“I need more ice cream in my life.”

I caught myself thinking that the other day while driving through Downtown Los Angeles. Sure it was a sentence I whispered to myself, but there was a brief moment when I thought about shouting it through the window while coming off the 110 freeway. Does it make sense to do that? No. But if Oprah gets to shout about joining Weight Watchers, then I should get to shout about something that I’m happy about too. It was easy for me to justify needing ice cream because it’s one of my favorite foods. Granted that reason wouldn’t hold up if I were speaking to my boxing instructor, but since I haven’t been to his class in about 6 months I think I’ll be ok. With that reason alone, I was excited to get a few scoops in my possession and I was more than eager to meet a few friends to do the same.

With Lizette of DTLA Wanderer and Carrie from DTLA Rendezvous, we made our way to The Dolly Llama in Downtown Los Angeles. The shop that officially opened to the public on February 1^st took over the space that once housed Syrup Desserts. Opened by French chef Samuel Baroux along with his business partner, Baroux wanted to bring his culinary experience to Los Angeles. With an eye of creativity, Baroux put the waffle training he received in Belgium that focused on a structured recipe and attention to cooking time and put it into his own shop here in Downtown Los Angeles. At The Dolly Llama, the shop offers three signature styles of waffles: the Belgium style OG Waffle ($6), a long and single Waffle Stick ($6), and the puffy Bubble Waffle ($8). With the ability to create your own masterpiece, The Dolly Llama lets you pick a waffle style and design it to your gut’s content. Included in each price, guests can pair their waffle of choice with a single sauce like red berry, white chocolate matcha, or eight other sauces; two toppings including popcorn, mango, or twenty-six other choices; or ice cream flavors such as horchata, cookie monster, and six other flavors (available for the bubble waffle only). With a well thought out menu, the shop also serves shakes and a variety of cocoas.

For this visit, all I wanted was ice cream topped with entirely too much sugar on the waffle that was created in Hong Kong: the bubble waffle. Gazing over toppings and sauces in the display with so many options I figured I could settle on a few choices or I could go all out and simply ask for the diabetes special. That’s not really an option on the menu, but I went with the latter as you could assume. I’m also sure that joke will be less funny if I actually get diabetes. Let’s just hope the universe isn’t listening. Both Lizette and I had our own creations made and Carrie stood with a smile and wide eyes eager to eat whichever came her way first. My bubble waffle wrapped cookie monster ice cream and topped it with sprinkles, circus animal cookies, fruity pebbles, cotton candy, and a marshmallow. It was intense, incredibly sweet, a delicious warm waffle, and an overload of excitement in one hand.

In addition to my waffle, Lizette’s had a much more of an adult appeal. Her bubble waffle had horchata ice cream, raspberries, blackberries, and Nutella sauce. Just like my waffle cone, hers was delicious, fruity, and came with a gentle touch of simple sweetness.

Once Carrie, Lizette, and I finished as much of the ice cream bubble cone that we could, we almost collectively looked at what we had eaten with a bit of pride and confusion. Proud that we were able to create something so delicious, but confused as to whether or not we should get another one. As much as I knew a second cone (wait, would it be a third?) would have been great, it wouldn’t have been practical. Since I was able to get my ice cream fix that nearly drove me to screaming while driving through Los Angles, I felt pleased when the visit was over. However, if I feel the craving creeping up again and find my head starting to stick out the window, I’ll make the fastest detour to The Dolly Llama to satisfy my ice cream craving.

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Address: 611 S. Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90014
Phone: (213) 283-8615
Hours: Daily 12:00pm to 12:00pm
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