Review: Ben & Jerry's Phish Food Ice Cream

At this point, I'm thinking of changing my name to either Ben or Jerry since I've reviewed so many Ben & Jerry's products on this blog and have a bunch of reviews stocked up as well.  I must have been feeling psychedelic or have been thinking about illegal substances on a recent trip to my local Meijer as I picked up a pint of this Phish Food ice cream along with a pint of Willie Nelson's Country Peach Cobbler (more on that one in the future) on sale for $3.00 each.  This Phish Food pint consists of 280 calories per serving and contains a laughable four servings in the pint, so it's on the upper end of the caloric chart for Ben & Jerry's flavors.

The description of this says that this ice cream is "Chocolate Ice Cream with Gooey Marshmallow, Caramel Swirls & Fudge Fish" and as you can see in the picture above, the description of this does a good job of the total mess of things that are going on in here.  The marshmallow swirl takes up quite a bit of the pint and the caramel swirl is no shrinking violet either as both weave their way plentifully through the chocolate ice cream in the pint.  Also in the pint are several small fudge pieces that are stamped out to look like actual fish, which is amusing in a corny kind of way.  For size comparisons, I would compare these fudge fish to your standard dime.

In terms of taste, the chocolate ice cream in this pint is extremely rich, sweet and powerful.  It's not a deep chocolate, but I would compare it to chocolate milk in terms of its richness.  The caramel and marshmallow is extremely gooey, so much in fact that it sometimes stick to your spoon and mouth as you are eating this one.  In fact, I kept getting caramel that would stick to my chin like some cheesy dishes because it was so sticky and gooey.  As for the marshmallow, it is not only very gooey, but also very creamy and it is EVERYWHERE in this pint.  It's basically impossible to get a spoonful without it unless you are actually trying to do so.  In terms of taste, it's pretty much as you'd expect...it's not overly sweet, but it does announce its presence in its taste.  The fudge fish add a nice semi-crunchy texture when you come upon them as well.  They are definitely a strong chocolate and when you are working your way through a pint of soft ice cream and gooey caramel and marshmallow, it's nice to have an occasional crunch to break up that monotony and these fish do a good job of that.  They just add to the powerful chocolate taste of the ice cream.

Buy It or Fly By It?  This one is extremely sweet and a complete chocolate overload, so based on my tastes, I would say BUY IT.  If chocolate is not your thing, you'll probably want to stay away from this one because it will drive you silly (or make you feel stoned on chocolate) with its overwhelming flavor.

BUY IT!!