CREAM

2399 Telegraph Ave./Durant Ave., (510) 649-1000. M-F noon-midnight, Sat 11am-midnight, Sun 11am-11pm.

interior of CREAM on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California

The story is that the name comes from the Wu-Tang song “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me),” and that the owner’s teen suggested changing “cash”’ to “cookies.” But maybe they should have left it “cash” because they’re making plenty of that with all the franchises in the Bay Area as well as in Southern California and Nevada. So step up to the counter and select your cookies (you can pick two of the same or two different ones from a selection of 10). Then pick your ice cream flavor from a selection of 25. Toppings are optional and cost additional. Or skip the cookies and put the ice cream in a red velvet waffle cone. I hear that someone—probably a Cal mathematician--figured out that you can choose from more than 2,500 different combinations! What will you decide on? The owner says his favorite is chocolate-chip cookies with cookie-dough ice cream. Others favor snickerdoodle and lemon cookies with eggnog ice cream; snickerdoodle and oatmeal-raisin cookies with banana-fudge-walnut ice cream; chocolate chip cookies with green tea ice cream. My fave is white chocolate-macadamia nut and snickerdoodle cookies with vanilla ice cream. Gluten-free and vegan cookies plus soy ice cream are available, and milkshakes and sundaes are also an option. Need a jolt? Fill your cookies with Cup of Joe ice cream. Indecisive? Study the menu ahead of time at the website.