Sweet Treats: Sylas & Maddy's Homemade Ice Cream

The shop is right next to target in Olathe.

   To say that ice cream is one of our favorite treats is an understatement. It has, and I would imagine will always be, our go to dessert option. There is something decadent about the rich, creamy flavors. It is especially sinful the way that they infuse ribbons or chunks of candies, as well as other treats into the mix. Although there are many good shops across the metro, one of our favorites is a family owned shop called  Sylas & Maddy's Homemade Ice Cream. The one we frequent is located at 119th and Strang Line Road in Olathe.

The interior has a few seats, but mostly is standing room for customers.

   This small shop is one of two locations that we are aware of, with the other being their first location in Lawrence, Kansas. They opened that store in 1997, and followed with the Olathe store in 1999. Walking through the door, the first thing that you smell is a sweet combination of the fresh made waffle cones, and the creamy ice cream. We have found late afternoon visits are less crowded, and this place can get really packed on a weekend evening in the summertime. While it can be hectic, we look at it as an opportunity to review the offerings.

The menu can fluctuate slightly, but there are a lot of constants.

   Speaking of options, Sylas & Maddy's has plenty to choose from. Whenever we visit there are grand plans of trying new and exciting flavors. These plans usually go out the window when we see some of our old standards. We have a couple of go-to flavors that we always seem to gravitate towards. I do plan to give every flavor a shot at some point, but not sure that my wife will strive for this same lofty goal. Unlike many other shops, this place makes their own ice cream with high quality ingredients. They do not skimp on the add-ins either. For example, their Coconut Cream Pie ice cream has an entire pie added into the bucket of ice cream. They want to make sure their customers get plenty of flavor from their choices.

I haven't tried these cones, but they do look tempting.

   While we have the tendency to choose our scoops to be placed in a bowl, that doesn't mean they don't have other options. Their fresh made waffle cones are made daily, and even come with sprinkle covered chocolate choices. They also offer cake cones for those who prefer, as well as waffle bowls. If you feel your ice cream needs an additional kick you can opt for a sprinkling of gummy bears, nuts, chocolate chips or a variety of name brand candies. As with any good ice cream shop, they also offer an assortment of sundaes, malts, shakes, and other specialty drinks.

One scoop each of Pistachio and Sweat Cream in a waffle cone bowl.

   To help expand our horizons, but hopefully not our waistline, We have started ordering two scoops per visit. This allows us to select one of our standards, but to toss in a new variety. Of course the go-to flavor needs to be on the bottom, so that it is the finishing taste. We're sure plenty of you will understand that logic. We know that this process will mean that it will take more visits to be able to sample all of the varieties, but that's a sacrifice that we are willing to make for research purposes. By the way, they also sell hard-packed pints and quarts for those who want to enjoy the wonderful tastes at home. To find out more, like the store hours, directions, and a list of flavors, check them out at http://www.sylasandmaddysicecream.com/. Be sure to list your favorite flavor(s) in the comments section below, so that we can make sure to add it to our to-try list. Thanks.

Restaurant Review: Sake Lounge

  How many times have you came up with a great idea for date night, but had to make last minute adjustments? When this happens I try to have a couple of backup plans in my pocket just for such emergencies. Unfortunately, sometimes those can have glitches, as well. This past weekend we made a last minute change, and opted for a movie and dinner. We piled in the car and headed to the Olathe Fork & Screen, but when we arrived we found the timing didn't work well. Our backup plan was dinner off site, but it needed to be close and fairly quick. While there are a lot of restaurants in the vacinity, most are fairly overflowing on a Friday night. 

  From our parking spot at the theater we were able to spot a sushi restaurant that we had never tried, and we hoped it would fit our needs. A short walk found us inside the Sake Lounge. The restaurant is decorated in a contemporary lounge design, and the dining is split between two rooms. We were quickly ushered to our seat and our server took our drink orders. The menu is fairly robust, and includes bento boxes, and hibachi meals, as well as a wide selection of entrees, noodles, and rice dishes. Obviously they serve sushi and sashimi, and their offerings are quite extensive. On this evening we decided to skip the sushi.

  We started with a couple of appetizers, which were Gyoza (pan fried dumplings), and Crab Rangoon. The dumplings were meat filled, and the flavor and texture were good. The Rangoon were crisp, as I like them, but there was hardly any flavor of crab to be noticed.

  We have a standard routine when ordering at most Asian restaurants, where we order a couple of appetizers, and then split an order of Fried Rice. We chose the same thing here, as well, so that we could equally judge their offerings. The rice had a good mix of diced vegetables mixed in, and our choice included chicken. The entree is made with a smaller than usual amount of soy sauce, which would work well for some people. Of course they have a bottle readily available for those who prefer more. The texture was good, and the vegetables were still crisp enough to enhance the texture of the dish. Overall it was a good meal, and the timing worked perfectly for us to make it to our movie.