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Sweet, Cold Cream

By on July 13, 2017 in Edible East Bay

For a different kind of ice cream goodness, head down to the lower part of Solano in Albany to Mr. Dewie’s, a cheery ice cream parlor with red tables and chairs out front. A second shop is now open at the Public Market in Emeryville, in a shipping container inside the market. Shop owners and brothers Ari and Andrew Cohen, a friendly and outgoing pair, grew up in North Berkeley. They were regular customers of both McCallum’s and Ortman’s, two local ice cream purveyors some readers might remember. In an email, Ari reminisced, “We used to play at Thousand Oaks school and go to Ortman’s for slushies. At McCallums, we’d go to birthday parties and order the ‘sink,’ which was, as you can imagine, as big as a sink and filled with every conceivable flavor and topping under the sun. It was pretty cool, and pretty gross at the same time!” While in high school, Ari worked at Bott’s, an old ice cream store in the Elmwood district, owned by the fellow who currently owns Fentons ice cream.

All that experience served them well, and the brothers have developed a big following for their vegan, non-dairy cashew milk ice cream made from organic ingredients in flavors like Chocolate Orange Chip, Tumeric Spice, Green Tea, and their most popular flavor, Caramel Almond. Most items (including cones) are gluten-free. (And if you’re curious about the name, “Mr. Dewie” was a character Ari played in a music video made with his brother Andrew many years ago.)

Ari (left) and Andrew Cohen serve up Mr. Dewie’s vegan, non-dairy cashew milk ice cream on Solano Avenue in Albany. Photo courtesy of Mr. Dewie’s.

For more local ice cream lore, read our article Sweet, Cold, and Unforgettable Pleasure.

The Bay Area Bites Guide to Ice Cream in Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland

By on June 13, 2017 at KQED bay Area Bites

As the Bay Area finally starts to warm up, it’s time to shift our diets to seasonally appropriate fare like tomatoes, corn and–of course–ice cream. Here’s our guide to ice cream options in Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville, highlighting four relatively new places that offer exciting, non-traditional ice cream options. Not interested in branching out from the classics? We’ve also included a list of other nearby ice cream spot, so you can pick one that matches your preferences (plus, don’t miss our old list for other East Bay shops). We’ve tried to be as comprehensive as we can, but if we missed your favorite spot, let us know.

Roasted cashew and mocha chip ice cream from Mr. Dewie's Cashew Creamery in Emeryville.
Roasted cashew and mocha chip ice cream from Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery in Emeryville. (Shelby Pope)

Every weekday around noon, Emeryville’s Public Market is flooded with crowds of hungry office workers, their key cards swinging from lanyards as they choose between ramen, sushi or sandwiches. Now, those hordes have a new option for dessert. Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery, from owners Ari and Andrew Cohen, opened its second location there in March, with a cheery staff serving up their cashew-based ice cream from a zhooshed-up shipping container. A sign informs you that it’s dairy-free, additive-free, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free and organic, but lest that scare you off, let me reassure you that this ice cream isn’t just good for vegans, it’s good, period. It’s full-bodied and rich, with none of the watery grittiness of other dairy-free ice creams. Their roasted cashew flavor had a deep, sweet flavor from the roasted nuts, while their mocha chip was creamy and decadent.

Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery (Flagship store is in Albany)
5959 Shellmound St. [Map]
Emeryville, CA 94608
Ph: (510) 350-8171
Hours: Mon-Sat, 11am-9pm; Sun, 11am-8pm
Facebook: Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery & Frozen Desserts
Twitter: @MrDewies
Instagram: @mrdewies
Yelp: Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery
Price range: $ (Entrees $10 and under)

East Bay Ice Cream Spots to Satisfy Your Frozen-Treat Jones

By on June 8, 2017 at East Bay Express

Summer officially begins June 20, but any season is a good time to treat yourself to some frozen goodness. Luckily, we live among plenty of ice cream parlors, boba shops, and gelaterias here in the East Bay. Of course, we also have crowd favorite Fentons Creamery and Restaurant, made even more popular by its cameo in Pixar’s Up.

The list of go-to spots for ice cream is not comprehensive, and some will balk at places left off. In Chinatown alone, there are probably a dozen spots to get a red bean iced drink or avocado smoothie. When it comes to cold treats, we have an embarrassment of riches.

Here are eleven of the best, lesser-known, or most unique places to get a frozen dessert around town.

Vegan Friendly

Looking for a dairy-, soy-, and gluten-free option? Mr. Dewie’s has you covered with its two outposts, one on Solano Avenue in Albany and the new stand in the reconfigured Emeryville Public Market. The ice creams are cashew-based and are rich and smooth, and the ingredients are almost all organic. For $4, you get a “single” scoop, which is actually two huge scoops, and you can even pick two flavors. Gluten-free cones are available for an additional 50 cents. Try the almond caramel, which is the most similar to regular ice cream. MrDewies.com.

Dreamy Dairy-Free Ice Cream in Albany

By on January 10, 2017 at Red Tricycle

Sweet news for East Bay folks: The Cohen brothers Ari and Andrew have opened a warm and welcoming ice cream store in the heart of Albany. The creators and co-founders of Mr. Dewie’s ice cream have brought their 100% vegan, dairy and gluten free gelato (which has been a hit in stores nationwide since 2012) directly to the local Bay Area community with their first retail location. Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery is located on the buzzling corner of Kains and Solano Avenue—you can’t miss it.

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                                                                                          Photo: Jeremy PeckHey Mom, It’s a Nutritious Treat
Unless you don’t like or cannot stomach nuts, this gelato will make you feel good. Mr. Dewie’s famous Organic Cashew Milk ice cream is packed with 100% natural and nutritious ingredients. We call it gelato because of its rich and creamy flavor, just like authentic gelato. It’s main ingredient, cashew nut milk, is fresh and hand-made from premium organic cashews. The brother were inspired to create the concoction when they found out they were both lactose intolerant. For all health conscious sweets lovers out there, this is a protein-packed treat with 5 to 8 grams of proteins in every serving. And you can ask for ‘kid size’ scoops.

Photo: Mr Dewie’s / S.Klensch

Taste The Season + Get Your Flavor
Next to kid-friendly staples like chocolate chip, strawberry, and lemon cookie, there is a lot more to explore, like banana bread or caramel almond crunch. Ari gets creative developing new combos and flavors in the store’s kitchen area, where also hand-made gluten free buckwheat cones are prepped from scratch. He comes up with incredibly tasty results, like the Turmeric Spice which contains turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, anise, and black pepper. Simply delicious and ideal to get into holiday mood.

Photo: S.Klensch

The Cashew Creamery currently offers these scrumptious seasonal flavors:

  • Pumpkin Pie
  • Roasted Cashew
  • Chocolate Orange Chip

The Cohen brothers also have young and old covered for those cooler days, with a cashew milk hot cocoa.

Photo: The Cashew Creamery

Where to Get Your Tasty Scoop
Next time you are in the Berkeley area, you have to pay this local Albany business a visit with your little and old ice cream gourmets. It is open from 12 p.m. until 9 p.m. during the week and until 10 p.m. on the weekend. Hint to moms and dads: this is a great after date-night dinner spot for an indulging treat.

Stay tuned, the Cohen brothers are exploring new locations to expand their local stores in this area. But until then, enjoy this luscious frozen treat right here,

Cashew Creamery in Albany
116 Solano Avenue,
Albany, CA (Just one block east of San Pablo)
Website: mrdewies.com

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Brain Freeze Never Felt So Good


by Rebecca Flint Marx | Photo: Maren Caruso; Food styling by Alexa Hyman on July 11, 2016 at San Francisco

Thanks to a host of new shops, the Bay Area is a stone-cold ice cream paradise.

With apologies to ride-hailing apps and Dungeness crab, ice cream may be the Bay Area’s most precious renewable resource. Consider: Every couple of years, we are blessed with a new wave of chilly munificence seemingly designed to broaden our understanding of what frozen desserts can be—and remind us of how good we have it. The latest rash brings a combination of new shops and new concepts: There are storefront debuts from beloved street vendors, shops boasting dairy pasteurized onsite, and the long-awaited ice cream spin-off of a popular bakery (hello, Tartine). There are vegan scoops and customizable sweet-tooth sandwiches and shaved snow from Taiwan. And, most important, there is some damn good ice cream.

Mr. Dewie’s
A presence in East Bay grocery stores for the last five years, Mr. Dewie’s found a permanent home for its cashew-milk-based ice cream in Albany this past March. Founded by lactose-intolerant brothers Ari and Andrew Cohen, the company is beloved by vegans and the dairy averse for its exceptionally creamy and flavorful scoops—think chocolate-orange, caramel-almond, and lemon cookie. At the bright and friendly corner storefront, you can get them on homemade buckwheat waffle cones that deserve to have a following of their own. 1116 Solano Ave. (at Kains St.), Albany.

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Originally published in the July issue of San Francisco

Taste Test: Dairy-Free Ice Cream

by Silvana Nardone on August 22, 2015 at Food Network

Ice cream — that luscious, creamy treat for which a craving hits every summer and only intensifies with the heat — is always on our minds. In its most-classic form, you need only a few ingredients to churn up the chilling possibilities: cow’s milk (or cream), sugar and egg yolks. So what happens when you remove the milk and replace it with nut-based “milks,” like cashew and coconut? We taste-tested dozens of pints from around the nation and these are our picks for the best dairy-free ice cream America’s churning out today. (Note: Since these ice creams contain zero dairy milkfat, they’re technically classified as frozen desserts.)

The Criteria:
We used our typical rating scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) for this taste test. Each brand was evaluated based on taste, texture and nutrition, paying special attention to calories, fat, sodium and ingredient quality. All nutrition information is based on a 1/2-cup serving size of vanilla flavor wherever possible.

Mr. Dewie’s
Rating: 5
Cost: $7.50
Per serving: Calories 260; Fat 15 g (Saturated 2.5 g); Sodium 30 mg; Fiber 1 g; Sugars 22 g

Our take:
This organic, Oakland, Calif.-based cashew ice cream company was built on necessity — often the key incentive for developing the best version of anything — by brothers Ari and Andrew Cohen, whose family couldn’t eat dairy. While there are other brands on the market that are free of stabilizers, emulsifiers or gums, theirs is the first I’ve tasted that has that satisfying chew that usually only premium dairy-full ice creams deliver. Their flavors are incredibly creative, too. Chocolate Orange Chip was my personal favorite, with Salted Pecan coming in a close second.

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