With the catchphrase, “I’m free!” the character Mr. Humphries on the longstanding British sitcom Are You Being Served? went into entertainment and queer history as being one of the first prominent and recognizable gay characters on television. The actor who played him, the late John Inman, was himself an out member of the LGBTQ+ community. Lines from the show still seem saucy today, such as when Mr. Humphries said, “I had just bent down to tighten my nuts, and there was a double yellow line, see? And next thing I knew, there was a policeman behind me. He put a sticker on my helmet and tried to clamp me!”
Sauce, nuts, and Humphry(ies) of a different sort are all found at Humphry Slocombe ice cream shops around the Bay Area, with the Berkeley location being just a few doors down from the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood movie theater that is featured in this issue of the San Francisco Bay Times. (Mrs. Slocombe was another beloved character on the show. She was a great foil to Mr. Humphries, and her outrageous wigs seemed tailormade for a drag queen.)
Ice cream is already a decadent indulgence, but it takes on extra naughtiness with flavors at Humphry Slocombe such as the best-selling “Secret Breakfast.” Prepared with bourbon and house-made cornflake cookie mix-ins, it begs for covert spoonfuls after the morning gym visit or at any time of day.
Other flavors featured as of this writing include Spiced Pear (a collaboration with St. George Spirits), Pink “Pepper” Mint (a collab with Olympic ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream), Vietnamese Coffee, Peanut Butter Fudge Ripple, Brown Butter Pecan, and more.
The owners/founders Jake Godby and Sean Vahey, who both live in San Francisco, share that this “bizarre, delicious frozen universe” began in December 2008. They met at the now-shuttered Tartare restaurant in San Francisco that was started by award-winning celebrity chef George Morrone. Vahey managed the restaurant, while Godby was its pastry chef.
Their creativity clearly shows through the unexpected collaborations and ice cream flavors, but their attention to quality ingredients also is evident. Their standard ice cream base consists of cream, nonfat milk, buttermilk, egg yolks, and sugar, with no added preservatives or stabilizers that seem to be ubiquitous in many other ice creams.
Humphry Slocombe ice cream cakes make the perfect holiday meal finale, such as the limited-edition X-Mas Story and Double Stuff versions. The Double Stuff Ice Cream Cake that can serve up to 12 with the 9-inch size consists of a layer of Madagascar Vanilla Cake, a layer of Chocolate Ice Cream, and a layer of Mascarpone Cookies & Cream Ice Cream. The pièce de résistance is a topping of crumbled Oreo cookies.
Vegan flavors such as “Milk” and Cookies and Almond Joy are available and delicious too. High fructose corn syrup never touched the lips of “Humphry Slocombe,” and the ice creams are sodium-conscious as well.
Ice cream shops and movie theaters are a perfect match that can serve as welcoming destinations for affordable treats and moments of shear pleasure. Members of our team have seen entire families do this, spilling out onto College Avenue with their scoops. For those of us who are single, the scene makes for diverting people-watching, especially with the UC Berkeley campus located nearby.
Humphry Slocombe
2948 College Avenue, Berkeley
and at other locations throughout the Bay Area
https://humphryslocombe.com/
Supporting Small Businesses in the Castro & Beyond (Sponsored by Anne Sterling Dorman) Published on December 19, 2024
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