I like
vanilla. I like how it tastes and smells, and think it definitely has a strong, distinctive taste which is far from plain. However, for some unknown reason, vanilla ice cream usually tastes
NOTHING like
vanilla. It just tastes like sugary
milk. Certainly there are some good vanilla ice creams, but they are few and far between. In the mean time,
vanilla must be associated with plainness and
vanilla-lameness.
I think the government or someone should require that vanilla ice cream really taste like vanilla. It's false advertizing to call something vanilla when it tastes like cold whip cream.