It’s-It Ice Cream

This was easily the best pre-​packaged ice cream treat I’ve ever had. Staying in SF for a week and stopped by a local corner store. I was rifling through the frozen Snickers bars and Haagen-​Dazs when I stumbled upon a few flavors of It’s-Its (I opted for strawberry). Seeing that this was supposedly a Bay Area staple, I HAD to try it… and OH MY GOD. I need to see if these things can be shipped to me on the East Coast because I’ve been dreaming about them ever since.

I am a big fan of It’s-It ice cream. Who isn’t!
The staff is so friendly. All around the year they have one dozen for 10 $ on Livingsocial and Groupon. I bought a groupon for one dozen and the staff here offered the same price for how many ever dozens I take. NICE!

My friends all know me as the BIGGEST fan of It’s-Its and always having a freezer stocked with them ready to offer to anyone who has never tried one. In my opinion, it is one of the best ice cream treats readily available in any local grocery stores and beats the socks off any other pre-​packaged ice cream sandwiches.
My friends would then also be shocked to see me give It’s-It only four stars. The missing star is purely for the inconvenient hours of this factory store! It is only open 10 – 6 on weekdays, which just so happens to be when a lot of the population is at work and can’t make a drive out here. Why would one ever come to the factory store when you can buy It’s-Its at almost any supermarket, you ask? There are Strawberry, Pumpkin, and Chocolate flavors sold here, as well as Big Daddy and Super Sundae, which aren’t sold in stores. To be honest, I wouldn’t have ever come to the factory store if I didn’t have several LivingSocial vouchers which were a great deal. And after trying every flavor, I’ve decided that my favorites are actually Mint and Cappuccino which I’ve seen in supermarkets, so I probably won’t be back soon. But I will never stop buying and eating It’s-Its!
Tips:
— If you have a long drive you can get dry ice ($ 4 for enough for ~2 hrs, $ 8 for up to 24 hrs I believe).
— Take an instagram while in the store and if you tag and hashtag #itsit and show the workers, you can pick a prize of either a box of chocolate covered cookies (It’s-Its minus ice cream) or a tote bag. There are signs in the store with exact instructions.

Who doesn’t love ice cream with oatmeal cookies covered in chocolate? It’s-It is a Bay Area institution that usually supplies grocery stores all over CA with these delicious ice cream sandwiches, but also has a warehouse with a little store along the 101 North.
While you can normally find vanilla, chocolate, and mint at your Safeway/​Ralphs/​grocery store, the on-​site store has seasonal flavors and other varieties such as pumpkin, coffee, and strawberry. The sandwiches are always a refreshing treat and I like that the ice cream is lighter on the flavor to balance with the oatmeal and chocolate so that no component overpowers the other.
I love that they also donate their goods to bay area events, including an East Bay Unilocal event where I sampled 3 of the flavors. A great supplier of dessert that happens to be authentically [Northern] Californian, win-​win!

What is there to say other than «It’s-It»?
A true childhood… teenage… oh who am I kidding this is just an all around delight for any age!

Bought a groupon and made a road trip out of it on ¹¹⁄₂₄. First time visiting this shop but we had an awesome time! To the point, you can easily find what you came there for… It’s Its!
Amber & Alex assisted us with our groupon. Such friendly associates they both were. Great customer service. I took a star off for the gifts offered. It’s ridiculous that the largest T-​shirt size is an XL but really looks like a Medium. What the heck?! We drove over 90 minutes to get here and couldn’t buy shirts. Very disappointed. Took another star off for not having bathrooms. The nearest was down the block at the 7 story building that has no parking by the way.
Great ice cream; great treats; great memorabilia but I find it sort of offensive that larger people can’t enjoy the clothing. I mean, really? Does anyone get skinny eating your ice cream treats?

Having tried It’s-It multiple times, I finally made my way to the Burlingame shop for the first time today! The workers were SO NICE! They gave us free samples of the cookies and were happy to redeem my Groupon even though it expired months ago. They even let me use their Instagram checkin promo to get a free bag (which I picked over the box of cookies since I already got cookies from the Groupon). I also got a $ 1 sticker that was really cute. The people in line recommended the pumpkin which I got along with the cappuccino since they’re only offered in the Burlingame store. Both did not disappoint! Even my dad who’s not a fan of pumpkin loved it. Worth the drive out!

As a kid, It’s-It was definitely not my ice cream of choice.
But the other kids loved it.
I didn’t get it.
The cookie was hella hard and that vanilla ice cream gets kinda tired kinda fast. The worst thing was when I took a bite, the ice cream would go all over the place and I’d end up with just that hard ass cookie.
Many years later and after a visit to their main place, the center of the It’s-It universe, the eye of the ice cream sandwich storm if you will, I finally got what all the hype is about.
Maybe it’s because store bought It’s-It doesn’t feature the assortment of other wonderful ice cream flavors (like mocha or strawberry or mint chocolate) or maybe it’s because their chocolate covered oatmeal cookie is really good and surprisingly edible when it’s not frozen solid, but I’m now definitely a fan and will be getting my fix directly from the source from now on.
What also helps is both Groupon and Living Social offer specials every once in awhile that make it extra specially hard not to want to go there.

I loved this place, I liked it more then I expected.
Kinda disappointed that they don’t give tours anymore.
I kinda wanna hop the fence sometime to take a tour but nah its just a dream of mine.
They had enough flavors options and great service too impress me tho.
It don’t look like too much from the outside but the inside is fantabulous bruh.
Id bring a date here for a nice lil treat, it should definitely make her smile.
I walked away with a whole box of plenty things. The double Decker is great.
I definitely had too get strawberry and pumpkin sandwiches.
The ice cream sundae one is really good too, the ambiance, décor, and the whole scene overall is worth taking tons of pics of.
The prices and location are really good.
The line isn’t long either and when it is it doesn’t feel like it cuz they go quick.

The chocolate-​dunked oatmeal cookies are DELICIOUS, SCRUMPTIOUS, AMAZING.
Like, seriously. These are such a treat. I also really enjoy the mint chocolate chip It’s-It :)
The Groupon deals are so useful too. These are really worth every penny, and to get a bundle deal for them is even better. (Oops, super sweet-​tooth, I know!)
My coworker used the Groupon deal so that we could have a mini party, so yum!

They have enough ice cream sandwiches here to build an ice cream sandwich fort!
With a wide variety of flavors such as strawberry, seasonal pumpkin, and my favorite coffee, this manufacturing plant has it all, including stickers and merchandise.
Yes, you heard me, you can even get an It’s-It hat.
Which I did try on (it has their signature ice cream sandwich on it), but then when customers walked in, they thought I worked there, so I took it off and decided not to buy it.
These ice cream sandwiches with their special oatmeal cookie goodness makes me say, I don’t care what an «it’s-it» really is, because it should be called «delicious!»

Never heard of ITS IT until I moved to SF, it’s definitely a Bay Area favorite. I had it for the first time earlier this year at a Unilocal event where the owners were there giving out their amazing sandwiches.
They had so much pride for their ice cream I soon became a fan. They have their original flavor (vanilla), mint, pumpkin, and several others.
I believe they sell at most supermarkets, I’ve seen them at whole foods and Costco. This is the corporate office and wholesale warehouse but it’s open to the public. Unfortunately their closed on weekends.

I just found out that today (8÷2÷15) is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, and what better way to celebrate than to pay homage to my favorite ice cream treat than with a 5-​star review! I bet a lot of people outside of Cali probably have no idea what an It’s-It Ice Cream sandwich even is. Simply put, it’s a scoop of Ice Cream nestled between two Oatmeal Cookies and then coated in a thin layer of Dark Chocolate. This genius idea was the brainchild of one George Whitney, who sold this tasty concoction for over forty years in SF beginning in 1928, at the now defunct Playland-​at-​the-​Beach. Once that closed down (sometime in the early ‘70s) the manufacturing of It’s-It moved to a small shop in SF’s SOMA district, before finally relocating to its current factory in Burlingame in 1976.
I think everyone who lives in the Bay Area has passed by the factory at least once, as it’s plainly visible from the ever-​popular Highway 101. The current factory store where you can buy It’s-It straight from the source has only been open for about a year, according to the employees I spoke with, and is pretty tiny. It’s setup like an Ice Cream shop with two huge coolers carrying every flavor of It’s-It you can imagine – and some that you can’t! Strawberry, Chocolate, Pumpkin, Cappuccino, Mint, Vanilla – it’s all here! They also sell some of It’s-Its lesser known brands like: Chip’s It, Big Daddy and Super Sundae. The store is also full of It’s-It merchandise like shirts, sweatshirts and hats. They’ll even hook-​up your little one with free It’s-It tattoos!
They’re always offering Groupon deals (here’s a link to the current one:
), but even without one you can normally get them at the factory store for $ 1.50/ea, or for around $ 2/​ea at your local grocery store. The one caveat is you’ll most likely only find the «exotic» flavors (i.e., Strawberry, Chocolate, Pumpkin) here at the factory, and only Vanilla, Cappuccino or Mint at the store. Also, I highly recommend bringing a cooler with some ice to help you get the precious cargo home without melting.
While not available throughout the US, you can find It’s-It in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Arizona, Texas and New York. For those of you that don’t live in one of those states they will ship it to anywhere in the US through their website (
). If you’ve never had one before, I highly recommend you seek some out. However, I must warn you: once you have one, the lifelong addiction will begin – and I’m not sure I want to be responsible for that…

«You use the word „divine“ too much. It’s just an ice-​cream sandwich.» — Modern Family: Season 5, Episode 4
There are many things that I adore about the Bay Area, and many people will assume I would pick an In-​N-​Out Double Double Animal Style first, but truly it has to be the It’s-It Ice Cream Sandwich. You may call me crazy, but that is probably because you have never had one.
Let me set the scene… two oatmeal cookies with no, I repeat no raisins to spoil the mood. Not too hard, not too soft. Perfectly sandwiches in between is quality ice cream of your flavor choosing (as long as it is vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint, coffee, pumpkin). Now cover the entire in rich dark chocolate and freeze that puppy. And you have an amazingly rich and creamy dessert that you cannot deny yourself… no you can’t, don’t try it ever.
Luckily, my brother does not live far from the factory store, so when I come to visit, I take the kids to go buy a 24-​pack to keep in the freezer. That way I have easy access to them all week when I am there, and the kids do too. The local groceries sell them, but never the flavors I want.
My flavors in order of best to worst are:
Pumpkin
Coffee
Mint
Chocolate
Vanilla
Yes, Strawberry is not on the list — it is gross as it tastes like fake strawberry. They need better strawberry ice cream in this one to be graced to live in my freezer (or belly). I won’t buy it. Avoid!

Came here a couple of days ago as a grad gift to myself hahaha…
I’ve been wanting to come here for the longest time, I just never did b/​c it’s a way’s from home… anyway…
The guy that helped me out was very nice… it was my first time in there, and he gave me a sample of their chocolate dunked oatmeal cookies… mmm yumm!
I took the 24 for $ 22 deal… not a bad deal at all and you can mix and match your flavors. You can choose from: strawberry, chocolate, cappuccino, mint, vanilla, and pumpkin. They also have fat vanilla ice cream sandwiches and super sundaes (which is choco/​nut-​covered vanilla on a stick) which I think you can include in the 24 for $ 22 deal. I’ve tried everything minus the capp and mint, but everything tastes so delicious… my fave thus far is the pumpkin one… I’m not a real big fan of pumpkin, but the flavor totally goes well with the rest of the sandwich…
Since it’s about a 35 – 40 minute drive home, I purchased a box with dry ice to store my ice cream in… it’s 8 bux, but that’s not too bad of a price to pay at all…
Do go on instagram, take a pic of your purchase and tag @itsit on it. You have a choice of getting a free box of choco-​dipped oatmeal cookies or a reusable it’s it bag… I went for the bag.
My stock’s running low now… that means I’m almost due for another return lol…

Checked out It’s It Ice Cream Factory Store Fri 4÷24÷15. It’s easy to find on the GPS and there is about 3 parking spot reserved for customers near the entrance on the Left.
It’s open M-​F and summer hrs are 10am-​7pm until 9÷30÷15.
Small store, you can buy individual It’s It for $ 1.50. They have Pumpkin and Strawberry there. I tried Strawberry and it has no strawberry taste so not really worth getting.
At the store you can buy 24 pk for $ 22; or 12 pack for $ 22; a box of just the chocolate covered oatmeal cookies 12 cookies for $ 4; or Frozen cookie dough 24 cookies $ 10.
Groupon has deal buy 12 ice cream & box of cookies for $ 10, that’s a good price if you like It’s It.
Instagram deal: take a picture in the store, post on Instagram, then show a worker, get a Free box of the chocolate covered cookies or a Reusable bag.
NO TOURS, but there’s a video from Eye On The Bay of the Factory:

«IT! The Terror From Beyond Space»
«IT Came From Beneath The Sea»
” IT Conquered The World“
Like the title from a grade B science fiction movie from the 50s, IT’S IT does not represent a monster run amok thriller but rather a favorite bay area treat that originated in 1928. What is IT’S IT?
It is a delicious frozen treat consisting of a generous helping of ice cream sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies and bathed in a delicious chocolate coating.
Cali residents and even us guys in Hawaii have known about IT’S IT for quite awhile but what I didn’t know is they came in more than a vanilla or mint flavor. The ice cream flavors are: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint, cappuccino and my favorite, pumpkin. Because you are getting it factory fresh the cookies were crispy, not soft like at the supermarkets in Hawaii.
Sometime last year they officially opened the IT’S IT factory retail shop where they sell the six different flavored ice cream sandwiches, individually wrapped chocolate covered oatmeal cookies (so you could kinda make your own ice cream sandwich), other non– sandwich ice cream treats that they make, and assorted logo souvenir items like t-​shirts and stickers to spread the gospel about IT’S IT. They even have a cool mural depicting the early days of IT’S IT when the shop was in the city. Currently they are only open Monday thru Friday, not on the weekend. When I was there I saw people buying one or two dozen boxed treats to take home– lucky they live in da bay area.
They are really close to SFO in Burlingame, CA. and are easy to find. While they do not offer factory tours, coming here for a fresh, crispy ice cream sandwich treat is definitely worth the detour off the US 101 when in the bay area.

Five stars because it’s a terrific deal, convenient location, fast service, great workers there.
I love «It’s It’s» and I love how close I live and work near it. Been coming here since I moved to the peninsula. Every time I come it’s been a pleasure. I pick my flavors and they get me rung up and I’m out. Very efficient and pleasant workers.
This time I came in with a groupon voucher to use. As I was checking out I ask the lady if I could use my expired voucher towards another dozen and pay the difference. Immediately she says they will still honor the expired voucher. I was a happy kid. Got another dozen and I was out.
Will be back in a month for more.
Keep eating, it’s what will keep you enjoying life.

Ahhhhh, It’s-It ice cream is truly a SF treat :) Those were the days when mom would drive me up & down 101 going to Marine World, the Peninsula was happening back in the good ‘olé days. Even better days were Playland, but it shutdown when I grew up at Ocean Beach. Glad to know it’s still going strong and even stronger with social media, especially via Unilocal.
Dynamic duo Alex and Sean are fantastic, always customer service friendly and eager to help. I make sure to stock up every time I’m here. Now that I have kids, I realized it would be a perfect treat, especially for our son’s Little League team. After today’s game, It’s-It ice cream will truly be a HIT (pun intended) for the entire baseball team!

This IT’S IT spot didn’t open until last year??? No wonder there were Groupons on their ice cream sandwiches last year.
I always see the factory when driving the 101. I got an email from Groupon saying there’s a deal of 12 ice cream sandwiches for $ 10 (WHAT A STEAL!).
Currently they have 6 flavors for their ice cream sandwiches: strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, mint, pumpkin and cappuccino. Mint and vanilla are the more common flavors that you’ll find when you’re at liquor stores looking for ice cream. I recently tried the strawberry and really like it! I can’t wait to try pumpkin and cappuccino :) I got a sample of the oatmeal dipped in chocolate cookie and it’s really good!!!
–1 from me because their hours are only Monday — Friday from people’s normal working hours (9AM-​6PM)… I bought my Groupon in November and didn’t get a chance to go to the shop to pick up my ice cream until last week o_​_​o… I guess it’s understandable since their factory is probably normal operating hours like other businesses, but I feel like they can definitely make more money if they were open for a couple hours on the weekends!!!
Shout out to It’s It being smart and putting up a sign pointing out the direction of where this store is… I was using my GPS and I felt like I was getting lost coming here, but I didn’t need to doubt myself because of the sign.