Bubble tea: Fun new place to beat the heat in Tri-Cities
If the heat of summer is getting you down, here are a couple of places to get something cool or to avoid cooking in a hot kitchen.
Bobablastic Tri-Cities
One of the newest Tri-Cities food trucks boasts it can create 6,000 variations from its 50 drink and topping options.
Bobablastic Tri-Cities is the latest addition to the Columbia Garden Wine & Artisan Village food pod at 325 E. Columbia Drive, Kennewick. It’s open 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
It is just the second Washington-state location for the Portland-area based company.
Drink bases come in hot, iced, creamy and blended with flavors including many different fruit flavors, as well as coffee, matcha, lavender, avocado and taro.
After choosing a base, pick from 10 toppings like honey boba, popping or crystal boba, as well as lychee and mango jelly.
Some food items are also offered, such as nachos, corn on a stick coated in cheese, and chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick with sprinkle toppings.
Christian Padilla and Joseph Beltran of Pasco franchised with Bobablastic last year and were selling at area farmers markets. Now they have a trailer and landed in their permanent home in mid-July and are looking to add a second location.
Bobablastic has 15 other locations, all on the western side of Oregon plus one in Vancouver.
Rollin’ Fresh Ice Cream
At Clover Island by the lighthouse you can cool off with Rollin’ Fresh Ice Cream’s Thai-style rolled ice cream.
Owner Jackie Prather hand makes the ice cream with cream from local dairies, and the end product resembles rosettes snuggled in a bowl.
The vanilla-base can be customized from a vast selection of 60 to 100 add-ins and toppings. Choices include fruit, candy, cookies, nuts, syrups, herbs like lavender and mint, spices such as red pepper and more.
Rollin’ also has yogurt rolls, non-dairy options, smoothies, shakes and rice ramen bowls with vegetarian and vegan options.
The ice cream truck is open 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 2 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Prather will soon be opening a second location in Richland at 1040 Queensgate Drive after final health department inspections are completed.
Online ordering for pickup is available at rollinfreshicecream.com.
The Ciao Wagon
Italian and Mediterranean street food is The Ciao Wagon’s main dish.
A Mediterranean plate is served with tzatziki, hummus, gyro meat with their signature cucumber salsa.
Gyro sandwiches have a choice of lamb or chicken topped with feta, cucumber salsa and tzatziki. If you want to skip the flatbread, you can have all the toppings in a bowl on a bed of lettuce.
The Ciao Wagon also offers breakfast gyros.
The truck moves around, and current locations and menus are posted on the Ciao Wagon Facebook page.