After my long tour around the Atlanta History Center’s property, I was hungry. I asked the gent at the desk if he had any recommendations of nearby eateries. He gave me a pamphlet and let me know that I should DEFINITELY check out Jeni's Ice Creams as it was the best. Ok, sure. I’ll do that right away. As a diehard fan of Leopold's in Savannah, I was extremely skeptical. Since good old Jeni was near my hotel, I decided to give her a whirl after dinner one evening.
The interior was festively fun, and what I liked most was that the flavors were what I would call normal. I don't need charcoal, rosemary, olive oil, or jalapeño peppers in my ice cream. Give me peppermint, rum raisin, lemon sorbet, or peanut butter chocolate chip and I’m happy. Forced weirdness does not work for me.
I chose the Green Mint Chip, served in a waffle cup. For the brief period of time it took to devour this dessert, I was in heaven. The crispy waffle had just the right amount of salt to it, providing a tasty counterpoint to the cool creamy mint. Chocolate chips were plentiful, too. Jeni does not skimp! I vowed to return the next night, but fate had a different plan for me. My friends backed out as they had to work on their Conference presentation, and I not-so-cheerily acquiesced. I flew back to San Diego the next day, feeling very sad that I would not see Jeni again.
Flash forward to a week later, I was out running again, having recovered from a nasty foot injury. I took a slight different route and lo and behold, what did I find barely a mile from my home? JENI!!!
How did this happen without me knowing it? Apparently Jeni has locations nationwide (girl gets around, but I’m not complaining). I’ve already been there twice. I highly recommend the White Chocolate Peppermint, the Boozy Eggnog, and my VERY favorite, Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate Flecks. This is why I run, folks.
In another twist of serendipity, you might recall this painting from the lobby of my Atlanta hotel, the Intercontinental Buckhead. The way it “melted” off the canvas onto the wall was extremely creative.
Back in San Diego, on my way to the monthly Creative Mornings breakfast lecture at the library downtown, I saw this mural:
Sure enough, it was the same artist, Niki Zarrabi. What are the chances? The San Diego mural was done in 2019 for the first all-female mural festival, held in the East Village neighborhood of SD.
See more Daveland photos at my main website.
