Sweet Republic Ice Cream - Scottsdale

Our good friend and uber-food blogger Seth posted a review of Sweet Republic on his site a couple days ago. Being avowed ice cream lovers and having read their flavor menu online, we knew we had to try it sooner rather than later. We were in the neighborhood this afternoon, so we dropped in.

Sweet Republic is in the small strip mall on the northwest corner of Shea and 91st Street in Scottsdale. Due to the shape the mall and the Bank of America on the corner, it's hard to see from the road. I'd looked up the address ahead of time so knew which nook to look in.

We were the only to patrons when we entered. They have a typical ice cream shop layout. The display with their daily selection of ice cream faces the door. They had eight or ten varieties of ice cream and then another ten in a separate freezer with their selection of sorbet and yogurt. They are happy to let you sample as many as you like. We tried nearly all the ice cream and a few of the sorbets/yogurts before we left.

Tara got a scoop of their Sugar 'n Spice- "molasses sugar cookies meet cinnamon spiced ice cream". It was outstanding. Strong cinnamon flavor and a great grainy texture with bits of cookies, sugar and spices. We both loved it.

I got Belgian Chocolate- "made with extra-rich, smooth Belgian chocolate". Compared to their other very flavorful creations, this was rather plain, but still a great ice cream. It had an incredibly smooth texture and a nice chocolate flavor. I really enjoyed it.

After we'd finished, we looked over the flavors again. The lady behind the counter asked if there were any other flavors we wanted to try before we left. So of course, we went nuts. I loved the Real Mint Chip- "fresh mint leaves & rich flakes of chocolate - pure minty goodness". The flavors came in waves. First the ice cream, then the strong, natural mint flavors, and then the chocolate. It's hard to describe the fullness of the mint flavor. The use of mint leaves brought on different stages of mint flavor for me. This is on the top of my list on the next visit.

Tara had a similar experience with the Peachy Keen Sorbet- "ripe yellow peaches – a pure juicy bite of summer". She said it had an extremely pure peach flavor and was probably her favorite of all we tried. In all, we sampled twelve different flavors of frozen goodness. If you like coffee ice cream, try the Sumatra Espresso Shot- "made with locally roasted bold, full-bodied Sumatran espresso beans (More Than Fair trade)". It had a great, strong coffee/expresso flavor.

They rotate their flavors, so every time you go, it will be different. The flavors Seth and J had weren't available when we went. We hope they are able to do good business in their location, as they have great product.

One word of warning: If you are lactose-intolerant, stick to the sorbets or yogurts. Trust us on this one. The richness of the ice cream will wreak havoc with you. If you are like some lactose-intolerant, ice cream-loving people I know, you might consider it worth it. Just be prepared to pay the Piper afterward.