For six Februarys now, we have made the same late-night run to The Big Softie.
February moves fast. Too fast. Birthdays stacked like playing cards. Anniversaries. Red hearts in storefront windows. The whole month rushing past in cold air and headlights and calendar reminders we almost ignore.
We always say we’ll plan better next year.
We never do.
It is always the night of. After dinner. The air sharp and thin. We are watching the clock. They close soon. We almost miss it. We always almost miss it.
And then we’re walking out with the box.
The cake waits until we get home. Back to the condo. The table clears. Plates come out. No one leaves. Not anymore. They know what this is.
You cut through the top and feel it first. The chocolate oat vanilla soft serve is cold but not harsh, creamy and thick and alive with deep cocoa that settles into the back of your tongue. Cookie crumbles give way under the fork, not soft but not hard either. They crackle just enough. They break and fold into the cream like little sweet interruptions.
Then the caramel crunch.
It snaps. It resists. It gives. Sweet and toasted and almost smoky, with that faint salt that wakes everything up. Beneath it, the fudge waits heavy and dark. Not syrup. Not thin. Real fudge. Dense. Slow. It coats your mouth and refuses to disappear. You taste it long after the bite is gone.
And then that final layer of oat vanilla soft serve at the bottom, cool and clean and steady, like a quiet note after a song has finished loud.
Every bite is cold and rich and textured. Cream against crunch. Sweet against dark. Soft giving way to snap. It is not delicate. It is full. It is unapologetic.
And it never lasts.
The whole family stays around the table. No one drifts off to the couch. No one checks a phone. Plates scrape. Someone laughs. Someone goes back for a slice that is smaller than the first but not by much. The cake shrinks fast. Faster than it should.
More than once, it has vanished entirely before I’m ready. More than once, my wife has slipped her coat back on and said she’ll be right back. She knows. She knows how much I love it. She knows I don’t indulge in much else all year. But on my birthday, I do. I allow it. Two cakes a year. No restraint. No negotiation.
There’s something about that night. The rush. The cold walk in. The box in your hands. The first cut. The way the layers hold together until they don’t. Another year gone. Another February survived. Another circle around the sun marked in caramel and chocolate and fudge.
Some traditions are planned.
This one is chased.
And we will chase it again next year.
Felicia Murrell
Love their soft serve. It’s a treat whenever I’m in the area.
Alicia Wallace
A very cute little neighborhood shop selling fancy soft serve. They had some unique flavors and toppings - all had options in both dairy free and gluten free appealing to all.
The vanilla alone was wonderful! The flavor and texture were stand out!
Michael Ross
SIZE DOES MATTER! 11 dollars and the cup isn't close to filled on soft serve. This place has gone totally downhill. Costco has better soft serve at this point.
Dax Raymer
The food is pretty good, and I would put it at the top 10, but it isn’t the greatest ice cream.
Kathryn Fox
The ice cream was very good, I appreciated the vegan and gluten free options and other types of toppings.
Andrea Carrel
Excellent vegan soft serve! I love the rotating special flavors and their seasonal treats.
Christopher Weiser
Solid place - even with the name. It’s Flippin good
The coffee ice cream was the strongest coffee flavor I've ever had tasted like straight decaf. The ice cream is not as smooth as when they first open it's now a stiff soft serve and because they no longer let you sample you get stuck with something you hate
afonso zhan
Very normal ice cream for a hefty price. One of the staff members was also super dismissive and somewhat rude.
Michelle Walker
I ordered a petite vanilla ice cream with rosemary carmel drizzle. It was good, nothing special but a nice sweet treat when you’re in the area. Customer service was good.
Daniel
Used to really love this place. Probably been here 100 times but the quality has gone downhill. The ice cream taste the same but you never know what you are gonna get with the hard shell. This place has gotten very dry inconsistent.
They changed the formula for the dark chocolate a while ago and made it less dark. It also never feels as hard as it used to. They are very inconsistent with the shell and it’s a gamble what you are gonna get. Sometimes they put so little chocolate on there I wouldn’t even call it a shell. They are also inconsistent with the amount of ice cream they give you. Half the time I leave feeling disappointed lately.
For an almost $10 small ice cream you would expect good consistent quality.
Robert Galerstein
My girlfriend suggested we visit this place instead of my usual favorite (Jeni’s). I figured why not? I love her and am happy to try something new. Well turns out I don’t love her enough to understand why people like this place at all!
The ice cream? Fine. Regular soft serve. The toppings? It’s like they just put cereal in a blender. The waffle cone? Clearly had been sitting for quite a while. All this together? That’s $11.50 I’ll never get back. (Unless I dispute the charge and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.)
Hopefully my relationship can recover from this crushing disappointment. While I likely will continue to see my girlfriend, I will never see the inside of a Big Softie again.
For six Februarys now, we have made the same late-night run to The Big Softie.
February moves fast. Too fast. Birthdays stacked like playing cards. Anniversaries. Red hearts in storefront windows. The whole month rushing past in cold air and headlights and calendar reminders we almost ignore.
We always say we’ll plan better next year.
We never do.
It is always the night of. After dinner. The air sharp and thin. We are watching the clock. They close soon. We almost miss it. We always almost miss it.
And then we’re walking out with the box.
The cake waits until we get home. Back to the condo. The table clears. Plates come out. No one leaves. Not anymore. They know what this is.
You cut through the top and feel it first. The chocolate oat vanilla soft serve is cold but not harsh, creamy and thick and alive with deep cocoa that settles into the back of your tongue. Cookie crumbles give way under the fork, not soft but not hard either. They crackle just enough. They break and fold into the cream like little sweet interruptions.
Then the caramel crunch.
It snaps. It resists. It gives. Sweet and toasted and almost smoky, with that faint salt that wakes everything up. Beneath it, the fudge waits heavy and dark. Not syrup. Not thin. Real fudge. Dense. Slow. It coats your mouth and refuses to disappear. You taste it long after the bite is gone.
And then that final layer of oat vanilla soft serve at the bottom, cool and clean and steady, like a quiet note after a song has finished loud.
Every bite is cold and rich and textured. Cream against crunch. Sweet against dark. Soft giving way to snap. It is not delicate. It is full. It is unapologetic.
And it never lasts.
The whole family stays around the table. No one drifts off to the couch. No one checks a phone. Plates scrape. Someone laughs. Someone goes back for a slice that is smaller than the first but not by much. The cake shrinks fast. Faster than it should.
More than once, it has vanished entirely before I’m ready. More than once, my wife has slipped her coat back on and said she’ll be right back. She knows. She knows how much I love it. She knows I don’t indulge in much else all year. But on my birthday, I do. I allow it. Two cakes a year. No restraint. No negotiation.
There’s something about that night. The rush. The cold walk in. The box in your hands. The first cut. The way the layers hold together until they don’t. Another year gone. Another February survived. Another circle around the sun marked in caramel and chocolate and fudge.
Some traditions are planned.
This one is chased.
And we will chase it again next year.
Love their soft serve.
It’s a treat whenever I’m in the area.
A very cute little neighborhood shop selling fancy soft serve. They had some unique flavors and toppings - all had options in both dairy free and gluten free appealing to all.
The vanilla alone was wonderful! The flavor and texture were stand out!
SIZE DOES MATTER! 11 dollars and the cup isn't close to filled on soft serve. This place has gone totally downhill. Costco has better soft serve at this point.
The food is pretty good, and I would put it at the top 10, but it isn’t the greatest ice cream.
The ice cream was very good, I appreciated the vegan and gluten free options and other types of toppings.
Excellent vegan soft serve! I love the rotating special flavors and their seasonal treats.
Solid place - even with the name. It’s Flippin good
It was fine, but a bit much.
One of my ABSOLUTE favorite places to go
Restaurantji Recommends
The coffee ice cream was the strongest coffee flavor I've ever had tasted like straight decaf. The ice cream is not as smooth as when they first open it's now a stiff soft serve and because they no longer let you sample you get stuck with something you hate
Very normal ice cream for a hefty price. One of the staff members was also super dismissive and somewhat rude.
I ordered a petite vanilla ice cream with rosemary carmel drizzle. It was good, nothing special but a nice sweet treat when you’re in the area. Customer service was good.
Used to really love this place. Probably been here 100 times but the quality has gone downhill. The ice cream taste the same but you never know what you are gonna get with the hard shell. This place has gotten very dry inconsistent.
They changed the formula for the dark chocolate a while ago and made it less dark. It also never feels as hard as it used to. They are very inconsistent with the shell and it’s a gamble what you are gonna get. Sometimes they put so little chocolate on there I wouldn’t even call it a shell. They are also inconsistent with the amount of ice cream they give you. Half the time I leave feeling disappointed lately.
For an almost $10 small ice cream you would expect good consistent quality.
My girlfriend suggested we visit this place instead of my usual favorite (Jeni’s). I figured why not? I love her and am happy to try something new. Well turns out I don’t love her enough to understand why people like this place at all!
The ice cream? Fine. Regular soft serve. The toppings? It’s like they just put cereal in a blender. The waffle cone? Clearly had been sitting for quite a while. All this together? That’s $11.50 I’ll never get back. (Unless I dispute the charge and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.)
Hopefully my relationship can recover from this crushing disappointment. While I likely will continue to see my girlfriend, I will never see the inside of a Big Softie again.
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