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This new Idaho potato french fry ice cream? It’s ‘bitchin’ (but pricey)

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve dipped french fries into milkshakes.

The blend of taste, texture and hot/cold is amazing.

So I must admit that the latest marketing gimmick from the Idaho Potato Commission intrigues me.

During February — “Potato Lover’s Month (who knew?) — the Eagle-headquartered commission partnered with Van Leeuwen Ice Cream on a special flavor: Idaho Potato Malted Milkshake and Fries.

The result? “An instant sell-out in Van Leeuwen’s Los Angeles scoop shops,” according to an email from the Potato Commission, ”prompting them to add Malted Milkshake and Fries to their spring collection.” Now the limited-edition ice cream is available in “all of their scoop shops in America!” the Potato Commission trumpets.

Sweet. Except Van Leeuwen has no retail stores in Idaho.

Fortunately, we can order the flavor at vanleeuwenicecream.com.

Just make sure your credit card isn’t near its limit. And you’re quick.

A pint of Van Leeuwen’s newest flavor should appeal especially to Idahoans.
A pint of Van Leeuwen’s newest flavor should appeal especially to Idahoans.

Idaho Potato Malted Milkshake and Fries ice cream costs $12 per pint. There’s a minimum order of five pints of ice cream from Van Leeuwen’s website. About three-dozen “pints” (14 ounces) of french fry flavor were left in stock when this article published.

Bummer.

As a regular ice-cream eater — I blame my kids — I’d love to taste this stuff. Whenever I need to feel like I’m 11 or 12 again, I just go out, order some fries and a milkshake, and start dipping.

Being able to enjoy that taste from ice cream, at home, would be excellent.

“Nothing makes us happier than this Malted Milkshake & Fries Ice Cream,” Van Leeuwen agrees on its website. “We got old-school diner vibes and had a hankering for a milkshake & fries, or a velvet & frog sticks. So 86 the rabbit food and enjoy a scoop, or seven, of this bitchin’ combo of Idaho(R) potato french fries and malted ice cream. Isn’t that just the bee’s knees.”

Perhaps? (And anybody have a clue what a velvet and frog sticks is?) But unless Van Leeuwen adds it as a regular flavor, most Idahoans look to be out of luck.

It doesn’t seem likely. Van Leeuwen has shown a propensity for doing freaky flavors that are temporary.

Case in point: the new limited-edition Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream. (Seriously.)

Unlike the french fry flavor, at least that’s widely available at Wal-Mart.

Maybe I’ll grab a pint. A scoop on top of a salad could be genius, right?