Last week we sat down with Amelia, one of the founders and owners of Sweet Ritual, to learn about the history of our favorite vegan ice cream joint and, you know, eat some vegan ice cream….. Maybe a lot of it.
We pulled up a few chairs to one of the outdoor tables Sweet Ritual shares with Juiceland and talked about Amelia’s Toy Joy roots, which flavor is the most popular, and the seasonal trend to ice cream eating in this town (despite the fact that, for some of us, ice cream season is most definitely year round). It’s clear that ice cream-making is a lot like the bookselling Carolyn and I do during the day; you’re in it because you love it. We love that Sweet Ritual is doing well enough to have recently bought another freezer, which has allowed them to expand their offerings to sixteen flavors at a time. We also love their facebook and instagram feeds, where they keep us up to date on the flavors of the day. (You can find ’em on twitter, too.)
Of course, we tried some ice cream while we were there. When “ice cream for dinner” can technically be described as “working on the book”, you know you’ve settled yourself into the right gig.
Carolyn went for the mint chocolate chip. I took on a double decker cone of Bananas Foster and Cherry Springer, which Amelia described as their take on Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Garcia. And then all the world rejoiced. Or at least that’s how it felt sitting out on the corner of Duval and 45th, cone in hand on a breezy, sunny, not at all too hot Austin day, watching the wind wave the flags over yonder at the Flag Store.
Thanks to Amelia and Layla for serving up our scoops! These ice cream slingers certainly have their technique down. It was impressive to watch them dig up enormous scoops and then successfully balance them, one on top of another, in a cone that did not fall over from the massive weight of all that ice cream. That’s straight up skill, y’all. Just look at how happy it made us.
Vegan Survival Guide: Austin 