“I scream! You scream! We all scream for vanilla ice cream!” Ice cream is a great dessert to have because of the vast variety of different flavors there are to try, but even if “unicorn cookie crumble” may be delicious, nothing beats the simplicity of vanilla. Vanilla gets a lot of flake for being a “boring”, “flavorless” ice cream, but I have to say that this statement is far from the truth. Many different brands of vanilla offer a soft, creamy, rich flavor that is far from boring or flavorless. For one, vanilla is the universal flavor of ice cream, and it is the base for all others. It is something that can be mixed with almost everything and still tastes good: Oreos, chocolate chips, sprinkles, cheesecake, there’s no limit to what can be added on top! Well, except for maybe ketchup. Other flavors, like chocolate or mint, are very strong flavors that can overpower their toppings. Vanilla ice cream also offers itself as a great topping to other desserts, such as pies, brownies or cakes. Its rich flavoring offers a great complement to these foods and does not dominate the taste. Can you imagine having chocolate ice cream on top of an apple pie? That combination seems absolutely disgusting! It also mixes well with chocolate treats, such as brownies or lava cakes, and offers a nice balance to chocolate’s overwhelmingly rich taste. Even though it can combine with a lot of different toppings and treats, vanilla can also be a great standalone flavor. Sometimes there is nothing better than having just a cup of vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day. On those occasions, having something as rich and heavy as chocolate does not satisfy to the same extent as something as light and refreshing as vanilla. A lot of ice cream flavors go crazy on the mixtures that it turns into a sweetness overload. Having a bowl of “brownie blast chocoholic” ice cream with a giant load of brownie bites, completely drenched in hot fudge and a sprinkle of chocolate chips on top may taste good for the first bite, but eventually you will get sick from it. Vanilla offers simplicity and sweetness that other ice creams cannot. While it may seem appealing to have so many toppings that you can no longer see the actual ice cream, there are many days when I decide just to have vanilla. Overall, I think vanilla is the best flavor that nothing else can beat, and if you want something sweet to eat, it is always a treat!