While pregnant with her second child, Ice Cream Jubilee owner Victoria Lai had strong food cravings—burgers and fries were at the top of the list. While her staff joked that she should create ice cream flavors based on her urges, she couldn’t imagine fry-flavored scoops selling well.
That all changed when Washington City Paper ran a story about what pickle producers and ice cream makers crave when pregnant. Lai was inspired—she’s now debuting three new “cravings flavors” at tasting events at her Logan Circle shop on September 21, 22, 28, and 29. Ticket-holders can sample all six flavors and take home a pint of their choice for $16. Flavors include strawberry chocolate-covered potato chip, salted lemon pickle, and peanut butter-cheddar cracker. She says she surveyed a few hundred people on Facebook about their craving experiences. Responses varied from citrus to cheese, fries and Indian food.
For moms-to-be craving that timeless combo of sweet and salty, the chocolate-covered potato chips add crunch and umami to fresh strawberry ice cream. Things go a step further with pickles. Lai calls the salty flavor “no dill pickle ice cream” (thankfully!). Mixed with diced preserved lemons, the ice cream has an intense citrus flavor with a splash of lemon pickle brine. The final flavor is her personal favorite because of a childhood nostalgia for peanut butter and cheddar crackers. A rich peanut butter ice cream is packed with salty cheddar biscuits to create a cold and creamy version of the popular children’s snack.
The limited-edition flavors won’t be available outside of the tastings, but if there is leftover ice cream, you might see them in the shops. Lai says creating them helped unite her personal and professional worlds.
“I didn’t know how to handle being pregnant as a business owner,” Lai says. “I wasn’t really talking about it because I was shy of how to meld these two parts of my self, both the public self and what was going on in our family. Now that I’m expecting a little boy in this fall, I’m embracing all the joy and all the excitement that we see coming through our doors.”
Ice Cream Jubilee 301 Water St., SE; 1407 T St., NW; 4238 Wilson Blvd., Arlington
Emily Martin is an editorial fellow for Washingtonian. She previously participated in the POLITICO Journalism Institute and covered Capitol Hill for The Durango Herald.
