What kind of place is Grovestone? For the short answer, it’s a great place to go when you want some high-quality olive oil with knowledgeable staff to help you decide.
To go more in-depth, Grovestone not only sells olive oil (from their family members in Greece), but they also carry a large selection of spices, alcohols, pastas, and sweets. The latter of these being the reason for my visit. After asking some questions of the staff, I left with some snacks from Tennessee, South Korea, and Belgium. I also made sure to get scoops of the ultra-premium ice cream Grovestone has made for them by a group in Madison, Wisconsin.
Thankfully, Grovestone made choosing the ice cream I wanted easier because they offered free samples (olive oils also can be sampled).
Since I like fresh (and not melted) ice cream, I began with a single serve of peanut butter cookie dough ice cream ($3.95) and ate it right outside. For context, a single serving at Grovestone is about two scoops of ice cream. Absolutely packed with ribbons of peanut butter, chocolate, and cookie dough chunks, each bite was incredibly rich. Thankfully, the premium nature of the ice cream and ingredients meant I had no trouble at all finishing the peanut butter cookie dough ice cream.
Switching it up with some candy, I next tried the sour cherry cola bottles ($6.48) from Belgium and the dark chocolate covered sunflower seeds ($3.99) from South Korea. The sunflower seeds were about what I expected: smooth, dark chocolate around slightly salted sunflower seeds. Nice and light, I appreciated these after the ice cream. In contrast, the cola bottles were much more complex. Biting into one, I was met with an intense sourness that quickly gave way to a delightful sweetness. Once all the outer coating wore off, I was left with the taste of cherry cola. The distinctiveness of each flavor made this candy worth the purchase.
For some variety, I drank hot chocolate on a stick ($5) from Nashville, Tennessee.
Made with solid dark and white Belgian chocolate with a dash of cardamom, this was a rich evening drink. Since the hot chocolate stick wasn’t hollow inside (like hot chocolate bombs), it took quite a while to melt. I recommend having this with milk that is quite hot to speed up the process.
After enjoying the first ice cream at Grovestone, I went back for more. Hoping for a different flavor profile, I bought one serving of guilty pleasure ($3.95). Salted caramel ice cream with sea salt fudge swirls and salted cashews certainly made for a, well, salty aftertaste. Contrary to what the ingredient list suggested, I was not overwhelmed by the saltiness. I was also impressed by the smoothness of the guilty pleasure ice cream and even more curious if the other flavors at Grovestone could stand up to the two I tried.
Wrapping things up, I most enjoyed the ice cream from Grovestone. The richness more than justified the price since I felt satisfied after one serving. Regardless, everything Grovestone sells is quality, so it’s hard to go wrong. Even if you’re not feeling something sweet, they carry two walls full of spices and oils.
Though only one room, Grovestone has plenty to keep your attention for however long it take you to make a decision.
Grovestone
1707 W Kirby Ave
Champaign
M-F 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sa 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.