In response to a past Sundae Sunday post, a reader suggested I try Marble Slab Creamery. I had never visited Marble Slab, having incorrectly written it off as a copycat of a similar franchise I visited throughout my youth. (Turns out the marble slab came before the cold stone.)
Like its competitors, Marble Slab Creamery offers a wide variety of toppings that are mixed into your ice cream of choice as well as some patented combinations like the "Willy Wonka" (double-dark-chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and fudge). Unlike other parlors, however, all combinations are served in chocolate- or vanilla-dipped waffle bowls or cones. Although I visited my local Marble Slab specifically for a regular hot fudge sundae, it was hard to pass up the extra-decadent chocolate waffle bowls coated with candy. Perhaps they'll make an appearance in one of my Halloween-season Sundae Sundays.
A large sundae ($5) at MSC involves one sizeable scoop of your choice of ice cream, one hot topping (caramel or fudge), one cold mix-in (too many to list!), whipped cream, and a cherry. For comparison purposes, I went for my usual vanilla-hot fudge sundae with an additional topping of smashed heath bars.
One thing positively distinguished this very good hot fudge sundae from Amy's version, my favorite until this point. Marble Slab's hot fudge is warmer, thicker, and richer than any sauce I've had so far in Houston. Its temperature was almost to the detriment of my sundae, which started melting nearly immediately. But MSC's ice cream, while delicious, couldn't hold a candle to Amy's vanilla. And no one beats Amy's when it comes to whipped cream: They make their own unbelievable thick cream, while MSC and others use that nearly translucent stuff from the can. MSC did, however, have cherries.
Next week I will be moving on to more creative concoctions, not because I think I have thoroughly covered the Houston hot fudge sundae beat, but rather because I'm looking forward to constructing and consuming some more unconventional combinations. Feel free to suggest your own unorthodox sundae and/or some more establishments to try.
