Any ice cream shop that gets mentioned in the same article as Scoops deserves attention. The Bent Spoon recently shared space in Bon Appetit with the Los Angeles gelateria. The Princeton ice creamery resides along Palmer Square, a bucolic section of downtown.

The Bent Spoon’s two Spooners are both from New Jersey and have a lot of state pride, selling I Heart NJ T-shirts and espousing about New Jersey terroir on a butcher paper manifesto, which adjoins a map of farms that supply the shop. The owners claim to “make amazing ice creams and sorbets from Cherry Grove Farm, Honeybrook Farm and Gravity Hill Farm.” They also “support local farmers and producers first, and if they are also organic, all the better.” I’ve rarely been so proud to be from New Jersey.

The menu is handwritten, since the offerings depend on market availability. No matter the flavors, ice cream comes in a sandwich, organic sugar cone, cup, soda or shake.

I ordered a “small cup of goodness!” ($3.50), filled with a scoop each of blood orange sorbet and Italian Mascarpone ice cream. The citrus paired well with the creamy cheese. It was like eating an organic creamsicle. It was so hot in the shop that within two minutes of serving, the ice cream began to cascade down the side of the cup.

The Bent Spoon also bakes cookies and baked goods on site, including this respectable cranberry oatmeal raisin cookie.

Based on my initial visit, it’s clear that The Bent Spoon lives up to its claim to “artisan ice cream & good ingredient bakery.”

Related Posts

1. Conte’s – Princeton, NJ – June 6, 2008
2. Mashti Malone’s – Hollywood, CA – February 14, 2008
3. Capogiro Gelato Artisans – Philadelphia, PA – June 16 & 17, 2006
4. De Lorenzo’s Tomato Pies – Trenton, NJ vs. Robbinsville, NJ – June 6, 2008
5. Buttonwood Farm – Griswold, CT – September 1, 2008

This entry is filed under Ice Cream/Gelato Parlor, Mid Atlantic.