Great regional ice creams

Quote" Cold Stone Creamary in AK"

That was from a post from over a year ago. By now, I hope that the people in this forum realize that this is NOT a regional product (by now they seem to be in many, many states--perhaps in all 50), and it is also not very good. Cold Stone Creamery's quality has been criticized by several groups, including Consumer Reports, as being decidedly mediocre, despite a premium price.

The "gimmick" that they feature is the blending of the "add-ins" that you select. The blending is apparently done on a slab of cold stone, hence the name. CR said that you can do much better than this franchise outlet's products.

In terms of an ice cream brand that I think is regional, there is Thomas Sweet, in Central NJ (New Brunswick, Princeton, and possibly other locations). While it used to be good, on a recent visit, the pecans in my friend's Butter Pecan were rancid!

Bye-bye, Thomas Sweet!

Gifford's of Skowhegan, ME. They are always trying new flavors, and the good ones stay in the lineup. I think there's a posting for their Skowhegan dairy bar location here, but you can also get it at local supermarkets and C-stores.
Top

quote:

Originally posted by Big Ugly Mich

quote:

Originally posted by Hillbilly

"Kopp's" in Milwaukee is the best I've ever had, and I have tried ice cream, gelato, and custards in 49 states, DC, and 6 foreign countries in the 64 years before making my first visit to Milwaukee last November.

Hope you had a burger, too. Kopp's won the Milwaukee Magazine poll for best burger so often they retired the category!

A root beer float with Sprecher's pop (local brewery) is the best dessert you'll ever have.

Yes, I have eaten their excellent burger. But I'm partial to their browned, buttery grilled cheese. Best ice cream (custard, best burger, best grilled cheese!! What a great Roadfood place.

And for a real fill of Sprecher's root beer, cream soda, orange cream, and of course their many beers, take the Saturday morning Sprecher's brewery tour and drink all you dare of either (Last year it only cost $3).

While running the usual Saturday errands we finished up about noon and headed for home. Instead of grabbing a box of Popeye's chicken (my suggestion) Duff, Demi, and the Boss (Janet) decided that a double scoop of Graeter's would be just the thing to cool us down a bit after a morning runaround(in the truck).... So she got a double of Black Raspberry Chip that had chunks of chocolate the size of small Hershey bars mixed in...much to Duff's surprise he got none of the chocolate! I had a double scoop dish -one of Toffee Chunk and one of Chocolate Almond Coconut. Great lunch! The dogs (both of them) got dog biscuits and the 'lickings' at the end of the break!! I am very glad Graeter's has expanded to bring their excellent product to our area.

Best ice-cream I ever had was at The Creamery at Penn State University.

The school started as an Agricultural school and it hasn't lost that aspect of its educational offerings.
The milk comes from campus cows and the ice cream is made on-site.

The Paterno Peach is a high seller, but usually go for the seasonal ice-cream.


I also enjoy Max's ice cream on Wisconsin Ave in Northwest Washingon, DC.
Go there in the Fall for his Pumpkin ice cream! It's amazing and I'm not even a pumpkin pie lover.

It is Tony's. Sorry that I didn't reply any soone

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Originally posted by Hillbilly

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Originally posted by tybeeguy

emsmom, What would the name of that shop be. I will stop by next cruise up 85.

Just guessing, but it sounds like "Tony's" to me.

I recently had the pleasure of dessert at Kilwin's, a West Michigan ice creamery and candy shop with branches in Holland and Saugatuck. I'm sure there are others in the state. I have to tell you that the toasted coconut ice cream I had the other evening was as intense and as delicious as anything I've ever experienced. There seemed to be more toasted coconut than ice cream in every spoonful. Extraordinary! Really! Kilwin's also makes its own fudge as well as gigantic cashew and pecan "turtles," if you're so inclined. - Rusty

In Wisconsin recently, I really enjoyed Cedar Crest brand ice cream, which is served at Wilson's in Ephraim, a Door County favorite. The caramel collision flavor was unlike any ice cream I've tried before, with caramel swirls and little chocolate covered caramel candies throughout. It certainly satisfied my caramel craving. This brand is available in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and upper Michigan, according to the company's web site.

Danimal, next time you're in Highwood, try Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream at Sweet Pea's. www.chocolateshoppeicecream.com

Marble Slab Creamery in Libertyville, Gurnee, Evanston, and Skokie is another place awaiting your ice cream taste buds. www.marbleslabcreamery.com

CSD

In the near western suburbs in Oak Park, go to Petersen Ice Cream Co. on Chicago Ave just off of Harlem Ave (1100 Chicago Ave.) They have a restaurant and a separate ice cream parlour. The restaurant is good if you want a whole meal. Awesome, Awesome ice cream.

http://chicago.citysearch.com/profile/3555674/oak_park_il/petersen_ice_cream_company.html

Niederfranks (since 1948) in National City where Al Roker visited for a Roker On The Road story...they also sell their ice cream through other local stores and restaurants.

http://www.niederfranks.com/ http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ar/episode/0,1976,FOOD_10796_33014,00.html

Some trivia about National City, a blue collar town with shipyards, scrap metal, salvage yards and such, is that it was the home of (the late) John Walton, billionaire son of Sam Walton. John and his wife lived in a restored Victorian home in a regular neighborhood. He enjoyed racing his Corsair Trimarans in the nearby bay.

I sure did enjoy Youngs dairy which is north of Cincinatti about 60 miles. It is made from all jersey cream which is supposingly higher in butterfat than most milk.

Great food and lotsa entertainment also. It seems that they have a lot of festivals there.

http://www.youngsdairy.com/

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by chicagostyledog

Danimal, next time you're in Highwood, try Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream at Sweet Pea's. www.chocolateshoppeicecream.com

Marble Slab Creamery in Libertyville, Gurnee, Evanston, and Skokie is another place awaiting your ice cream taste buds. www.marbleslabcreamery.com

CSD

Thanks - maybe we'll stop by Highwood this weekend.

Two more ice-cream shops I hit this past summer here in DC area:

Cherry Hill Farm and Orchards, 12300 Gallahan Rd., Clinton; Their soft-serve ice cream made on the premises with orchard-ripe seasonal fruit—strawberry, blackberry, peach, and apple pie. It was worth the trip.

The Dairy, University of Maryland, B079 Turner Hall, College Park; 301-405-1415. It has extremely limited hours: 11 to 4 Monday through Friday. But the ice cream is made in-house with milk from the university’s herd of Holsteins.

My favorite in where I live is Jaxson's.

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2001/12/03/smallb1.html

Jonathan

If you ever decide to visit Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, or Texas, get thee to a Braum's Ice Cream & Dairy store. Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Banana Pudding, Cherry Limeade Sherbet and sooo many others, can't be beat. If you happen to stop by Springfield, MO then please try Andy's Frozen Custard. The vanilla is lovely, heaven on the toungue.

In the Los Angeles area, the best ice cream in the area, IMHO, is Fosselman's Ice Cream in Alhambra (just east of downtown LA). They've been around for over 80 years, and adapted to the population changes in the area. They take suggestions from their customers and make "Asian" flavors like ube (taro), green tea, and lychee, in addition to all the traditional Western flavors. All their ice cream is made at the parlour and some stores in the area carry their ice creams.

I've tried other local premium ice creams in LA like Dr Bob's and Mashti Malone, and didn't think they were as good.

http://www.fosselmans.com/

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

I sure did enjoy Youngs dairy which is north of Cincinatti about 60 miles. It is made from all jersey cream which is supposingly higher in butterfat than most milk.

Great food and lotsa entertainment also. It seems that they have a lot of festivals there.

http://www.youngsdairy.com/

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Right on, Paul. And take a cooler. You can buy milk, cheese, ice cream, and butter all made from those productive Jerseys. Plus heavy cream so thick you have to scrape it out of the bottle.

Funari's Italian creamery has the best stuff I've ever tasted. They are down here in Jacksonville, Fl. They make gelato everyday and it is delicious. You've got to try it out if you get down to Florida!!

Frozen custard is king in Milwaukee. As absolutely fantastic as Kopp's is, Leon's is more absolutely fantastic! I have put their vanilla against each other in an A/B test...Leon's always wins. Kopp's has Leon's beat for menu items, but there is no better custard on the planet than Leon's.

I went to Harpur College at Suny Binghamton and lived on Pat Mitchells for four years. Its amazing, cantloupe, pumpkin, cheesecake,,,,,,

quote:

Originally posted by n4mtees

"Pat Mitchell's" in Endicott, NY It's been a while since I've been there (I live in NH now), but they are a local favorite.

kools--As a long time fan of Leon's, I'll agree with you that there is none better in Milwaukee. And for pure American kitsch, no one beats Leon's. There's nothing like Leon's all lit up on a hot summer night. But, if you ever get chance to get down to St. Louis, check out Ted Drewes. Leon's is great, Ted Drewes is greater!

Stucchi's Ice Cream which is based in the Ann Arbor Michigan area...their ice cream is great...if you ever go there, try some...they have shops and you can buy it in stores...They even send it to Texas!

quote:

Originally posted by Top

Gifford's of Skowhegan, ME. They are always trying new flavors, and the good ones stay in the lineup. I think there's a posting for their Skowhegan dairy bar location here, but you can also get it at local supermarkets and C-stores.
Top

A local place I go to has Giffords as their main stay in their restaurants... or at least in the Yarmouth location.
Top, you may know where I am talking about.. Pat's Pizza..
Its nice to find ice cream in winter!
Tara

Don't know about vanilla, because I never choose it, but I'd say Kopp's trounces Leon's (and Gilles too) because of all the stuff they put in the flavors of the day.

Still, if you want something to keep in the freezer for nibblin, you can't beat Cedar Crest After Dinner Mint. Well, maybe you could a few years ago with Viroqua Dairy GrapeNut, but I think they're closed for good at this point.

Carolina Concrete from Goodberry's Creameries located in The Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) of North Carolina.

http://www.goodberrys.com/index.html

Yum Yum Better Ice Cream in Greensboro, NC was a favorite spot for me down there.
It was a surprise to me when I moved to NC from upstate NY and there were no ice cream stands to be found. Not one place where you just walked up to a window for a cone.

But, across the street from UNC-Greensboro, where my wife went to graduate school, was this small family run place diner called Yum Yum's. They sold ice-cream made on the premises, hot dogs (all the way was best), glass bottle coke and Cheerwine (which was brand new to me). I thikn they had burgers and fries too. But I never got a burger.

The ice cream is quite good, with seasonal flavors so there's always something new to try. And the hotdogs are, IMO, the best in the Piedmont of NC. Wash it all down with either a coke or cheerwine and it was a fine Saturday afternoon meal.

quote:

Originally posted by tjr

Don't know about vanilla, because I never choose it . . .

My parents used to go out with the Fred and Edna, the couple across the street, every couple of Saturday nights when we were kids. One time they went to Howard Johnson's after a movie, and Fred, who was a delightful guy, asked the waitress what the chain's flavors of ice cream were. She listed them from memory. Fred looked thoughtfully upward, then said, "I'll have a dish of vanilla."

Sherman Dairy in South Haven, Michigan, makes a good product. More body than average but not as heavy as the super premiums. They run a retail store at the factory and also distribute in southwest Michigan, northern Indiana, and Chicago areas.

http://www.shermanicecream.com/index.html

anyone remember peacocks in evanston and wilmette/skokie illinois?