Sweet News: Scoops Westside is Open

By Javier Cabral/Special to LAist

The sweet suspense is finally over….Scoops Westside is now open!

After a couple of pesky delays, the indie ice cream boutique opened its doors to the Overland Ave. masses last week. And already…it has had to close down early for running out of the uniquely flavored frozen goodness!

The West L.A extension was made possible by Blogger-turned-Proprietor, Matthew Kang, a long time fan of the flagship shop near L.A.C.C. He humbly writes just why exactly he decided to leave his “cushy bank job” to pursue his dreams of owning his own small business in a contemplative post on his popular food blog, Mattatouille.

I got a chance to make the cross-town drive on a nippy Monday night and the place was fairly cracking with a steady flow of friends and family, as well as curious locals. The strip-mall storefront shined bright. Inside, speedy background jazz syncopations kept my head bobbing through the engaging flavor progression beat. The selection is still in phase 1 but he rotates up to 10 flavors through out the day sometimes. Another freezer is in the near future.

After a tour of flavors that included stuff like a subtly-tart Ume-Yuzu and a remarkable, rich Pecan Tiramisu flavor. I actually settled on the soy based Caramel Oreo and Banana Chocolate flavors in the “One Scoop-2 Flavors” option ($3.50). I have found the soy-based flavors to be a slightly better vehicle for the pure flavor and I wanted something light that evening. Although, all the ice cream at scoops is already light as it is since Tai Kim (owner of the original Scoops) has been making his ice cream without commercial restaurant stabilizers since the start.

I plowed through my generous serving and appreciated the little things about it: The way the crushed Oreos so they were still crunchy (Kang picks up the tubs of the frozen stuff every morning and keeps it in a cooler as he transports it), and the way the Banana Chocolate flavor tasted like an ultra ripe banana and had a slightly richer mouth feel because of the chocolate. I was in a happy place.

But I was soon to be in a happier place as Kang went on to brew a mighty fine cup of coffee for me. It was made from the coveted Finca Sanctuario “El Mirador” beans that he had just ground in front of my eyes. He sources his coffee only from Intelligentsia. Kang is serious about his coffee. He provided a free show too as he used the mad scientist-like ‘pourover’ method of extracting its luscious dark brown wonderjuice. Once done, I reveled in its deep, fruity complexities as I only lightly sipped on it. The following day it still provided a minor coffee buzz induced epiphany yet again..

Just like the original location on Hel-Mel, Kang is lending his walls to the local artists, revolving artwork on a regular basis. Scoops Westside also offers wi-fi to its customers. Delectable pastries, cakes, cookies and other coffee-complimenting goodies are scheduled to be on the menu very soon. “I want it to be an ice cream shop that happens to have some cool desserts, and also happens to have good coffee.”

Javier Cabral blogs at Teenage Glutster. His work has appeared in Saveur magazine. Cabral hosted Andrew Zimmern at his family's East L.A. home for a segment on the Los Angeles episode of Bizarre Foods.