Frozen treats

Texas' Blue Bell ice cream jumps on the protein bandwagon with new line

Blue Bell Pro has 33 grams of protein or more per serving.

The famous Brenham, Texas-made ice cream brand Blue Bell is flexing a new product line: a "high-protein frozen dairy dessert." Called Blue Bell Pro, it supplies 33-35 grams per serving depending on the flavor.

That's more than an Ensure meal replacement shake or a cup of cottage cheese, which influencers can't stop putting in every recipe.

The forthcoming line includes five flavors: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, coffee, and salted caramel.

Fueled by the popularity of GLP-1 weight loss medications and social media trends, "high-protein" is one of the hottest food and nutrition categories of the moment. Blue Bell now goes head to head with cult-favorite Halo Top and other high-protein desserts in the frozen food aisles.

But, what is a "frozen dairy dessert?" Other Blue Bell flavors are labeled as ice cream, but this product line seems not to meet the Food and Drug Administration's qualifications for ice cream. It would need to be at least 10 percent milkfat by weight to make the cut.

The Blue Bell Pro recipe is also gluten-free, has 25-27 grams of carbs per serving, and has zero grams of added sugar. Although Blue Bell hasn't released the full nutrition information for Blue Bell Pro, it already sells one "no sugar added country vanilla" ice cream, which contains polydextrose, Splenda Brand sucralose, and other sweeteners.

There are more straightforward ways than icy desserts to get more protein in your diet, and it is possible to have too much.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the average sedentary adult should eat 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, which would be 60 grams a day for someone who weighs 165 pounds. People who exercise regularly should instead eat 1.1-1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight (75-90 grams for the same 165-pound person), and heavy trainers should eat more. A cap of 150 grams would be "excessive" for this hypothetical person, even if they exercise a lot.

Blue Bell says Blue Bell Pro is coming to grocery st in spring 2026.

blue bell ice cream desserts

Pub News

New pub The Irish Goodbye to open on Greenville Avenue in Dallas

dallas.culturemap.com

It's a good thing Dallas likes pubs, as a new one is coming to Lower Greenville. Called The Irish Goodbye, it'll open at 1928 Greenville Ave. in the space previously occupied by Hide, which closed in March.

Named for the custom of departing from an event quietly, The Irish Goodbye is from One Esca Group, the hospitality company by restaurateur Michael Kim, who also owns Blackfriar Pub.

He and his operating partner Kevin Bartley plan to begin hosting soft opening events within the week.

Their vision is an elevated Irish pub with a sports bar element, Kim says.

"Our inspiration comes from some of the higher-end pubs we've visited in New York," he says. "These are places that are classy, not a hole-in-the-wall, a place that might appeal to professionals, sports and pub fans."

Kim, who also owns the restaurant Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen, got into the hospitality industry almost by accident.

"My background was in private equity, working for a company that specialized in restaurant acquisitions," he says. "It gave me a unique perspective on the restaurant world from behind the scenes."

His company was involved in the dissolution of Spaghetti Warehouse, and at one point Kim served as president of the chain. (It now has three remaining locations, two of which he owns.) Having caught the restaurant operations bug, he acquired Blackfriar Pub in Uptown, originally founded by Feargal McKinney, in 2019, then opened a second location in Lakewood in 2022.

"When I started, I was foolish enough to think operating a bar would be comparable to restaurants but learned quickly that the experience is dramatically different," he says. "I was lucky that a couple key employees taught me how bars worked."

The Irish Goodbye will be the first concept that he and Bartley create from scratch. The venue will have three zones including a 3700-square-foot interior; a 2,000- to 2,500-square-foot rooftop patio; and a new front patio. It'll be outfitted with 40 TVs, plus a complex AV system that'll allow them to dial in different programming for each space.

The food menu is still being finalized, but will cull from their other concepts such as Sugarbacon, including weekend brunch.

"Our goal, it's probably ambitious, is to be one of the names that pops into everybody's head when you ask about pubs in Dallas," Kim says.

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