Gelato di Babbo

Shop Name: Gelato di Babbo

Location: Lititz Pike, Lititz, PA

Screams: 5

I FINALLY managed to get over to Gelato di Babbo's Euro Cafe in Lititz, PA today. I had the day off and no plans until the evening, so I decided to go for lunch. I'd heard from Kim, the owner, about the delicious panini sandwiches on the menu as well as soups and of course her famous gelato. My meal today was:

"Classico" Panini- Proscuitto with fresh mozzarella, basil and cherry tomatoes
Chocolate & Coffee Gelato

First, let's talk about the sandwich. The bread was sliced nice and thick and grilled to perfection- crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and not a bit of that greasiness that so often clouds a panini sandwich. I don't really like panini that are slathered in butter before placed on the grill- I prefer it dry and that's how they do it at GdB. Another note on the bread: it was so flavorful with a mildly sweet tone to it- really just delicious. It complemented the other elements of the sandwich perfectly- the salty proscuitto, the ripe tomato, the earthy basil- it all worked together really well. And it was all SO fresh. I watched Kim step outside to pick the fresh basil that she then put on my sandwich. It was amazing. Does it really get any more fresh than that? I don't think so.

After devouring the sandwich, I paused a moment and then surveyed the gelato case- the flavors of the day were Caramel Corn, Gingersnap, Rasperry Sorbet, Chocolate, Mint and Coffee. I sampled nearly all of them before selecting a small chocolate and coffee. They top it with a cute little wafer cookie- it's really adorable:

One thing that you just HAVE to understand about GdB is that the texture of the gelato is velvety smooth like no other frozen treat. It's silken texture is out of this world. I've never tasted ice cream or gelato like it. I don't know what her secret is, but it's working like a dream. As for each individual flavor, the best was the Caramel Corn- it had a nice popcorn-esque flavor, but sweet, almost like kettle corn. And the gingersnap was also delicious. I've had gingersnap ice cream and frozen custard before and neither one was very good. GdB's gingersnap was amazing. I'd order it in a heartbeat and recommend it just as fast.

The hours are 11-9PM Friday through Sunday- perfect for a nice weekend treat. Head on over this weekend if you can- I guarantee you'll enjoy it.

Carmen & David's Creamery

Shop Name: Carmen & David's Creamery

Location: Prince Street

Boo's Rating: 4 Screams

Wow! It has been a looooooong time since I posted a blog, but I have to be honest- there weren't many ice cream stands open over the winter months. A while back, I saw there was an ice cream shop opening up on Prince Street and I decided it would be my first blog of the new season. I had high expectations for this place- while they were renovating the space and preparing it for the grand opening, the windows were covered with brown paper and the brown paper was covered with quotes all about ice cream. It was impressive how many quotes they managed to have. After seeing that, I knew that this was going to be a first-rate ice cream shop. Some of the quotes included were:

"Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone."

And

"Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart."

And

"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."

And

"Always serve too much hot fudge on hot fudge sundaes. It makes people overjoyed and puts them in your debt."

Once they opened their doors, they kept these clever quotes as part of the decor- they are on the napkin dispensers! Adorable! The whole shop is painted in bright green, yellow and orange- it's very lively and colorful. In addition to the bright, friendly decor, Carmen & David have made their shop totally GREEN in the environmental sense. Their supplies are all biodegradable, so you don't have to feel bad about using 4 or 5 of their colorful sample spoons! (I used 3 myself and NO I am not ashamed to admit that.) The list of flavors is impressive and every one of them is homemade. I sampled several that day, along with my fabulous staff (pictured below): Autumn, Laura and Vanessa.

All of the flavors I sampled were delicious- the ice cream itself was very creamy and flavorful. I ended up settling on a shake made out of mocha chocolate chip, which was my favorite of the flavors I sampled. The shake was a little thin- I like them so thick that they are hard to get up the straw. In New Hampshire, we call them a "frappe." A frappe has lots of ice cream, milk, flavoring and it's shaken together to the consistency of a Wendy's frosty, but you consume it through a straw, not with a spoon. Yum. The shake at Carmen & David's was really flavorful, but I think they need to work on getting the consistency a lot thicker. All four of us really enjoyed the ice cream, so I gave Carmen & David's Creamery 4 screams- one for each of us. Not bad for such a new shop. I'll definitely be back there over the summer months to sample more flavors!

Chestnut Hill Cafe

Shop Name: Chestnut Hill Cafe

Location: West Chestnut Street, Lancaster

Boo's Rating: 3 1/2 Screams

This past weekend was the Fall Artwalk in Lancaster- it's a fun event, basically like a First Friday concept, but it's all weekend long. A lot of the galleries have special exhibits and tasty snacks as well. It was a perfect fall day to be walking around town and we decided to end our day at the DogStar book store and the Chestnut Hill Cafe. I had heard rumors that this new cafe serves ice cream and I was not disappointed. That is, until I found out that it's Coleman's Ice Cream. As you know (if you read my blog), Coleman's is one of my least favorites in town. Chestnut Hill had quite a few interesting flavors that I had not seen in Coleman's store including a Mango ice cream. I asked to taste just a sample of it and it was pretty bad. It had a really strange flavor and the texture was bizarre- it was kind of gritty, like sugar crystals that had not dissolved. Strange. Anyway, because the mango was kind of terrible, I opted for a safe flavor- mint chocolate chip. Once again, it was under-whelming. The flavor was so-so- nothing too amazing. For now, I'll keep Coleman's ice cream rating the same as last time- 3 1/2 screams.

Coleman's Ice Cream

Shop Name: Coleman's Ice Cream

Location: Rt. 340, Lancaster

Boo's Rating: 3 1/2 Screams

You may or may not remember, but Coleman's was one of the first ice cream establishments I reviewed for this blog and they did not receive a very high rating. Actually, they are currently the lowest rating in the history of this blog. On Tuesday, my company bought the entire production staff ice cream at Coleman's, so they had the opportunity to change their rating with me. And change they did. First of all, they have pumpkin ice cream right now, so that alone earned them an extra point. Second, the day we were there, they had a special sundae called the Apple Dumpling Sundae. I made the decision to replace the vanilla ice cream on the A.D.S. with their pumpkin ice cream. It was a perfect fall combination. Once again, the ice cream itself had a lot of ice crystals throughout, which as you all know is the biggest no-no for me, but the pumpkin flavor was really delicious, so I decided to ignore the ice crystals as much as I could. The apple dumpling was ENORMOUS, so the sundae was actually a little embarrassing to order, especially since almost everyone else got a small cone. I was the over-indulgent one with my giant sundae, but I don't care because it was a real treat. There was some sort of caramel sauce all over the dumpling that made it even more delicious, but I really can't stress enough how good the pairing of apple dumpling & pumpkin ice cream was. Seriously. Look into it.

Overall, the sundae and the pumpkin ice cream boosted Coleman's rating to a solid 3 1/2 screams, which is much more impressive than their previous rating. Good job, Coleman's! I'm pretty sure that everyone really enjoyed their ice cream that day and I even saw some other interesting flavors including a carrot cake flavor that looked pretty tasty. And even more exciting are the hilarious pictures I captured of the crazy staff I work with. Enjoy!

DOVE

Shop Name: Dove Ice Cream

Location: Your local supermarket

Boo's Rating: 5 Screams

Now that I have managed to visit MOST of the ice cream establishments in the Lancaster area, I figured it wouldn't hurt to survey some of the ice cream available in your basic supermarket and/or convenience store. First up: Dove Ice Cream. I was craving chocolate in a BIG way one night, so I drove to the Giant Supermarket and bought a pint of Dove's "Unconditional Chocolate" ice cream. I had never tried Dove ice cream before, so I figured, "Why not?" I took it home, popped open the pint and just about DIED. Did you know that Dove covers the top of their ice cream pints with a layer of CHOCOLATE GANACHE?!?!?!?! I have one word to describe that idea: GENIUS. The ganache is so smooth and velvety- I literally ate all of it before feasting on the actual ice cream. Let's talk about the ice cream now. It was some seriously RICH chocolate ice cream. It had swirls of dark chocolate as well as chocolate chunks throughout. And much like Ben & Jerry's standard, every bite had a bit of the mix-in. And that, my friends is what has earned Dove's Unconditional Chocolate 5 Boo Screams. Congrats, Dove. You rocked it. I would even go so far as to say that this flavor rivals my long-standing favorite chocolate-y chocolate ice cream: Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie. I would not go so far as to say that it's better, but I would say that they are on an equal standing. And that's saying a LOT.

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I'm starting to expand the topic of this blog beyond ice cream & gelato to anything worth screaming about. I've already covered an amazing pumpkin lasagna recipe, and I'll probably stick with pumpkin-related items for a little while, but I'm always open to suggestions. What do you scream for? What fabulous food should I try? Please leave suggestions in the comments section and I'll do my best to accomodate. Thanks for reading!

The Jigger Shop

Shop Name: The Jigger Shop

Location: Mount Gretna, PA

Boo's Rating: 3 1/2 Screams

Ok, crazy ice cream fans, here it is- the long awaited VIDEO BLOG!!! (For those in the know, the term is "vlog." OMG, I feel so technologically savvy.) Ok, a couple of weeks ago, my friend Mike and I traveled across the many roads and farmlands of PA to the lovely village known as Mount Gretna. Since starting this blog, at least 4 separate people have HIGHLY recommended the Jigger Shop. I quote, "You've got to go and have Jigger." The only problem was that it was in Mount Gretna! It's not even in Lancaster COUNTY, much less Lancaster city. I felt torn about driving all that way just for ice cream but people persisted and so I relented. Fortunately, there was an art show in Mount Gretna, giving us the perfect excuse to drive all that way. I mean, if it's only for ice cream, that's a little weird. If it's for ART and ice cream, that's totally normal. At least that is my logic. (I'm not gonna lie, though. I did seriously consider driving out there just for the ice cream. Common sense stopped me, but my taste buds fought the good fight.)

First, the art show review: I really enjoyed it. It was not so large that you couldn't cover it in an hour or two. They had a good variety of artists, some with really unique media choices. It was NOT your basic Home Goods or department store landscape paintings and photographs. The artists at this show all had an interesting point of view and that's what I liked about it. I even bought some art from an artist named Philip Singer. You can see his artwork here: http://www.psingerart.com/

His work is very surreal, but also very beautiful. I was an instant fan. Unfortunately, the painting I bought is not on his website, so if you want to see it, you'll have to visit me. (Especially all of you New England folk.)

Ok, on to the ice cream. The Jigger Shop only earned 3 1/2 screams because while the ambiance was absolutely charming, the ice cream was just okay. It didn't blow my mind. As you can see on the video, both Mike and I tried the "Jigger" and found it to be okay. Nothing mind blowing. So, I think that when people recommend the Jigger Shop, they're really recommending the experience, not so much the ice cream. And the experience is a good one- the seating extends outside on this porch that has the trees coming right through it. You feel like you're eating in the middle of the woods, which you kind of are. The trees provide a lot of shade as well, perfect for a hot summer day.

Here is the youtube link to the video of our Jigger Shop experience. (I know I said I feel all technologically savvy, but I can't figure out how to put the video right on this page. I'm so pathetic.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivhi6k6Kp2w

Sweets for Sweeties

Shop Name: Sweets for Sweeties

Location: Paradise, PA

Boo's Rating: 3 Screams

I was on my way to Philly the other day and I remembered that there is an ice cream shop on Rt. 30 on the way, so I figured I'd stop to check it out. Turns out, Sweets for Sweeties is primarily a candy shop. I'll have to go back sometime to try their homemade candies. In the meantime, I decided to sample their Moose Tracks, one of my favorite flavors. Turns out, they serve Turkey Hill ice cream, which I've already sampled and covered in my blog on Willow Valley at the Central Market. However, I hadn't sampled that flavor. It was okay. Not great, not terrible, just okay, hence the 3 screams.

Now for the exciting part: Soon I Scream You Scream will join the 21st Century with a real VIDEO BLOG!!! OMG!!! So exciting. My friend Mike and I went to the Jigger Shop in Mount Gretna and soon all the details will be available via vlog!!! Whoo-hoo!!!

Haagen Dazs

Shop Name: Haagen Dazs

Location: Park City Mall

Boo's Rating: 4 Screams

Ok, I think we all know that Haagen Dazs is pretty high standard ice cream, so it's no surprise they've got a high Boo Rating. I try not to go to the mall if I can help it, but my job pretty much requires that I end up there pretty often. I figured that since I had to be there, I might as well make the most of it. Turns out, there are at least 3 different ice cream establishments within the mall that I will now attempt to visit on my next few work-related outings to the mall.

The man at the Haagen Dazs counter was so friendly and offered me samples without making me feel guilty. I tried the coconut pineapple first and let me just tell you, it was DIVINE. I almost ordered it without any other samples, but then I saw- out of the corner of my eye- Brownie a la mode. Wow. I tasted a sample and fell in love. I ordered a kiddie size on a sugar cone. No, that's NOT a typo. I actually went for the sugar cone, even though it wasn't homemade and even though I have serious issues with sugar cones. (See my first blog entry for details.) Anyway, the ice cream was REALLY expensive- I paid $3.08 for a kiddie size scoop and it was definitely that. "Tiny" might be a better description for the size. Normally I don't even consider the cost, but I was a little blown away by the cost-to-scoop size ratio in this particular case. While I was considering what flavor to order, the very nice man behind the counter explained to me why Haagen Dazs is so delicious. He said that it has absolutely NO AIR in it. Almost ALL ice cream has air in it because it's continuously stirred while it freezes and the air in it is what makes the texture so great. Apparently, keeping the air out of the ice cream makes it really rich. They're not lying. Haagen Dazs ice cream is nothing if not rich.

Anyway, I have to say that my issue with sugar cones was proven right yet again. I was almost done eating the cone when a bit of brownie a la mode dripped out the bottom and onto my pretty pastel pink dress. DAMN! At least I was in the mall. I hopped over to CVS, bought one of those Tide-To-Go pens and tried my best to get it out. (Why they ever stopped making Shout Wipes, I'll never know. But that's another subject for another blog.) Fortunately for Haagen Dazs, their sugar cone was especially delicious, or the mishap might have upset me a little more than it did. The cone had a strong amaretto flavor to it that made it a little more sophisticated than your average sugar cone. Delicious!!!

Overall, Haagen Dazs earned 4 solid screams. Impressive.

The Brickyard

Shop Name: The Brickyard

Location: N. Prince Street

Boo's Rating: 1 Scream

I want to be very clear that the Brickyard is NOT an ice cream shop. It is a sports bar and restaurant that happens to have ice cream on its menu. Their menu boasts an "ice cream du jour" which is whatever the chef feels like making that day. My meal prior to dessert had been pretty much terrible, but I want to be clear that the meal is not what was judged in determining the number of "screams." I ordered the crab-stuffed flounder. The waitress had recommended it pretty highly and I'm not gonna lie, it sounded delicious. The flounder came with a mango salsa on top of it with sides of rice, green beans and salad. I was really looking forward to this meal, but something went wrong in the kitchen and they turned my flounder into fish jerky. Seriously. It was awful and completely inedible. The sides were good, but not good enough for me to not send the dish back to the kitchen. I was still hungry, so I decided to order dessert and that's when I saw the "ice cream du jour" on the menu. Without even asking the flavor, I said, "I'll take it." When it came, it looked fabulous. The waitress informed me that the flavor of the day was Kahlua-strawberry-cheesecake. Doesn't that sound AMAZING? It was SO not. I know I'm always saying that busy ice cream needs to be sufficiently busy. Well, the Brickyard took that philosophy WAY too far. There was hardly any ice cream in the ice cream. It was ALL strawberries and the occassional chunk of bland cheesecake. Aside from the main problem of actually being just a bowl of strawberries, the Brickyard had another issue. They didn't chop the strawberries very small, so when mixed into the "ice cream" (I put it in quotes because I think they're abusing the term), the strawberries just ended up frozen solid. Eating one was like biting into an ice cube. Not good. And as for the kahlua? The flavor was non-existent.

I think I'm actually be generous by giving them any screams at all. The reason they get a scream is because I'm assuming their plain vanilla and chocolate ice creams are good enough to earn at least that. Also, since I sampled the ice cream du jour, it's fair to say that it might never be on the menu again. (We can hope, at least.) However, after the fish jerky and frozen berries experience, you'd have to pay me to go back to the Brickyard.

Pine View Acres Dairy

Shop Name: Pine View Acres Dairy

Location: New Danville Pike

Boo's Rating: 3 Screams

Pine View Acres Dairy was .... ok. I would probably not drive out there again just for their ice cream. It was good ice cream, but far from the best I've tasted. I ordered a scoop of Oreo on a cone. At first I was really excited because I looked at the scoop and there was an ENTIRE OREO COOKIE poking out. For busy ice cream that would have been impressive, if it weren't for the fact that the cookie I saw was just about the only cookie in the ice cream. Once I'd eaten the cookie, it was as if I'd ordered a cone of vanilla. Shame on you, Pine View!

Fortuntately for the dairy, there were a lot of other flavor options, all homemade. Vanessa ordered a scoop of pineapple coconut ice cream and her review was that while it was delicious, the pineapple chunks were a bit too large. It was, however, quite busy. I believe she said she would prefer the coconut ice cream at the Lapp Valley Farm, which we visited a few weeks ago.

The good news about Pine View is that they also have a small convenience store where they sell their fresh milk (in bags, fyi). You can also walk around to visit the cows, as pictured above. I'm starting to think Vanessa will only go ice cream blogging with me if there are farm animals to pet. I personally think she's got an obsession with cows, but I could be wrong. For me, I'd rather NOT smell manure while licking an ice cream cone. However, that did not effect my rating- I gave Pine View a very fair 3 screams.

Boo's Vanilla Ice Cream Making Adventure

Shop Name: Boo's Home

Location: Greenland Drive

Boo's Rating: 2 1/2 screams

In honor of National Ice Cream Month (July), I decided to try to make my own homemade ice cream. I did a little bit of research and discovered that nearly every ice cream recipe ends with the words, "Pour mixture into ice cream machine and follow manufacturer directions." Hmmmm... I don't have an ice cream machine, and I don't think I want to invest in one, so what to do? I looked into other methods and found they're all pretty much the same concept. The "ball" method, the coffee can method, the double-ziploc bag method, etc. I didn't really want to use any of those methods because they all involve ice mixed with rock salt around the ice cream mixture, but they all said it created a soft-serve consistency. I wanted real hand-dipped consistency. One website I found said that you can actually pour the ice cream mixture into a shallow dish or tupperware and stir it with a hand mixer or spatula every half hour to 45 minutes. Bingo! Now that I'd found the least expensive method (no machines or rock salt to track down and purchase), I set about finding a good recipe. I didn't find one that really worked for me, so I pretty much used one as a guide and then altered it a bit. After that, it was off to the freezer for my ice cream. Unfortunately, after only 3 hours of chilling my ice cream in the freezer, it was not yet at the right consistency and I had to go to work! NOOOOO!!! I think if I had spent a couple more hours babysitting it, the consistency would have been better. I'll have to try it again on a day where I have more free time. I think the flavor of my ice cream was spot-on. It's got a really strong vanilla flavor. The consistency, however, is not so fabulous. If I were to be served ice cream at a local shop that was the consistency of mine, then that shop would probably only get 2 1/2 screams at the most. I'd like to say that my fabulous flavor would be enough to boost the score up a bit, but I'd be lying. I'm a harsh critic and I can't get all soft just because of my ego. So.... 2 1/2 screams for me. Sad, I know. I'm currently letting my ice cream warm up and soften a bit and I'm going to try to whip it up some more with a hand mixer to try to get rid of some of the ice crystals. Even if I don't, it's still a respectable first attempt at making homemade ice cream and it's definitely edible. Not only is it edible, it's pretty delicious.

In case you care, here is the recipe I used to make my homemade ice cream:

Ingredients:
4 c. half & half
2 c. heavy cream
15 egg yolks
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 vanilla bean

In a saucepan, combine cream with half & half. Score the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds and add both seeds and pod to the cream mixture. Slowly heat to a simmer. DO NOT BOIL!!! While the cream mixture is heating, combine the egg yolks and the sugar in a mixer and combine. After heating the cream mixture, remove the vanilla bean, then temper the eggs by slowly adding about half the cream mixture. Pour the egg and cream mixture into the saucepan with the remaining cream and heat until the mixture thickens (about 170 degrees). Run your finger down the back of the spoon and if it leaves a clear path, the custard is ready. Cool the custard and then pour into a 9x13 baking dish, or similar sized plastic container. Every 30-45 minutes stir the custard with a hand mixer or spatula until it reaches the right consistency. Yum!!!

Lapp Valley Farm

Shop Name: Lapp Valley Farm

Location: New Holland, PA

Boo's Rating: 3 1/2 Screams

It was quite a drive out to the Lapp Valley Farm, but it came highly recommended by several locals, so I had to get out there. It is definitely a farm- there are cows and everything. Unfortunately, it smells like a farm, too. The good news is that the farm smell stays outside and when you're in the ice cream shop, all you can smell is the delicious scent of homemade waffle cones. I'm starting to think I might have to start another blog about the homemade cones around here! Lapp's homemade cones are definitely different from the SCS&C's cones. They're lighter and the flavor isn't as strong, but they are totally delicious. Autumn made the comparison to the flavor and texture of a pizzelle, and I think she's right about that. Although, I think a pizzelle traditionally has an anise flavor and these cones did not. The texture was almost exactly the same, though.

Along with Autumn, Jeffrey and Vanessa (a.k.a. Beanie) also came along for the trip to Lapp's. You can see how friendly Beanie got with the cows in the picture above. Lapp's not only has cows, but also peacocks everywhere. Also, Beanie got really friendly with a bulldog that was wandering around. Lapp's is definitely an animal-lover's ice cream destination. They also sell milk, cheese and butter and you can even go to the drive-through to order those things! I bought a huge piece of farmer's cheese and I can't wait to snack on it!

Ok, now for the ice cream. I sampled the butter brickle flavor which was basically vanilla ice cream with toffee bits mixed in. It was good, but I didn't want to eat a whole cone full of it. I also sampled the coconut (at Beanie's recommendation) and it was also really delicious. It was chock full of coconut shavings. Delish. In the end, I opted for a homemade sugar cone with chocolate almond ice cream. It was actually really disappointing because after tasting the other two, I had high expectations for the chocolate. Unfortunatelly, the chocolate flavor was barely there at all. It was like eating sweet cream ice cream with a hint of chocolate mixed throughout. Not good. The quality of the ice cream is clearly very high- it's really smooth and creamy, but the chocolate flavor was SO disappointing! It's good for Lapp's that I sampled the other two flavors, or their rating might have dropped. Taking all things into consideration, I had to give them 3 1/2 screams, certainly a respectable rating.

Turkey Hill Ice Cream

Shop Name: Turkey Hill Ice Cream

Location: Central Market, Lancaster City

Boo's Rating: 3 1/2 Screams

I was pleasantly surprised to see a booth selling ice cream at the market today. How did I ever miss it? I guess I just don't usually visit the bakery stands at the market. My bad! My bags were full of fruits and veggies and some uber-yummy manchego cheese when I saw a sign that said "Sample cones: $0.50" Umm.... perfect!!! I asked for a sample of cookies & cream. The lady behind the counter pulled out the tiniest little cone you've ever seen! It was about 2 inches long! So cute! She scooped a bit of mint chocolate chip and I was like, "Oh, I wanted cookies & cream..." Oops! She was super sweet about her mistake, though and gave me both samples for the price of one. Can't let ice cream go to waste now, can we? Anyway, the ice cream was decent. It was pretty much your basic grocery-store variety. No complaints, but also nothing spectacular. However, I think their "sample cone" is a brilliant concept. I sometimes feel guilty if I ask to taste a lot of different flavors, but the fact that you pay a nominal amount for each sample makes them totally guilt free! Overall, Turkey Hill got 3 1/2 screams.

Strasburg Country Store & Creamery (SCS&C) PART TWO!

Shop Name: Strasburg Country Store & Creamery

Location: Main Street, Strasburg

Boo's Rating: 4 Screams

Yes, it's PART TWO for the SCS&C. I said in my first review of this place that it was good enough for me to go back, so I did. In my first review, I forgot to mention one of the best things about the SCS&C- the smell. I forgot how when you walk in, you're nearly knocked over by the amazing sweet smell of the place. I asked what it is and the lady at the counter told me it's their homemade sugar cones. There's a little room in the middle of the store with all these waffle-maker-looking things and they seriously make their own homemade sugar cones! I had to try one. I was so focused on the cake cone on the first trip, I didn't even consider getting a sugar cone. They should be advertising these sugar cones by shouting from the rooftops about them. They are delicious! And I am not usually a fan of sugar cones. They almost always leak and they're a lot harder to eat because they usually crack and then you risk ice cream spillage. Problem? I think so.

I ordered a kiddie sized scoop of oreo cookie ice cream on one of their homemade sugar cones. It was a fabulous scoop of ice cream and the cone was delicious. I also asked for a sample of their pumpkin ice cream. Kudos to the SCS&C for offering that flavor in a month other than September or October. AND it was great. I'm a sucker for anything pumpkin flavored- pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin whoopie pies, pumpkin chili, pumpkin soup- I love it all. Their pumpkin ice cream didn't disappoint. That combined with the fabulous oreo cookie/sugar cone combo upped their Boo Rating to 4 screams!

Gelato di Babbo

Shop Name: Gelato di Babbo

Location: Eastern Market on King Street

Boo's Rating: 4 Screams

This will be brief because all I have to say is: "Get your butt down to the Eastern Market on King Street and try this gelato!!!" It's all homemade with local ingredients and it's insanely delicious. Apparently it's also being sold by the pint in at least four local supermarkets. I sampled three flavors- coconut, dark chocolate and mulberry merlot and all three were delicious, but the mulberry merlot was FIERCE. I could eat that flavor all day. Gelato di Babbo, you're high in my ratings with 4 very loud screams.

Treats Creamery and Cafe

Shop Name: Treats Creamery and Cafe

Location: Market Street

Boo's Rating: 4 Screams

Treats Creamery is definitely a special place. First of all, it's located inside the Quilt and Textile Museum in downtown Lancaster. If you have not been to this museum, you really should go. The ladies there are so knowledgeable about not only the quilts, but the history of the building as well. They are SUPER sweet, too. The price of admission is a mere $6- a bargain, really. The museum also has a gift shop and of course, the creamery & cafe.

Today I sampled the pistachio ice cream on a cake cone. It was absolutely delicious. The ice cream was rich and creamy and full of WHOLE pistachios! Yum! I am forever looking for really delicious pistachio ice cream, and this was some of the best I've ever had. Seriously! The creamery also offers about a dozen flavors of ice cream, sundaes with lots of different toppings, shakes of all kinds, and light lunch options including soups, sandwiches, wraps and salads. I'll have to go back there sometime for lunch! Not on Tuesday, Friday or Saturday, though, because with it's location so close to the Central Market, it's hard to resist heading there as well! Overall, the creamery scored an impressive 4 screams. You can bet I'll be back there soon!

Waterhouse Country Store- Gifford's Ice Cream

Shop Name: Waterhouse Country Store



Location: Windham, NH



Boo's Rating: 4 Screams



Waterhouse Country Store serves Gifford's Ice Cream, which is fairly common for many ice cream shops in NH. For a small "country store," there were MANY flavor options, too! I love the names of a lot of the flavors, including the one I tried- "Wicked Good Chocolate." You can't get more New England than that! And how was my ice cream? Wicked good, of course! It was rich and creamy, and the cake cone was fresh. Delicious! Overall, they earned 4 screams. It was wicked good, for sure.

Udderly Delicious

Shop Name: Udderly Delicious


Location: Lincoln, NH

Boo's Rating: 4 Screams

I know, I know- 4 screams? For real? Yes, for real. Udderly Delicious is not only utterly delicious, but the shop is a hoot! You can see the mayhem I created trying to get a candid photo of the employees with my cone (I particularly like the girl diving into the cash register to avoid being in the pic). As you know from my Oregon Dairy blog, I LOVE the cow hats on the ice cream shop employees. But that's just the beginning of the greatness at Udderly Delicious. It's a little tourist-y, but there were a bunch of locals there as well, so I won't brand them a "tourist trap." Having side-stepped that landmine, Udderly Delicious didn't cease to impress. For starters, they have LOTS of flavor choices. Among those choices? GRAPENUT. Raise your hand if you've ever had Grapenut ice cream? That's what I thought. Not too many of you, right? It's basically vanilla ice cream with Grapenuts cereal mixed in. You either like it or you don't. I remember summers at home as a kid, pouring Grapenuts cereal on top of my ice cream and then sitting in the living room, watching TV, hoping I'd get to stay up just a little later! Anyway, as for the ice cream, it's a surprisingly delicious combination. It's a rare find, even for NH ice cream shops so U.D. gets mad props for having it on the menu.


"What else makes them great?" you ask. Well, I'll tell you. They also have an ice cream sundae bar. Uh-huh. You read that right. An ice cream sundae bar. See?

Totally awesome, right? Well, guess what else is awesome? Made-to-order ice cream cookie sandwiches. Also, free chocolate sprinkles (jimmies) for kids! Check it out:

I'm no kid, obvi, so my sprinkles weren't free, but I ordered them anyway, on top of my chocolate ice cream on a cake cone. (Side note: U.D. called it a "cake" cone, too- more evidence that it's the correct term.) So, forget about all the extras like ice cream sundae bars and made-to-order ice cream cookie sandwiches because even without all that, the ice cream was delicious. Rich and creamy, it didn't disappoint. Good job, U.D. You get 4 very loud screams. Holla!!!

Here's one last picture of Kevin & Melanie, my friends who joined me for this tasty blog trip.

P.S. One more SUPER COOL thing: The U.D. had brownies for sale that were GIGANTIC!!! My only vacation regret is that I didn't try one.

Raymond's Frozen Custard Ice Cream

Shop Name: Raymond's Frozen Custard Ice Cream

Location: Raymond, ME

Boo's Rating: 4 Screams

OK, this place had some seriously delicious ice cream, or rather- frozen custard. I asked what makes it custard and was told that it's the use of egg yolks that makes it custard and not ice cream. Hmmm... interesting. But let's be honest, the only thing I really care about is how delicious it is, not necessarily HOW it gets to be so delicious, right? Right.

I was with my family while sampling this place. I ordered chocolate (of course), my mom got white chocolate mocha and my stepfather Mike got gingersnap. More like gingercrap if you ask me! Just kidding. I have to admit, when he ordered that flavor, I was like, "WHAT?" Who orders GINGERSNAP ICE CREAM? I guess when there are flavors like chocolate or white chocolate mocha or strawberry, it's just the LAST flavor I'd think to try. To be fair, it tasted EXACTLY like gingersnaps, but without any crunch and I think that's why I didn't like it. I like the whole package with those snappy little cookies, but when you take away what in my opinion is an essential element, it's just not the same. But enough about that- I know you're wondering why I know so much about an ice cream flavor I didn't even order. I make it my responsibility to taste as many flavors as possible when reviewing an ice cream establishment and I must admit, I am shameless in that respect. I will ask the clerk at the counter for several "samples" before making my flavor decision. If friends and/or family join me at an ice cream shop, I make them give me a taste of what they ordered. You know- for research.

Ok, so enough about gingersnap. My mom's selection- white chocolate mocha- was AMAZING, as was my chocolate cone. The texture of the custard was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! Most frozen custards I've seen are soft-serve, but this seemed to be hand-dipped. It was still pretty soft, compared to your basic hand-dipped ice cream, but still oh-so rich and delicious. The only problem I found with Raymond's was the fact that they only had 8 flavors to choose from. But even so, 4 screams is pretty stellar.

Blake's Old Fashioned Ice Cream

Shop Name: Blake's Old Fashioned Ice Cream

Location: Manchester, NH

Boo's Rating: 4 1/2 Screams

The picture really covers it all. Let's be honest, whoever decided to dip a cake cone in chocolate and then also dip into chocolate sprinkles is a genius! I haven't had New England ice cream in quite some time and my first cone back didn't disappoint. Blake's Old Fashioned Ice Cream was never one of the places I frequented when living in NH, but now I really regret that. I ordered the Triple Chocolate Ecstasy on the type of cake cone described above. It was so delicious and rich that I couldn't even eat enough ice cream to get down to the cone! I ended up getting a dish and scraping almost an entire scoop off just so that I could taste the delicious cone I'd ordered! The ice cream was so rich, so chock full of chocolate-y goodness, I was in complete ice cream heaven. Hence, the 4 1/2 screams rating.

As you all know, I've been on vacation in New England for the past 10 days and just returned last night. My next few posts will cover the 5 ice cream establishments I visited over that vacation. I really meant to visit more shops, especially the ones I remember being my favorites growing up, but we know what they say about the best laid plans, right? Anyway, it really got me thinking about different ice cream shops in different places. In the spirit of National Ice Cream Month, I'd like to hear from all of you about your favorite ice cream shop. Tell me what makes it great- the ice cream, the employees, the atmosphere- whatever it is that makes it your favorite. It doesn't have to be in the Lancaster, PA area- it can be anywhere. Wherever it is, I want to hear about it!