Dairy Queen

Shop Name: Dairy Queen

Location: Columbia Ave

Boo's Rating: 2 1/2 Screams

Ok, I'm gonna be straight with you- this wasn't my first trip to a DQ. One of my favorite treats of all time is an Oreo Blizzard. Today, I decided to order the new Xtreme Chocolate Blizzard. It's made with chocolate ice cream, brownie bits and chocolate chips. Delicious, right? Well, I'm thinking they didn't follow the recipe quite right at the DQ today. Mine was clearly made with a vanilla ice cream base and the amount of brownie bits and chocolate chips was shameful. DQ, I expected better from you! It was such a disappointment that I might call it a fluke and give the DQ another shot a little later in the summer. But for now, I'm afraid the Boo Rating is 2 1/2 screams.

Freeze & Frizz

Shop Name: Freeze & Frizz

Location: New Holland Pike

Boo's Rating: 2 1/2 Screams

I think the Freeze & Frizz is better for BBQ or burgers than it is for ice cream. They have a handful of softserve flavors, and some shakes and malts, but that pretty much covers it. They do have one thing going for them- the dip. I sampled the chocolate soft serve in a cake cone with chocolate dip. It brought me back to my childhood. Also, it's always impressive when they dip the cone perfectly. When I was in high school, I had a job serving ice cream and the dip was the hardest thing to master. Especially the strawberry dip. Anyway, their ice cream was okay- nothing too spectacular. The dip was exciting in theory, but not that delicious in practice. I'd probably rather have chocolate sprinkles. Just in case you're interested, the Freeze & Frizz also has the pretzel cone. It appeared to be the same manufacturer as the pretzel cone at the Willow Street House of Pizza, so I didn't feel the need to try it again. Although, maybe I'll go back sometime and have them dip the pretzel cone! That sounds delicious!

In the end, the F&F gets 2 1/2 Screams, but I'll definitely go back sometime to try their BBQ.

TCBY

Shop Name: TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt)

Location: Hempstead Rd.

Boo's Rating: 2 1/2 Screams

I have fond memories as a young girl of going to TCBY with my father. When those shops first started springing up all over the place, we'd drive down there after I'd finished school for the day and get a sweet treat. He was really into it- my dad's got a sweet tooth that I think I inherited. They had so many flavors of yogurt back then! It was all the rage because of the frozen yogurt low-fat recipe. I think there was even a Seinfeld episode about it. I was a little disappointed in the flavor selection at the Lanc TCBY. They only had chocolate and vanilla, and of course, the twist. For hand-dipped ice cream there were 8 flavor options total. In all fairness, the TCBY is a small counter in a gas station, but I don't think that's an excuse for only 2 flavors of frozen yogurt!!! As I was leaving, the girl behind the counter said that next week, there would be other flavor options. Maybe they'd just run out and were waiting on a shipment. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they could have 4 or 5 more yogurt flavors.

I sampled the hand-dipped chocolate ice cream with chocolate sprinkles on a cake cone. (Side note: I bow to the infinite wisdom of the Lancaster, PA ice cream establishments in regards to this breed of cone. Three of you have now referred to the flat-bottom plain cone as a "cake" cone. No coincidence, methinks.) The ice cream was creamy and delicious and the flavor was great- very chocolate-y. Also, the girl behind the counter was very smart in her scooping technique. All too often, the ice cream scooper will just mash the scoop onto the top of the cone and you have to hope that the ice cream melts down into it. This girl was brilliant- she scooped a smaller ball of ice cream and then filled the inside of the cone with it. GENIUS! After that, she topped the cone off with a larger scoop. I was really impressed with her mad scooping skills and the delicious ice cream. It was all ruined by the stale cone, though. As soon as I bit into it, I knew it was over. TCBY, I'm afraid you're past your prime, so you only get 2 1/2 screams.

Gigi's Grill

Shop Name: Gigi's Grill

Location: 896 Near the little "Sight & Sound"

Boo's Rating: 1 Scream

All I have to say is don't bother. I can list the flavor options for you: Chocolate, Vanilla and Twist and also Sugar free Vanilla, Sugar Free Raspberry. Yes, you can clearly see from the picture of crazy Mindy that they have plain cones and chocolate sprinkles. Too bad my cone was so stale it even had a weird taste. They get ONE scream for not ruining the ice cream and the chocolate sprinkles. HOWEVER, if you want a decent burger & fries, they've got a great menu of diner-style food. Just get one of their pies for dessert instead of ice cream.

In other news, next month is National Ice Cream Month, so please feel free to comment with your favorite ice cream in the Lancaster area because next month I'll be hitting it hard. I'd especially like to hear about unusual flavors, or something that makes YOUR favorite ice cream shop special.

Willow Street House of... Pizza???

Shop Name: Willow Street House of... Pizza?

Location: Willow Street (duh!)

Boo's Rating: 3 1/2 Screams




I know you think I'm crazy, but this place was recommended to me by a local. She read my Bruster's blog and said that the H.O.P. will be my "answer to a raspberry ice cream cone." Who am I to turn down an ice cream recommendation from a local? I googled directions to the place and Monday afternoon I set out to sample. Too bad the Willow Street House of Pizza is closed on Mondays! DENIED! It's a good thing I'm persistent and not easily deterred. Tuesday afternoon, I drove back out there. It was right around lunch time and there were a few people dining on some delicious looking pizzas and subs. I might have to visit again for lunch sometime. Around the corner from the pizza counter is the ice cream counter. The raspberry flavor is actually a soft serve, which I haven't reviewed yet in the Lanc area. I sampled just a small taste of it and it was so creamy and delicious that I made it my choice of the day. The H.O.P. has chocolate, vanilla and raspberry soft serve as well as a half dozen or so hand-dipped ("hard serve") flavors.


However, the most exciting thing about the H.O.P. is their menu of cone choices. Yes, they have "cake" cones and of course sugar cones, but they have something else I've never seen in all my 29 years. They call it a "pretzel cone." Ok, take a minute and recover from your excitement- I know I needed to when I saw it one the menu. The lady behind the counter had no information regarding the pretzel cone, so I really had no choice but to try it. You know, for research! Don't you agree that it's a completely BRILLIANT idea? Because of their saltiness, pretzels are the perfect food to pair with sweets! Here is some evidence:

Take 5 candy bars
Chubby Hubby ice cream
Chocolate covered pretzels

Need I say more? Well, even if I don't need to, I will. I can't believe I had never encountered a pretzel cone before! It really seems like pure genius to me and after tasting it, I think it's got real potential. I ordered the raspberry soft serve in a pretzel cone and the combination started out AMAZING. The salt on the outside of the cone was perfect with the ice cream- every lick was absolutely delicious- the perfect combination of salty and sweet. I was disappointed when I bit into the cone, though. The texture was really hard, but not in the crisp pretzel-like way I had anticipated. It was very difficult to bite into the cone and the flavor of the cone was nothing like a pretzel. I think that if someone really set their mind on making the perfect pretzel cone, they could possibly move on from there to world domination. I'd like to suggest chocolate dipped pretzel cones as an option as well for anyone who pursues this amazing invention. This area has cornered the market on perfect pretzels, so I'm sure there's someone around here who can make it happen. If you know anyone in the pretzel business, please have them contact me. This could be the next great development of our time.

OK, enough about the pretzel cone. All in all, the H.O.P gets 3 1/2 screams because their flavor choice was limited, and while the raspberry was rich and creamy, it didn't blow my mind. If they had a better pretzel cone and more flavor choices, they'd really up their rating in my book.

Strasburg Country Store & Creamery (SCS&C)

Shop Name: Strasburg Country Store & Creamery


Location: Main Street, Strasburg


Boo's Rating: 3 1/2 Screams





I found a coupon in my "Hospitality Days" Coupon Book for the Strasburg Country Store & Creamery. Too bad when I got there, I forgot to use it. Oh well. I guess that means I'll have to go back sometime soon! And I probably will. I googled the SCS&C and found out it's a bit of a tourist attraction. It's a cute little country store filled with your typical Amish-town souveniers, books about the Amish, quilted pot-holders, bonnets, etc. There is also a rather large selection of candy- everything from full-size bars to bulk candy, formerly known as "penny candy." The ice cream parlor has a selection of a little over a dozen ice cream flavors, with the option of adding "mix-ins" on their frozen stone. Trendy, right? You'd think so, but the shop itself is SO cute and homey! I totally fell in love the minute I walked in. It feels like you're stepping back in time with the iron tables & chairs, the bucket full of ice & bottles of sasparilla, the chalk board menu, and all sorts of chotchkes and decorations that take you back to another era. Even the staff behind the counter are wearing black and white striped oxford cloth shirts with white collars, black "Colonel Sanders" ties and black newsboy hats. I am not lying when I said I fell in love. I don't even care that it's all meant to manipulate the tourists into spending more money!

On to the ice cream. SCS&C also has the "cake" cone! I asked the girl behind the counter if it's a regional thing to call it a "cake" cone. She said she'd never heard that term before working at the SCS&C. I'll keep investigating that term. Maybe someday I'll get to the bottom of it. I sampled a flavor called "E.T. Special" on a cake cone (duh). It's vanilla ice scream with lots and lots of Reeses Pieces mixed in. I asked why it's called "E.T. Special." Once again, the salesperson was not much help, but then I seemed to recall something in the movie "E.T." and how E.T. loved Reeses Pieces candy. It all makes sense, right? Maybe the girl behind the counter is too young to remember that small detail from the movie. (SCS&C you just lost points for making me feel old.) The ice cream was rich and creamy and CHOCK FULL of peanut butter pieces. YUM! The overall experience earned the SCS&C a total of 3 1/2 screams. I'll definitely be back later in the summer, even if I don't have a coupon.

Bruster's Real Ice Cream

Shop Name: Bruster's Real Ice Cream

Location: Columbia Ave.

Boo's Rating: 4 Screams

Happy Father's Day, folks! My father lives 400 miles away, so I spent my day deliberating where to go for my next ice cream cone. The choices in Lancaster are getting rather limited. http://www.bigyellow.com/ told me there was an Edy's on Hempstead Rd. The interwebs lied. Either that, or I drove past it without seeing it. Instead, I ended up at Bruster's Real Ice Cream on Columbia Ave. It was such a perfect summer day- not too hot, but hot enough where an ice cream cone is the perfect refreshment.

I was really excited to see that they have a flavor called "Purple Dinosaur" listed. Where I'm from, we've got a flavor called "Purple Cow" that I haven't seen around here. It's basically black-raspberry ice cream with white chocolate chunks. Get it? Purple cow? So I thought Bruster's "Purple Dinosaur" was going to be something similar. I asked about the flavor at the window, and was sadly informed that "Purple Dinosaur" is nothing more than vanilla ice cream with a whole lot of purple food coloring. Gross. Not to mention really disappointing. There were a lot of other interesting flavors listed on the board including one I'd never seen- Chocolate Oreo. I had to have it. Who doesn't love Oreo ice cream, right? And CHOCOLATE Oreo? Delicious, right? Holla. I asked if they had plain cones and the girl at the window said they had sugar cones and "cake" cones. "What's a cake cone?" I asked. She brought one over the show me and lo and behold, a "cake" cone" is a flat-bottom plain cone! HALLELUJAH!!! Bruster's is the FIRST place on my ice cream quest to serve them! Whoo-hoo!!! I could barely contain my excitement. I ordered a single scoop of the chocolate oreo on a "cake" cone. The flavor was fabulous- nice and chocolate-y. And the texture was totally different from any other ice cream I've ever had. It was light and fluffy, almost like the texture of mousse. I usually like my ice cream really thick, but the light airiness of this was actually really nice. And it was CHOCK FULL of oreo cookie bits. The only complaint I have is that the "cake" cone was actually really stale. Maybe because they call it a "cake" cone, people don't know what that means and instead order a sugar cone, so the "cake" cones end up sitting around getting stale. I dunno. Either way, the stale cone and the food-coloring filled ice cream knocked Bruster's down a bit to a total of 4 screams, which is still a stellar rating.