I have seen heaven, and its name is Orange Leaf.

Really. Orange Leaf.

Let me back up a second here.

My love for Dole Whip is legendary.  I have an unnatural obsession with the frozen pineapple goodness.  One of the things I love most about the Polynesian is the dispenser at the Polynesian.

So, when I was so sad that I had to leave the Dole Whip behind, I vowed to find a way to get some of that frozen deliciousness for myself.

Would I have to order some from Hawaii? If I did that, I'd have to also buy an ice cream maker and make it myself.




So, seeing as how that isn't the optimal thing to do (but another month without my "fix" would have made it very necessary), I set out to find something similar.  Little did I know that the magical elixir that haunts my dreams would make an appearance in a most unexpected way.

See, my Panda is a gamer.  Like, to the point where he has Xbox jammy-pants that are threadbare (and essentially shredded in places).  So we often frequent our local GameStop for midnight releases of video games.  The most recent release, Halo: Reach, wasn't the most fun at our usual location.  So we sought another location to patronize.  We happened upon the Kingsdale branch, and realized we were home.  So, for the next release (Medal of Honor), we pre-ordered and picked up there.

Upon arrival, we had about 40 minutes to kill before midnight.  So we walked around the recently renovated plaza and looked at the new stores that we haven't patronized yet.  One was very curious ... it was called Orange Leaf.  A quick zip of the Droid revealed that it was a wonderful soft-serve frozen yogurt place.  Curious, I looked to see what flavors they offered. And there it was.

Dole Pineapple.

**squee**

I nearly fainted.

Seeing as how it was nearly midnight and this mecca of deliciousness was closed ... we vowed to wait until we had the kids (and time) to go investigate.  We went tonight, and BOY am I glad we did.  It was an awesome experience, and I got my "fix".  Everyone wins!

Now, the pineapple they offer at Orange Leaf isn't the creamy sensation that Disney has.  It's more of a citrus sorbet type substance than a creamy "whip".  I'm fairly sure that Disney's pixie-dust laden version is some sort of proprietary production method that whips more air into the raw mix than Orange Leaf does ... and I'm also not entirely sure that said Disney method doesn't involve Tinkerbell and a certain feeling of "if I tell you, I'll have to kill you."  But oh.  The Orange Leaf version?  A very acceptable substitute.  In fact, it was nothing short of amazing.

Here's my concoction.  It was delicious soft serve with raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, and the trademark orange shovel.

I'm now wondering if it's socially acceptable for me to show up there again tomorrow.  Maybe I can wear a disguise.  Maybe I can just pay one flat fee, put my head under the dispenser, and pull the lever.  A wise kitteh once said it best:  OM NOM NOM.