Imagine the cool and creamy sensation of biting into a CREAM ice cream sandwich, but replace the cookies on the outside with chewy macarons. With one step inside Icebox, customers see the assorted colors of macaron options and ice cream toppings, and become instantly captivated by the allure of macaron ice cream sandwiches and shaved snow. Icebox’s neat aesthetics and delicious options will make you want to do exactly what its slogan says: “Eat dessert first.”

With classy wooden flooring and sleek white walls, the environment of Icebox feels clean and modern. Black tables and high stools line the windows, providing enough open space to order a dessert and maneuver to a table with leisure. In the back of the store, a door leads to a pleasant outdoor patio which conveniently provides additional seating for customers.

As customers enter the store, their eyes are pulled straight toward three bright computerized screens listing the menu items. While approaching the cashier, one can observe the variety of ice cream flavors and the many macaron flavors labeled and on display. Employees are friendly and can be seen wearing gloves when crafting the desserts, as well as cleaning the counters.

Overall, the service is well-organized. After providing customers with information about their options and asking whether or not the customer wants his or her cookies warmed up, the employee at the register hands the customer a number corresponding to the order so no desserts are mixed up.

Icebox is well known for their macaron ice cream sandwiches, but they also sell cookie ice cream sandwiches, snow ice (also called “shaved snow”) and coffee and tea drinks. On Fridays through Sundays, Icebox sells a special called the “creamy bun,” and it is just that: special. The creamy bun is a plain glazed doughnut cut in half with an ice cream flavor of the customer’s choice in the middle. If the rest of the menu is not quite rich enough to satisfy one’s sweet tooth, the special should do the trick.

Their classic macarons have a perfect consistency: they are smooth and crispy on the outside but have a contrasting chewy interior. While the texture is prime, the tastes of the macarons are not very distinct. The earl grey and the pistachio, both of which are very popular, are almost indistinguishable with their sweet, marshmallow-like flavor. However, the ice cream flavors are high quality with unique and distinct flavors. Because the macarons have only subtle differences in flavor, their sweet but plain taste will go great with any ice cream flavor.

Among the most popular ice creams are the marble black raspberry, green tea, pistachio and ube. The vanilla, earl-grey and pistachio macarons perfectly compliment any ice cream flavor, since they all have a sweet and simple taste. More prominent macarons, such as the churro and the kona coffee, are strong complements for neutral flavors like vanilla, green tea and ube.

All of the sandwiches are packaged in little cardboard boxes with wax tissue paper around the bottom half of the dessert. The presentation allows for a much cleaner eating process than the paper bags that CREAM, another extremely popular ice cream sandwich shop, provides to customers. As for the creamy bun, the edges of the doughnut close around the ice cream, which restricts the ice cream center from spewing out the sides.

In comparison to CREAM, Icebox has a wider range of options and a more practical presentation, despite the higher price. CREAM sandwiches are $2.00, while Icebox sells the equivalent cookie sandwich for $3.50. The macaron sandwich is a dollar more, so customers can decide if the macarons are worth it or not. Even though an Icebox sandwich is higher in price, it is still fairly inexpensive for the quality of the ingredients and therefore worth the extra $1.50. Icebox spends more time on each sandwich than CREAM, but the slightly longer wait is worth it because of the higher quality presentation.

Icebox puts a unique spin on ice cream sandwiches with its sweet macarons and its clean and modern style. The fact that many of the macaron flavors have non-distinct tastes helps the ice cream sandwiches taste better as a whole, no matter which combinations customers choose. Between its modern style, cleanliness, presentation and quality, Icebox is very well rounded with no notable downside. Next time you and your friends have a sweet tooth, make sure to stop by Icebox to satisfy your craving.