A suburban ice-cream parlor is an unlikely candidate for its own MySpace page, but the Bent Spoon in Princeton crushes expectations like so many organic peaches ready for the blender.
In the Region
An artisanal ice-cream shop that winks at that term while wearing it as a badge of honor, the two-year-old, two-table Spoon dishes up flavors like clover honey, culled from New Jersey bees, and chocolate laced with mint grown by student farmers at the nearby Riverside Elementary School.
The ingredients come from local sources whenever possible, and every fruit puréed or egg cracked to make one of the 18 daily flavors meets its fate on the 800-square-foot premises.
At last count, the owner, Gabrielle Carbone, had 380 flavors in her rotation, but new recipes come to her all the time.
With seasons and whims dictating what’s on the menu — black plum lavender sorbet as of late July ($3 for a small portion), and thick, European-style hot chocolate in the winter ($3 a cup) — there is a roll-the-dice element to each visit.
But even those who can’t bear the thought of brain freeze won’t be left out in the cold.
The Bent Spoon’s vanilla cupcakes ($1.85), part of a revolving lineup of baked goods, have grainy, glopped-on frosting and an old-fashioned appeal.
No wonder that MySpace page is winning new friends faster than a kindergartner with a bagful of doughnut holes.
The Bent Spoon, 35 Palmer Square West, Princeton; (609) 924-2368.
