Videoblog: Guinness Ice Cream

Today I met my friend Kilolo at the newly-opened “Oh Yeah Ice Cream & Coffee,” on Highland Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood. While perusing their offerings, I noticed they had something they claimed was “Guinness Ice Cream (Adults Only)”. Skeptical as I always am, I asked for a taste.

And it was good.

I didn’t have a camera. I didn’t have a mic. But I had my MacBook Pro, with its built-in iSight camera. I grabbed it and started recording.

I liked the atmosphere and the approach of the place (even if – sorry fellas – I won’t be mixing hemp fiber into my ice cream for breakfast any time soon). Oh Yeah! is clearly trying to do something a little different. I’ll be curious to see if their marketing push to convince people that ice cream is an awesome breakfast food will pan out. But in the meantime, they’re open from early in the morning until late at night, 7 days a week. They even keep somewhat late Sunday hours, which is almost unheard of in Pittsburgh.

The ice cream, it should be noted, isn’t made there. It comes from several sources, including local ice creamery Dave & Andy’s, as well as an excellent source in Ohio. As the owner began singing the praises to me (part unpasteurized milk, Amish cream) my mind began to wander. How do they make Guinness ice cream? Am I corrupting the innocent Amish who are being forced to handle alcohol? I eventually decided that the likely hypothesis was that the Guinness ice cream was being made only by youths in the midst of their rumspringa, and thus was ethically OK.

In the video, I diss the vegan ice cream (“ku fu”) on general principles, but it wasn’t actually half bad. I just have an idiom to maintain.

This summary of the place, written a day after they opened, is another interesting perspective on Oh Yeah! as well. Give it a read.