It’s a happy day when your favorite pie and ice cream shops collaborate.

I fell in love with Four & Twenty Blackbirds of Brooklyn when I finally had the chance to visit on a trip back home to the East Coast two summers ago. I even own a painting by my friend and artist Natalie Smith of five pieces of Four & Twenty pie. I discovered Jeni’s a bit more recently (I’m wondering if some of your California locations were opened in the last year or two?) and have most recently visited the Avalon location in Alpharetta, Georgia with my parents. The ice creams truly are, as advertised, SPLENDID.

Four pies were offered a la mode during the collaboration this weekend. The one not shown on the menu below, Matcha Custard, is my selection, shown in the first photo, paired with Goat Cheese with Red Cherries ice cream. I honestly felt like I’d seen fifty @birdsblack Instagram photos of this pie and was so excited to finally have a slice in hand. It did not disappoint. Creamy custard, bold flavor, flaky crust. The best.

It worked out that each of these flavors appealed in particular to one of us. Salty Honey with Salty Caramel for my mom-in-law, Stone Fruit Granola with Brambleberry Crisp for my cousin Mitch (closest he could approximate to our Grandmother’s pies) and Shaker Citrus with Intelligentsia Black Coffee for my husband.

Our Australian friend Shelly couldn’t quite get behind the look of a pie that was both a. a dessert (Aussies really have savory pies only) and b. green. She was also full from a delightful meal at Cafe Gratitude. We shared bites with her though. I told her it was a necessary cultural experience.

Here’s hoping for many more serendipitous collaborations in the future! Be sure to check out/follow Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (@jenisicecreams) and Four & Twenty Blackbirds (@birdsblack) on the sosh meeds. I was honored to have several of my photos reposted by Jeni’s on Instagram yesterday–thanks much! 🙂

And just a few more foodie adventures from Saturday August 5th:

Levi, stoked about his Activated Charcoal Latte at Cafe Gratitude, Venice.

Garden Cocktail tasting as part of the Summer Garden Series at Manuela, LA

More events to come each Saturday this month, calendar linked above. We attended an event in the garden with Niki, beverage director, in which she demonstrated ways to use garden herbs in cocktails. We tried the flowering oregano below after Niki muddled it and added lemon juice, reposado, and peach bitters, then shook with ice and strained. Absolutely lovely.

Happy summer to East and West Coast readers alike. ❤