Before Ed Cornell took the reins of the revived Cafe Tropical, he was one half of Milk Cult, a beloved ice cream brand on the East Coast. Now he is bridging those two worlds by launching seasonal ice cream at the Cuban cafe. Located at the intersection of Sunset and Silver Lake Boulevard, Cafe Tropical opened in 1975 as Tropical Ice Cream and Bakery. Legend has it that it had the first espresso machine in Los Angeles.
While electricity for the soft serve machine is being installed at the cafe, Ed shops for blackberries from Tamai Family Farms and apricots from Juicy Fruit Farms. He'll slow roast them with turbinado sugar and lemon juice to serve with vanilla soft serve. Ed says that making soft serve from scratch can be difficult to pull off as it produces a higher fat content which raises the melting point. Along with the soft serve, he got his hands on a Carpigiani ice cream machine so he plans to make a cherry ice cream, stracciatella, and vanilla and chocolate sorbets. All of them will be available in a cup or cake cone.
Ed Cornell (left) tells Market Report correspondent Gillian Ferguson, "If you slow roast fruit and play a Universal Order of Armageddon LP backwards, you'll summon the devil himself." Photo by Laryl Garcia/KCRW
Bob Wiebe of Juicy Fruit Farm is one of the first to bring stone fruit to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market each season. Based out of Reedley, California, about 25 miles south east of Fresno on the Kings River, Bob explains that a lack of chill hours or frost can affect a crop. He grows plums, pluots, apricots, peaches, and nectarines with varieties available for 10-12 days. The popular Santa Rosa plums may be available as early as next week.