Oregon Dairy

Shop Name: Oregon Dairy

Location: Oregon Trail... ummm, I mean Pike
Boo's Rating: 3 Screams

Visiting the Oregon Dairy was a lot like playing Oregon Trail as a kid. I hopped in my covered wagon (AKA 2002 Toyota Prius- whatevs, they have like, the same emissions, dude) and Laura followed behind in hers. Laura was the first person to join me in my quest for the perfect Lancaster, PA ice cream and I think it's safe to say she'll be begging to come along again. Especially since she survived this trip without getting dysentery. (Which is more than can be said for the average Oregon Trail game.) Anyway, we traveled along Rt. 30 to the Oregon Pike. After losing several oxen to the journey, we finally arrived at Oregon Dairy where oxen are abundant, so I wasn't too sad over the loss of mine.

Let me just say that this place is HUGE. It was seriously crowded, and let's be honest- that's always a good sign for a food-service establishment. Oregon Dairy is far more than just your basic ice cream stand. It's part grocery store, part farm, part tourist trap, part restaurant, part ice cream parlor, part-- well, you get the picture. After wandering around a bit, we asked for directions to the ice cream portion of this farm-themed monstrosity. Upon entering the ice cream parlor, I was fairly impressed. The selection of ice cream flavors was pretty large. The poor kids working the counter have to wear cow-print baseball hats, and that upped the entertainment value of the O.D. significantly. They let me sample a couple of flavors, so I tried to keep my sarcastic remarks about their uniforms to myself. I tried a sample of peach cobbler ice cream and their choco fudge before deciding on the chocolate peanut butter with a plain cone. YAY for plain cones! Laura had the same flavor and we both agreed that on a hot summer afternoon, it really hit the spot. But if I were to be really critical, I'd have to say that all the flavors I sampled were pretty run-of-the-mill. The chocolate base of the chocolate peanut butter was pretty average, and as much as I love that combo, the peanut butter swirl totally overpowered the chocolate ice cream. Also, since the chunks of PB were so large, it made the choice of a plain cone as an ice cream vehicle kind of difficult. It would have been more suited to a cup, but I guess we can call that poor judgement on my part.

I recommend it as a place to bring the whole family- there are tractor rides and giant cows and all sorts of fun things. Overall, I gave the Oregon Dairy 3 Screams. It would have been more, but Laura nearly drowned as we tried to ford the river.