as a very mature tax-paying adult, I hosted a group of friends to try 11 ice cream sandwiches this weekend, rate them, and rank them instead of just, you know, having a normal dinner (what can I say, i’m fun, have a high tolerance for lactose, and I like supporting local businesses!!)
THE ORIGIN STORY: I first had a Nightingale Ice Cream sandwich at my favorite local pizza spot, Sonny’s. the ice cream to cookie ratio was just right, and the cookies were so soft and tasty, just the right texture. a small women + veteran owned company from Richmond, VA (read more here!) Nightingale has been stocking their sandwiches in local restaurants, grocery stores, and corner markets. my friend Caitlin and I bonded over the new flavors we were trying and soon had a crAzY thought – what if we…..tried ALL of them?
THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS: we set out on a mission. over the course of 5 grocery stores we obtained 11 flavors and invited friends to come over and help us try them all (everything we could get our hands on). we did two batches (so they wouldn’t melt, duh) and cut them into pieces. in PHASE ONE we tasted all the flavors together, one by one, and gave each a score out of 5 on three factors: 1. cookie 2. ice cream 3. overall vibe. in PHASE TWO we chose the flavors we would buy again at a grocery store, and in PHASE THREE we tallied everyone’s one favorite.
read on to see our thoughts and reviews, and yes, I did make a spreadsheet to average out the scores. i hope you all benefit from the fruits of our labor (lactose-induced tummy aches).
PHASE ONE: RATINGS
classic
chocolate brownie cookie with vanilla ice cream // really solid, and my introduction to Nightingale when I had one for the first time at Sonny’s ❤
—> 🍪 3.8/5🍦 3.4/5 ✨VIBE: 3.75, “chill”, “nostalgic”
key lime pie
brown sugar cookie with key lime ice cream // this was quite polarizing, some of us (me) appreciated the freshness of the lime ice cream paired with the sweeter cookie but for others, the combo just didn’t work and wasn’t key lime-y enough.
—> 🍪 3.25/5🍦 3.9/5 ✨VIBE: 3.75, “fresh 2 death”,”licking the beach”
fat banana
peanut butter cookie, fresh banana ice cream, half dipped in chocolate // mostly disappointing, the banana was simply not strong enough even though the peanut butter was tasty.
—> 🍪 3.2/5🍦 2.4/5 ✨VIBE: 3.5, “elvis, “not elvis, “meh”
salted caramel
brown sugar cookie, salted caramel ice cream // definitely prompted a riveting discussion on the correct pronunciation of caramel which I honestly don’t like very much. overall not very impressive.
—> 🍪 4/5🍦 2.6/5 ✨VIBE: 2.6, “needs salt”, “sex”
chocolate blackout
chocolate brownie cookie, chocolate ice cream with chocolate cake pieces and chocolate frosting swirl // overall great vibes on this one, good balance of texture with the mix-ins for the ice creams with the cookie.
—> 🍪 4.1/5🍦 4.5/5 ✨VIBE: 4.8, “gooey”, “indulgent”
strawberry shortcake
brown sugar cookie, strawberry ice cream // MAN THIS WAS GOOD! the fresh strawberry with the sugar cookie with the real fruit pieces?? slam dunk!
—> 🍪 3.3/5🍦 4.8/5 ✨VIBE: 4.6, “siri play summertime by Will Smith”, “kids book”
banana pudding
brown sugar cookie, banana ice cream, vanilla pudding swirl, vanilla wafer pieces // weirdly this banana was better than the other banana ice cream? somehow the combination of mix-ins made this a little more enjoyable. regardless, wanted more banana flavor.
—> 🍪 3.75/5🍦 3.8/5 ✨VIBE: 4.25, “grandma”, “Mom”, “4th of July”
birthday cake
confetti brown sugar cookie, vanilla ice cream swirled with vanilla cake and rainbow sprinkles // ugh way too sweet even though the presentation of the confetti cookie with the sprinkles ice cream was absolutely adorable (imo) but was a hit with others.
—> 🍪 3/5🍦 2.8/5 ✨VIBE: 3, “funfetti”, “sad party”, “been there done that”
red velvet cheesecake
chocolate brownie cookie, cheesecake flavored ice cream swirled with red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting // my mind was soooo thrown off because the pink-colored cheesecake ice cream with the red velvet cake bits paired with the chocolate cookie was registering in my mind as peppermint, but the cream cheese flavor was actually very nice and balanced well with the sweet cookie.
—> 🍪 3.8/5🍦 4.6/5 ✨VIBE: 4, “I am complete”, “mmmm”
chocolate french toast
chocolate brownie cookie, french roast ice cream // what a pleasant surprise! that french roast ice cream was stellar, the ground coffee nibs were such a nice touch and I felt like I was drinking a fresh cup of coffee, so impressed!
—> 🍪 3/5🍦 3.3/5 ✨VIBE: 3.5, “riiiich”, “bullshit”, “2nd most disappointing”
cookie monster
chocolate chip cookie, cookies and cream ice cream // ending on their other most popular, it seemed a little plain after the rush of the coffee and the cheesecake, but still a solid option.
—> 🍪 3.2/5🍦 3.5/5 ✨VIBE: 3.75, “basic”, “C is for cookie”, “middle of the road”
PHASE TWO: WOULD YOU BUY THIS AGAIN?
after trying all of these, which would we actually pay for at a grocery store? here are the picks and the amount of votes we got. a note, some tasters did drop off due to understandable lactose intolerance, so these numbers are reflective of those who expressed continued interest in the process.
Strawberry Shortcake – 4, Chocolate French Roast – 2, Key Lime – 3, Chocolate Blackout – 3, Banana Pudding – 2, Birthday Cake – 2, Red Velvet Cheesecake – 2, Salted Caramel 1.
PHASE THREE: THE FINAL WINNER
all contestants were asked to choose one and one only that was their favorite and the votes are in!!!
Chocolate French Roast – 2, Chocolate Blackout – 1
AND THE AWARD GOES TOOOOOOOO STRAWBERRY! Strawberry Shortcake – 4
thanks for coming along with us on this journey. stay tuned for the inevitable extra video content in the form of a silly reels video or tiktok.
aditi eats 