I’ve been pondering the creation of an ice cream blog for a long time, and about six months ago I decided yes, I will do it, and it’s a question of when, not if, I begin it.
Well, the start of a new year seemed like as good a time as any, so here’s my first post!
So – why am I qualified to blog about ice cream? Well, let’s give a quick bit of history, in the form of some facts about me.
#1 -I’ve been obsessed with dessert ever since my parents introduced me to sugar at age 1. (Yes, they waited that long! Unfortunately the late introduction didn’t keep me from indulging.)
#2 – As a kid, I hated kid stuff. From age 6 on, I refused to eat from a children’s menu because they were for babies. And I would always, ALWAYS finish my (adult size) dessert. This trended has almost entirely continued into adulthood – even as I have become a very healthy eater (meat once a week or so, member of a CSA for five years, avoiding processed food, etc.), I have always maintained my love of dessert, with ice cream and frozen yogurt being an almost daily indulgence.
#3 I am obsessed with hand-crafted ice cream. I seek out the homemade stuff wherever I go, and in New Hampshire, where I’ve lived for most of my life, it’s pretty easy to come by, at least during the summer. I am the only person I know who has driven an hour just to get ice cream at her favorite place on many occasions (multiple times a summer). When I’ve lived near summer ice cream stands, or worked near summer ice cream stands, frozen yogurt for lunch was a once or twice weekly endeavor. (For example, see below – a lunch of honey Greek yogurt and some sort of blueberry swirl at Northland Dairy Bar in Berlin is about as good as it gets.)
#4 Ice cream stands are destinations to me, and I relish exploring new ones. Classic flavors are great, but I also really enjoy trying adventurous flavors that I may never find anywhere else.
#5 I think ice cream is the best dessert out there. Gelato is delightful. Frozen yogurt, good frozen yogurt, gets extra health points (probiotics! usually less fat!) and is therefore a staple of my diet. Also, it isn’t really a birthday party without ice cream cake.
#6 I believe that year-round ice cream parlors should be the norm, even in cold climates, and I therefore believe it is my obligation as a good citizen to patronize these institutions, even when the temperatures are below freezing.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you’ll subscribe and follow all my adventures as I visit the best ice cream places. Have ideas of where I should go? Don’t hesitate to reach out!
In Search of a Scoop 
I think an ice cream blog is a great idea. There are a couple places that I really love in NYC – Ample Hills and Odd Fellows because they have some really creative flavors. And of course being from Texas my favorite ice cream is Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Anisa! I will definitely have to check out Ample Hills and Odd Fellows the next time I am in NYC. I’ve only had Blue Bell once, a very long time ago, being a New Englander, but it has such a devoted following! I definitely am keeping an eye out for it as well when I travel. Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Where in TX Anisa? I’m from Fort Worth.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I grew up in Carrollton and went to college in Austin.
LikeLike
I am so with you on #6. I have not noticed an ice cream place around here aside from one rather rickety looking soft serve place. I’m gonna have to start scoping out my new little corner of the world for when you guys come visit.
LikeLike
Thanks in advance for your research. 🙂 It’s a worthy cause! Northern New Hampshire ice cream places seem to close at least for the worst of the winter (January – March) but there’s a cute place in Plymouth that serves Blake’s ice cream so we aren’t too far from it. 🙂 And the aforementioned Northland Dairy Bar is year-round, although it’s an hour away for us, unfortunately. I hope you have other ice cream options yet to be discovered. Have you tried the rickety looking place? Soft serve isn’t necessarily bad although the 40 flavors style of mixing a flavor into a base is definitely not my thing if that’s what they’re up to.
LikeLike
I admit I have been tempted by the rickety looking place (it was on the drive home from the farm), but never had the nerve. Maybe we can brave it together.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds like an adventure!
LikeLike
Bravo Kiddo! I too am a lover of ice cream from childhood. My grandmother and I had a bowl of ice cream pretty much nightly. My fave was cherry vanilla. It is hard to find these days. I did make one of my rare visits to the monstrous Walmart recently and yes, there it was. Intro’ed it to my granddaughter and she loves it.
In Concord I have three faves, all seasonal. Granite State Candy has a lovely Coconut ice cream. Ballards has Strawberry Cheesecake that’s yummy. My faves at Arnie’s are Chocolate Chili Chunk, Indian Pudding and I think one other, which like the Indian Pudding is only sold in the fall.
Good luck, and I look forward to your commentary.
– Mama T
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I haven’t visited Ballards so I’ll need to add that to my list. Chocolate Chili Chunk sounds amazing and I will have to look out for it… Cherry Vanilla is very tasty, I can see why that is your favorite! Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
In Boston: JP Licks and Christina’s!
LikeLike
I haven’t tried Christina’s yet, but I lucked into JP Lick’s on New Year’s Eve. Cookies and cream cake batter and gingersnap molasses. It was out of this world delicious, definitely one of my top ice cream places to date. Thank you!
LikeLike