Mix 'n Match Creamery

Mix 'n Match Creamery is located on SW 3rd Avenue in downtown Portland, Oregon, across from Voodoo Doughnut. Ice cream made with liquid nitrogen, right before your very eyes!

Eric and Genevieve opened this cart about three months ago. Eric found liquid nitrogen ice cream to be a cool concept (yeah, pun probably intended there) and decided to go for it after he didn't find any other carts doing what he did.

Ordering is a simple five-step process: (1) size; (2) type of ice cream base; (3) flavor for the base; (4) your one free "mix'n" to jazz up your ice cream; and (5) any additional add-ons.

Extra add-ons are good to note. You can inject more flavor into the ice cream or get an extra mix'n for 50 cents each. There's also an "extra liquid nitrogen" option for 50 cents extra, where you'll get your ice cream frozen rock solid. It's a nice benefit if you have to wait for a few minutes and enjoy your ice cream later.

The small is the equivalent of one scoop, medium is like two scoops, and large is about three scoops. Basically a dollar more per scoop.

Ice cream bases can be premium (probably your best bet for real creamy ice cream), a fat-free and sugar-free choice, or a vegan coconut milk. There's a long list of flavors for your ice cream base and another long list for add-ons.

Yeah, I did it. I ordered some maple bacon ice cream with the premium ice cream base. A pleasing maple flavor here. I've deemed bacon an automatic win, although having the bacon crispier would probably send me cartwheeling down the street.

Liquid nitrogen being added!

The texture of the ice cream reminded me a bit of Dippin' Dots. Some parts had hardened a bit more than others, but if you actually take your time and savor the bites, the ice cream will probably soften up enough for a real creamy experience. I generally ignore the "slow down and enjoy the moment" part of the memo.

On top of getting your ice cream, it's always a show when seeing the liquid nitrogen go into the metal bowl.

Next time, I'll probably consider other mix'n choices like Snickers, Reese's PB cups, and Twix bars. It's possible to even make S'mores ice cream with two mix'n options (graham crackers and mini marshmallows with chocolate ice cream) or three (graham crackers, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows probably on vanilla ice cream). Endless combinations.

Check out this great food cart! 8.25/10