cold for ice cream during christmas? lol I would totally want to the Fudge Brownie…i mean fudge…brownie…what isnt there to like?! that or the toasted almond joy because ice cream + nuts =YUM…haha now i want some!
Gena –
I read Choosing Raw pretty much religiously (in fact – I am sick right now, and checked choosing raw from my blackberry to remember what your cold-remedy suggestions were! thai coconuts, check!) but I’ve never commented.
The power of Stogo and the possibilities of a $20 giveaway. Case in point.
I am most interested in the cinammon hemp because I’ve never seen it offered! And I really like the hemp flavors! But let me double underscore Gena’s assessment of this establishment: amaaaaaaaaaazing. I eat the coconut-based almond joy approximately once a week. This place is the reason I am broke.
Thanks Gena!
i totally live in NYC and would love to try them all especially the coconut key lime!
Don’t sign me up since I don’t live in NYC, but I just wanted to comment that I hope they come to CA next! I could DEF see this taking off in say …. San Fran! 🙂
Wow – I might have to make a trip to NYC just to try them. I’d say the salted caramel pecan is top on the list. I agree, the combo of salt and caramel is divine. I’d also love to try the chocolate – if there’s a dark chocolate flavor, even better!!!
I love your site! This is the first time I’ve figured out how to leave a comment, haha.
I actually happened by Stogo by accident during the summer when I was in search of a naughty snack. What an amazing find. I got the salted caramel pecan and looooooooooooved it, so I wouldn’t mind having that again, or trying the key lime pie as I’ve been more into coconut lately.
Thank you for doing posts on Stogo and SproutCraft, which gets many of its bulk nuts from the 4th street food coop, where I volunteer!
I won’t be in NYC anytime soon, sadly. 🙁 I’m casting my vote for an LA location, though, please! If Stogo came to LA, it’d be absolutely inundated with customers!
I would love, love, love to try that salted caramel flavor – I adore salty/sweet combo – I can’t even imagine how insane these flavors would be together. I’m off to tweet about it…
Wow! I’m thrilled to find someone else who doesn’t really like ice cream. As a kid, I wouldn’t eat it, and I’ve tried it again every so often, but it’s not for me. Chocolate on the other hand…
Salted caramel pecan! I cannot wait to be in ny… leaving cali on Monday 🙂
I’d love to try the maple walnut!!!
I’d try the Bananas Foster first, simply because you don’t see a flavor like that every day. Next, the hemp-based raspberry. Last but not least, the chocolate!
Hmm well I know from Green Beam that I LOVE Stogo vanilla and chocolate. I’ll go with the Chocolate Chip Cookie!
Tweeted!
Yum, Stogo is absolutely incredible! I would love to try the salted caramel pecan flavor because, as you stated, caramel and salt constitute an amazing combination!
Vanilla Goji Berry Crunch! Love some Goji berry.
You mean you are not willing to ship me a 1/2 gallon of salted caramel pecan ice cream in dry ice?!?! And here I thought we were friends 🙂
ooh! pomegranate choc chip please! i will be in NYC this december and will try it gift certificate or not!
thanks!
tweeting…
I would love to try the coconut key lime!! sounds delicious!
Ohhh I would love to try the cardamom pistachio! yum!
So I’m definitely not a cake girl either. Growing up I especially despised cake frosting. But you see, where we differ, is that I LOVE ice cream. Although I view it as a treat (an expensive one) and I eat it only rarely (like when there are sales), and never the soy based ones. This place sounds great, and once I get to New York I definitely will scope this place out. As for now, I am just going to hope and hope that they open their next shop here in Cali!
Great interview!
I just tweeted! 🙂 LaurenGinger
I never liked ANY cheese or MILK…bleech! I was looked at like a wierdo as a child and teen, so I can relate! Oh and CHINESE…grooosss!
Anyway, I went to Stogo once and LOVED it! I would love to go back! I had the hemp and coconut milk flavors since I don’t eat much soy either. This time I would love to have the Maple Walnut AGAIN! It was soooo goooood!
i’d love to try the coconut key lime. I love tart flavors. 🙂
My only life long indulgence (for better or worse) is wine. I go through phases with other things. When I first went raw, I went through a jar of raw cashew butter in a week! And when I was researching the craft beer industry for my MBA, I got hooked on Dogfish Head IPA. These days I can’t get enough raw nori rolls with avocado, sunflower greens, dandelion greens, red pepper, and mustard. Soon it will end and I’ll be into something else.
I don’t get popular foods. I can take or leave chocolate (a Gnosis chocolate bar lasts me a week). I’ve never liked pizza or french fries or Chinese. Icky, icky, icky. I had a carrot cake phase years ago. I’d go to Cornelia Street Cafe every few weeks and try to make a slice of the carrot cake last for eternity.
Store bought ice cream is too sweet for me, but some years ago, before I nixed dairy, I bought an ice cream maker and for a whole year I was making ice cream a few times a week. Vanilla ice cream and Earl Grey tea. I thought it was going to be my diet for life. But one day I realized I hadn’t made ice cream in a week, two weeks, a month, two months … I guess my body got all the heavy cream it needed for a life time during that blissful year.
I thought Coconut Bliss might be an addiction when I first tried it this summer. I polished off more than a few pints of the Tahitian Vanilla in July-August. But I haven’t wanted it since.
If only I could lose my love of Bordeaux. I might really get healthy.
Elizabeth, I have the SAME problem. I will eat healthy all day long, but at the end of the day, all I want is a delicious glass of red wine. Or the bottle. There’s got to be a compromise somewhere.
If I had to choose one, I would definitely go with the salted caramel pecan. Seriously planning a trip to NYC just to go to all of the vegan places they have to offer 🙂
Unlike you I am a HUGE ice cream fan. And I am in NYC! (yay!)
I want to try all of the flavors… but if I had to pick one, I would most want to try the Chocolate Coconut.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I think the UWS is a great place for Stogo’s next location! 😉
Coconut based ice creams are my absolute favorite! The flavor I’d most like to try is the salted caramel pecan.
Salted Caramel?! My mouth just dropped! I need to travel to NYC just for this!
Hands down I’d be most interested in the salted coconut or the mexican-spiced chocolate. Both sound divine and I think I’ll have to stop by Stogo soon, even if I don’t win the giveaway!
Great interview, btw – I love that you gave such good feedback but were true to yourself. Ice cream isn’t your favorite food, so what? Doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate a good scoop when you taste it 🙂
Great post, I am a huge ice cream fan and have just started with raw ice cream recipes. Thanks!
MMMMMMM! Stogo – I’m a fan 🙂
Yes! I was waiting for this post. I heart Stogo with all my heart.
I’ve already tried every flavor that interests me, but my latest favorites are mint chocolate chip and salted caramel pecan. I’m typically more of a coconut base fan, but the coconut flavors there are too boring for me! I am a former die-hard Ben & Jerry’s fan, so I need the fun stuff! Also, they make their soy milk in house, so that makes me feel better about it. 🙂
P.S. Just wanted you to know that I’m not entering the giveaway- just leaving my thoughts… Great giveaway though!!!
Also, it’s the raw cocoa I go for over refined sugars- it’s still chocolate and still sweet- I know. I’m not a huge fan. Hopefully, one day I can kick this sugar addiction to the curb for good- hoping the raw foods diet will help! 😉 THANKS.
I’m only just now feeling better about the ice cream – especially since it’s FREEZING outside!! But I love it. I embrace it. I’d be interested in trying the maple walnut hemp-based flavor.
And I’d love to treat YOU to a scoop, dear Gena! Have a session over ice cream 🙂
I’m not a huge ice cream fan either- people think it’s weird that I don’t like ice cream, cakes, or pies. I’ve always been a refined sugar addict- sooooo soooo bad, I know! I’m talking like Nerds, Red Vines, gobstoppers,- not really chocolate. Now, I go for chocolate instead of sugars- because I know better and I’m trying to rid myself of it completely! My husband on the other hand loves ice cream. Which is why I recently made your raw ice cream because I’d like him to cut back on his dairy consumption- were talking he drinks almost 2 gallons of milk weekly not combined with all the other dairy consumed. He’ll eat a bowl of ice cream and wash it down with a tall glass of milk! ACK!!!! ***eyes roll back in head*** LOL!
Anyway, thank you for this wonderful interview! I hope to make it to NY one of these days- in fact, in our vision for next year!!! Keeping my fingers crossed. 🙂 Thanks for sharing. Have a lovely weekend.
I am not in NYC so please excuse me from the contest, but this is AMAZING!!!
Great interview Gena. I love it! I would like to (re)try the Salted Caramel! I hope I win.
Actually, ice cream never really did it for me either. Although…I love cake. But I love seeking out vegan things, and I would LOVE to try some Stogos…a place I always mean to get to but never do.
Oh, and I’m not really a chocolate girl either, so I’d probably go with the Coconut Banana Mango…or…just plain Vanilla Bean 🙂 That’s kind of how I roll.
Did you time me to see how long it would take for me to get in on this giveaway? 😉 You know me and ice cream…although now I consider myself Stogo’s competition (in my dreams).
Sounds like I need me a taste of that salted caramel pecan if it’s so darn popular. Plus the boyf needs in on that mint chocolate action. Sign me up!
They all sound delicious. I would especially love to try the oatmeal raisin cookie!
I would LOVE to try the coconut based Vanilla Bean! Sounds yummy! Thank You!
Thanks for this awesome interview + giveaway. Count me in the drawing! [I know I’m 3,000+ miles away, but this would give me an excuse to get back to NYC] Salted caramel pecan sounds like a winner! 😀
Message to Rob ~ the upper west side is fab, but I vote twice – I’m a Gemini 😉 – to come to California. Pretty please with a cherry atop the ice cream.
Glad I stopped by twitter and read about this! I have been curious about the salted caramel pecan ever since Heather reviewed it. awesome interview + giveaway!