Shug’s Ice Cream
and Soda Fountain
Pike Place Market
1525 1st Ave Seattle, WA

Hours: Thurs to Sun 2 pm to 8 pm
Phone: (206) 602-6420

I miss making my annual trip in March to Seattle, Washington. One reason is that this city is home to Emerald City Comic Con, the largest show celebrating pop culture for the Pacific Northwest (Canada included)! Last year’s event didn’t happen because of the pandemic. I was making my plans, but when Seattle became famous for being a hotbed of possibly getting infected, I knew I had to cancel.

ReedPOP made the wise call to “postpone” their event as nobody wants to get COVID-19, and while they are scheduling to resume for Winter 2021, just whether that will fly will depend on the global situation. Vaccines are being delivered and by Summertime, I should be a card carrying member of almost immune to COVID-19 club. I’m still going to wear a mask everywhere I go and have hand sanitizing wipes though! Upon landing, I know I’ll be making a beeline to Shug’s Soda Fountain and Ice Cream. They offer late night treats when the sugar craving calls! Throughout the year, plenty of seasonal flavours become available, but my plan is to attack the Big Eddie again–or I may order something different.

That last visit was terrific. This particular treat was made of caramel salt, creamy mint, and good ol’ vanilla. The ice cream is all natural, and the expression in my face… well, the photo speaks for itself!

The ingredients used to make the sweets here matter. With most of it locally sourced, the smoothness was certainly different from the product I sampled back at my hotel. They offer Salt & Straw Ice Cream instead of Lopez Island Creamery, which Shug’s uses. To say which is better is tough. I enjoyed both. S&S’s velvety texture is just too nice. The silken texture needed a scientist’s tongue and I have not reached that point yet… I blame eating too much spice for killing a part of my taste buds.

At least my olfactory senses know what I like. With this diner, the scents of freshly made cones are far more inviting than knowing I have chocolate or caramel drizzled over my cone. Every time I walk past this establishment, I’m hooked like a mouse to cheese. On a hot summer’s day (or night), this place is worth regularly visiting. During winter, the number of fruity flavours is limited. It’s tough to weigh in on strawberries. If there’s a way to frequent Seattle as a visitor right now, I’m all in.

4 Stars out of 5