I first encountered Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream in 2021, when they had a Cicada themed special. A small regional chain, they only have a few locations in Virginia. The Cicada special was a gimmick, but I enjoyed their ice cream well enough that when I was recently in Virginia I made the effort to find a nearby Toby’s. My memory did not fail me, as Toby’s Ice Cream is high quality; among the best in the region.
Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream is the brainchild of Toby Bantug and his wife Monina. While their first location opened in Arlington in 2008, Toby began making ice cream in 1997 when he took a course on the topic at the University of Maryland. When they started, Toby’s made their own ice cream on location. But business soon outpaced production and they now out source the ice cream to Gaitherburg’s Great Falls Ice Cream, still using Toby’s recipes.
In addition to the original location in Arlington, there are now Toby’s in Vienna and National Landing (Crystal City). For the special in 2021, a friend and I visited their original location. On my recent trip, I was already in Vienna, pretty close to Toby’s, so that is where I went.
The Menu
Toby’s menu has almost two dozen flavors of ice cream. Old standbys such as Chocolate, Vanilla (Vanilla Bean), Strawberry, Butter Pecan, and Cookie Dough are there. Variations on those include Old School Vanilla Chip, Bittersweet Chocolate, and Chocolate Peanut Butter. Other highlights are Salted Caramel, Espresso Chip, Cafe Au Lait, and S’mores. There was one sorbet flavor, Mango Sorbet.
In addition to getting ice cream in a cup or cone, Toby’s offers smoothies, sundaes, malts, and shakes. Specialty sundaes that day were Banana Split, Cookie Beast, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. There is also a make your own option. A unique section of the menu is blended drinks, coffee drinks blended with ice cream. Options include coffee, mocha, and Chai.
The Ice Cream
As I said there were almost two dozen flavors to choose from. That’s a lot, but two flavors drew my attention: Ube and Green Tea. Both are Japanese flavors. Green Tea is fairly common nowadays, but Ube (Japanese sweet potato) is rarely seen outside of Japan. I got one scoop of each. The Green Tea has a very strong taste. You don’t forget that you are eating Green Tea. That is to be expected, and I quite enjoyed it. But it overpowered the delicate Ube, so the two did not make for a very good combination.
Final thoughts
Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream is a classic ice cream parlor, Many of the flavors are quite standard, but hey have several unique and exotic offerings. I’ve enjoyed my ice cream every single time I’ve visited. The service has always been friendly and helpful. I’ll be sure to stop there whenever I am in Virginia.
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