This ice cream, purple as a bruise, was supposed to be a one-time show. Stella Jean’s tried to take it off the menu and the people revolted. To be maudlin (which feels right, because ice cream is an emotion), the Ube Pandesal Toffee at Stella Jean’s heals things. A sort of Bactene for the soul.
This is SDM Guide to San Diego Food + Drink. Ninety second documentaries about the dishes, drinks, and places found across the city by food editor and longtime Food Network judge, Troy Johnson. From moms-and-pops to Michelin stars—the stories of the people who make the food + drink culture hum.
The reason Stella Jean’s took off is because anyone can make ice cream. And the couple who own it—Steven Torres and Gan Suebsarakham—knew that. So the duo did two very specific things that set the scoops at Stella Jean’s apart.
First, Stella Jean’s uses 16 percent butterfat cream. Most ice creams are 12-14 percent (Ben & Jerry’s is 14-16). Higher butterfat tends to higher the whoa. (Stella Jean’s gets cream from Scott Brothers Dairy, which is a fascinating story itself—a family-owned, energy-progressive SoCal farm that was one of the first in the country to convert manure into tractor fuel.)
Most important, though, was that Stella Jean’s invited just about everyone into the kitchen—local chefs, friends, neighbors, strangers. Asked them to create flavors based on the food they ate growing up. Filipino, Latino, French, Middle Eastern, Italian, Indian, you name it.
The Stella Jean’s menu became a 23andMe of the neighborhood—an expression of a place. And it gave people a taste of home, wherever that home is or was.
