I hate how people who like vanilla get picked on, typecast as boring. Vanilla is not the beige of the ice cream world. It's my favorite too (followed closely by the peppermint stick ice cream that the Schwan's man brought at Christmastime).

I remember when this ran in the Ripsaw, and I felt so bad for you.
Anyway, I got this off the Internet for you:

THE 15 MOST POPULAR ICE CREAM FLAVORS
(Flavor, percent preferring)
1. Vanilla, 29%
2. Chocolate, 8.9%
3. Butter pecan, 5.3%
4. Strawberry, 5.3%
5. Neapolitan, 4.2%
6. Chocolate chip, 3.9%
7. French vanilla, 3.8%
8. Cookies and cream, 3.6%
9. Vanilla fudge ripple, 2.6%
10. Praline pecan, 1.7%
11. Cherry, 1.6%
12. Chocolate almond, 1.6%
13. Coffee, 1.6%
14. Rocky road, 1.5%
15. Chocolate marshmallow, 1.3%
All others, 23.7%

Source: International Ice Cream Association, 888 16th St., Washington, D.C., 20006.

Right now, my favorite ice cream is Blue Sky's version of caramel. I like it for a lot of the same reasons that I like vanilla.

I love Vanilla Bean especially. You're right; it tastes so clean.

Vanilla is not my favorite and I have been know to look down on the vanilla lovers of the world. But now I do feel bad for booing my fiance in the Super One ice cream isle when he chose the gallon of vanilla over everything else.

Vanilla's great on its own, but it's also a fantastic blank canvas to work with--you can add practically anything to it, as the mood strikes. It's very DIY.

See, now, Mary. That's exactly where people go wrong: They think of vanilla as "plain" or as you put it a "blank canvas."

No.

Vanilla is not "plain." It is a flavor that is not only equal to all others, but in fact, superior.

You're absolutely right. It's not blank at all. It's vanilla-y. And most delicious in its own right.