The N.C. Double Scoop

August 13, 2008

Hello, hello, hello, my vote-happy friends! Well, Bunting and I are back to bring you yet another dairy-based bracket that is sure to have you arguing and whining just as much as the last one did.

As it's summer and we're not lactose-intolerant around these parts, I give you the! N! C! Dooooouble-Scoop! That's right 64 ice cream flavors, 1 winner! Will it be Bunting's adored Oregon Blackberry, the self-same ice cream that nourished her in the womb? Will it be my favorite of Salted Caramel, Coconut, Cinnamon, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Coffee, Black Walnut, or Butter Brickle, depending on what personality I'm wearing that day?

Or will it be YOUR flavor -- the flavor you keep locked deep in your heart and only bring out for Whitsuntide, Family Stories Day, and the odd Morris Dance? YOU have ultimate control. YOU can decide. Tomorrow, Thursday August 14, read our commentary on Flight 1, vote for your picks in Flight 1, and don't forget to pack plenty of napkins. Or mittens, depending on your location.

The bracket and voting will work the same way they did last time. If you're new, here's how it works: Bunting and Keckler post their commentary on the match-ups; then Bunting publishes the polls over on Tomato Nation. You'll have a day or two to vote each slate, and then we close the polls, tally the results, update the bracket, and start the process over again for the next round.

All you have to do is keep an eye on TN and TGR, vote in the polls, and watch your favorites (root-beer) float through the competition. You can find updates and instructions on this page throughout the tournament.

The N.C. Double Scoop bracket is right here.

Questions? Drop an email to bunting at tomatonation dot com or keckler22 at grubreport dot com.

Where do we vote?

Over on Tomato Nation. Voting is not yet open.

How could you leave off [flavor] and include [other flavor]?!

With only 64 slots in four areas, we couldn't include everything. Email us if you like.

Dear Sirs: I must strongly disagree with your rankings and/or the initial match-up selection for reasons of fairness, my knowing more than you, etc. etc. blah humbug.

1. We're ma'ams. 2. We're not electing a president over here. [Hee, YET, but Barack Obanana could be a flavor just as easily as John McCone. -- Keckler]

We went with more traditional ranking match-ups this time, with 1 seeds going against 16s and so on. We'll see how that works compared to the randomized way we did it with the cheeses.

Any other complaints, again, email us — we do the best we can, but the logistics of the thing are fairly involved, and we won't be able to please everyone. Inevitably, some folks will feel like their favorite flavor got shanked in the draw (if it's any comfort, Bunting's fave drew a monster and is going to get eliminated without delay), or that we aren't scientific enough, but we encourage you just to have fun with it.