Dessert & A Show: Mix ‘n’ Match Creamery

33 SW 3rd Avenue & Ankeny St • mixnmatchcreamery.com • 971.678.5653

Hours: Tues – Thurs 12pm-9pm; Fri 12pm-1am; Sat 11am-1am; Sun 11am-9pm

Warning: whining session ahead!

I know that people like planning ahead for holidays, but really why are there Halloween decorations out in stores already? I have nothing wrong with Halloween – it’s awesome, you get to eat a lot of candy and see people dress up in funny outfits.

But I am a firm believer in cherishing every moment of summertime, especially here in Oregon. It is only mid-August and we should enjoy all the sunshine before it leaves us for another dreaded nine months.

Although the weather was a little funky with the humidity and brief rain showers last week, the Alberta Street Fair was a great summer Saturday activity. Brice and I wandered around, checking out the booths of jewelry, photography and other random knick knacks.

We even got to see some of the great Portland-weirdness like a guy riding a unicycle while playing a bagpipe and wearing a Darth Vader mask. Gotta love Portland.

One of the best stops along the way was Mix ‘n’ Match Creamery. It starts with just a simple milk base, some flavors and add-ins and then it all gets blasted with liquid nitrogen. It’s like dessert and a show.

It is kind of like Cold Stone Creamery… but better.

First, you get to choose the milk base – premium extra creamy milk, nonfat, sugar-free, or coconut milk.

Next up, you request the flavor. They use Torani syrups which I’ve never seen before and is really clever as the flavor combinations are nearly endless.

Pick your “Mix N’s” like brownie bits, marshmallow cream, Oreo cookies, or bacon pieces (this is Portland after all).

Then the real show begins – under a giant cloud of liquid nitrogen fog, owner Eric quickly stirs the mixture. The liquid nitrogen is kept at a chilly negative 321 degrees and it freezes everything so quickly that ice crystals are much smaller than the usual freezing methods. What that means is that in under a minute, you get perfectly smooth ice cream.

Our Oreo Cookie Coffee concoction was fantastic – incredibly creamy, with a rich coffee flavor and big chunks of chocolately, crispy cookie.

Brice’s only disappointment was that I told him he shouldn’t have a second bowl of it, after having eaten our way down Alberta.

Don’t worry. You don’t have to wait until next year’s Street Fair to check out this ice cream. Just head down to their downtown food cart and you can experience their delicious ice cream yourself. They also do special events which would no doubt be a hit.