Splendid Evening at Jeni's

On Thursday, J and I (along with hundreds of others) went to try East Nashville's newest ice cream shop, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. From 7pm- 10pm, they were giving free ice cream away.

I am a true fan of homemade ice cream and ice cream artists. Since living in East Nashville, I have been a frequenter of the Pied Piper Creamery and have introduced many people to the place. I believe we showed our devotion to good ice creams on Thursday when we waited two hours to get some. Yes, t-w-o hours.

For two hours, J and I stood behind a sweet family from Clarksville. The little girl was quite entertaining. She loved flirting with J and beating up on her father while being stinkin' cute. (She was not even two.) We got a little lucky because they were related to one of the girls who run the shops. Jeni, the founder and owner, ended up chatting with all of us for some of the time we waited.

Jeni dropped out of art school to pursue ice cream making full time. They are based in Columbus, Ohio. She now has seven shops in Ohio and ours in Nashville. They opened a shop here because they have family close by. They believe so much in the art and purity of ice cream, they even have their own declaration. Before leaving, I asked Jeni to sign her cookbook for me.

For my first visit, I settled on a scoop of Cherry Lambic and a scoop of Rhubarb-Lime-Cardamom. So yummy. I can't wait to go back!

Two homemade ice cream shops... I believe that I live in the right neighborhood.