The 32nd Flavor

Ever wonder why Baskin Robbins chose 31 as the magic number of flavors? Well, if you don't feel like clicking on their name, the original concept was a flavor for every day of the month. But what might the 32nd flavor be that didn't make the cut?

The city of Aomori, on the Mutsu Bay, is proud of their scallops, called Hotate (Ho-ta-teh) and if you go to the triangular ASPAM building, on the first floor, you can find a snack bar that sells everything scallop-y.


The blue banner on the right (its actually turned around backwards) says "Hotate soft cream." Yes, scallop soft-serve ice cream. I told my wife, "oh yeah, lady, I've got to have it!" After some discouragement from her, I ordered 3 vanilla cones for the women and 1 scallop cone for me.

Looks okay, yeah? It was nice and smooth, with no big hunks of scallop in it. A little salty, yet still sweet. Almost a little buttery. It was delicious and I'd get it again. In fact, it inspired me to try another ice cream I found on our travels yesterday, but this next one is a lot less exotic than scallop ice cream.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "the 32nd Flavor."
Photos By Tokyo Slim