If rolled ice cream was North Texas' buzziest food trend last year, 2018 is poised to be the year liquid nitrogen ice cream takes the title.
Two new shops specializing in ice cream that's frozen-to-order using liquid nitrogen recently announced plans to open in Dallas, Fort Worth, Irving and Southlake.
Cauldron Ice Cream and Creamistry both use a science project-like process, adding liquid nitrogen to a bowl of ingredients to lower its temperature to -321 degrees Fahrenheit as it's being mixed. This happens in a matter of seconds, the companies say, which means the dairy particles and resulting ice crystals remain small, making a super smooth ice cream.
At Cauldron Ice Cream, patrons choose from a menu of interesting flavors, such as earl grey-lavender, s'mores or milk and cereal. The company also features a rotating menu of funky flavors like American pie, Vietnamese coffee and Cloverfield, which comes topped with Lucky Charms marshmallows. (Those were on the March menu.)
Ice cream here is served as a traditional scoop or in the shape of a rose. Either way, it comes in the company's OG Puffle Cone, an egg-based waffle cone inspired by the Hong Kong street food.
At Creamistry, patrons choose a base (either premium or organic milk-cream, coconut milk or non-dairy sorbet) and one of more than 30 flavors, such as Cinnamon Toast Crunch, tiramisu, espresso and black cherry. They can then add toppings like candy and nuts. Creamistry also serves ice cream floats and milkshakes made with liquid nitrogen, as well as pints to-go.
Cauldron Ice Cream comes to Texas by way of Southern California. Local franchisee Masaish LLC plans to open six locations in North Texas over the next six years, according to a statement. The company is starting in Dallas, though, and currently seeking spots in Uptown and Downtown in hopes of opening by summer.
Locals Jordan and Nicole Scott and Wes and Patrice Hall are bringing Creamistry, another national chain, to Fort Worth. They landed a 1,200-square-foot space on Harrold Street near West 7th Street to open the shop. It's expected to open in May, according to a statement.
Brothers Zeshan and Farham Somani and their cousins Aamir and Aazim Rajani (who are also brothers) own the Creamistry in Addison, which opened in December. The partners have three new locations on the way in Las Colinas and Southlake, and on Lower Greenville Avenue in Dallas. The Las Colinas and Dallas shops are expected to open in May, while the one in Southlake is pegged to a Fourth of July opening, according to Aamir.
Creamistry is located at 628 Harrold St., Suite 128 in Fort Worth; at 5250 N. O'Connor Blvd. in Irving; and at 1929 Greenville Ave. in Dallas. The Cauldron has not signed leases yet.
Can't wait to get a taste?
There are already several liquid nitrogen ice shops in D-FW, including Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream in Hurst and Flower Mound, Creamistry in Addison, and iCream in Frisco.
CORRECTION, 1:05 p.m., April 6, 2018: An earlier version of this story incorrectly Sub Zero had a location in Frisco.
