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Whether you prefer to think of their ice cream as plant-based or vegan, Kari Brunson of Juicebox and Hot Cakes' Autumn Martin hope you also call it delicious when the duo open their collaborative Frankie and Jo's project on Capitol Hill this Friday at 2 p.m. It's good timing for anyone reeling from the sudden loss of Seattle Cookie Counter, the vegan sweet shop on Phinney Ridge that has its last day today.
Frankie and Jo's started shipping seven flavors nationwide last month, and now the brick-and-mortar shop is ready to roll. All of Frankie and Jo's products are made by hand from raw ingredients with no gums or stabilizers added. The business eschews soy and gluten and all the ice cream is made entirely from plants, with no traditional dairy in sight.
After months of testing, Brunson and Martin found success in a process that involves sprouting raw nuts overnight, making milk from those sprouted nuts the next day, and churning that milk into ice cream a few hours later. Most of the bases are made with a combination of cashew and coconut milk, though some have a pure coconut base or a pure nut base, such as pecan or hazelnut. The shop will also offer sorbets and sherbets, which are juice-based.
Frankie and Jo's uses mostly organic cane sugar as the sweetener, though California dates, maple syrup, and honey make appearances too. All inclusions, including brownie and cookie bites, are gluten-free and made in-house. At the shop, you'll even have the option of eating your chilled treat from a homemade oat-flour cone.
The opening line up of scoops includes some truly intriguing flavors like brown sugar vanilla, chocolate date, salty ash caramel, gingered golden milk, cocoa nib mint, huckleberry apple shrub sorbet, and California cabin. The product has already gotten the coveted seal of approval from Martha Stewart, whose blog this month said the ice cream has a creamy and satisfying mouthfeel: "Brown Sugar Vanilla takes ‘plain' vanilla to new caramel-vanilla territory. It's a crowd pleaser. Gingered Golden Milk is lively take on the golden latte in dessert form." Look for more varieties to come as the shop gets up and running.
1010 E. Union St, (206) 257-1676, website. Open Friday and Saturday, 2 to 11 p.m., Sunday to Thursday 2 to 10 p.m.
