Boulder Chill will warm your heart but may leave your taste buds unsatisfied
Nestled at the intersection of Folsom and Arapahoe lies the little ice cream parlor that could.
What you will find at this earnest locale are average diet desserts at average prices of $2 to $4. However, don’t expect to indulge in a high-fat or high-sugar dessert and don’t expect anything out of the ordinary in terms of taste.
What Boulder Chill does have to offer is friendly service, a down-to-earth atmosphere and plenty of sugar substitutes. The restaurant boasts a healthy take on typically fattening desserts, yet upon noticing that Splenda frequented the ingredient lists, I became dubious of the genuine healthfulness of the products served.
As soon as I meandered into the modestly sized restaurant, I was attacked with the sounds of a football game blaring on the television above my head. I then spotted two large families seated about the dining area. Continuing forward to peruse the menu, a hefty spread of toppings distracted me. Chocolate chips, Oreo bits, granola, gummy bears, almonds and chunks of candy bars were among the toppings available.
Then I began to taste.
As a miniature plastic spoon came toward me with a dollop of cookies n’ cream ice cream on top, I anticipated a creamy, delicious beginning to my time at Boulder Chill. What followed, however, was an anticlimactic bite of watered down vanilla ice cream with vague chunks of Oreo cookie hidden inside. And while it wasn’t the worst I’ve ever tasted, it didn’t make the leap over every other cookies n’ cream.
I trudged on. With patience and the knowledge of an encyclopedia, Boulder Chill employee Peter Driscoll kindly taught me about each variety of diet soft serve. He informed me that “YoCream,” the house-made variety of frozen yogurt, would taste the best at 80 calories per half-cup serving. “Wow Cow!” would be second in terms of taste and also in calorie count, at 50 calories per serving. Finally, “Carb8” boasted low calories – just 32 per serving – and low carbohydrates. Both “Wow Cow!” and “Carb8” advertised low lactose as well, for those intolerant.
I began by tasting the “Wow Cow!” brand – the middle of the road in Boulder Chill’s soft serve journey. I opted for the Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor, although I did have three other options: Raspberry Cheesecake, Marshmallow and World Class Vanilla. The sample was creamy and wonderfully chocolaty, with no trace of any of its added chemicals.
Next I tried “Carb8.” According to its nutrition fact chart, the carb count is low – only eight grams per half-cup. So if that’s your sole objective in a frozen yogurt, enjoy. If you’re going for flavor, quality or genuine nutrition, steer clear. Carb8 tasted like the dispenser it oozed from – like no one had even tried to mask the taste of chemicals.
Thrusting my unfinished sample into the garbage can, I informed Driscoll of my final choice: Vanilla and Chocolate Swirl “YoCream” with Oreo toppings. And it was fine. That’s really all it was. If I hadn’t been critiquing, I wouldn’t have thought twice about its mediocrity. Yet it did not jump at me with the confidence of a high-quality frozen dessert. With my cup of soft serve in hand, I thanked the man and turned for the door.
My final consensus? By all means, visit Boulder Chill if you’re looking for a typical frozen dessert. However, don’t expect anything more than friendly service and mediocre eats.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Lauren Duncan at lauren.duncan@colorado.edu.