If you went to Devoured on Saturday then you might have already tasted some of the frozen creations from Doc's Artisan Ice Creams. The frozen treat shop ran a booth inside the museum and gave out samples of 10 flavors of its sorbet.
But if you picked anything other than the coconut lemongrass lime sorbet -- or skipped the booth entirely -- you missed out. Doc's creamy sorbet pop delivers a sweet, then tart flavor with pieces of coconut scattered throughout. And best of all, you can get it by the gallon, pint, or in pop form at the Tempe ice cream-making facility and storefront.
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Owned by Doc Brown, a retired Phoenix police detective, Doc's Artisan Ice Creams is the state's first certified batch ice creamery -- which means he's able to pasteurize his own product in a 100-gallon pasteurization machine. Brown has been working on opening his place since 2007 and has been operational since last July.
"My dream was always to do a restaurant," Brown says. "But out here, it's so dicey. So I did an inventory of what I know how to do, and with the weather, ice cream was a good fit."
If you head to Doc's in south Tempe you'll find a semi-industrial storefront out of which Brown makes all the frozen treats, in addition to selling them retail. You can pick up a pint of coconut lemongrass lime sorbet for just $5 or go big with a gallon for $9 (available two for $17). Individual pops also come in three sizes: mini for $1, medium for $2, and large for $3. Other flavors of sorbet include piña colada, strawberry, kiwi strawberry, raspberry Chambord, and black berry Cabernet.
And Brown dishes out nearly every other type of frozen treat you can imagine, including ice creams, gelato, sherbets, Italian ice, and custard. He hopes to add soft serve to the menu by summer, as well as his own live culture yogurt.
You can also find Doc's products at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market on Saturday mornings and at the Arizona Jazz Festival this weekend. For more information visit the Doc's Artisan Ice Cream Facebook.
Doc's Artisan Ice Creams 1221 West Warner Road, # 105, Tempe 602-618-8719 www.artisanicecreams.com 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily
