Category: Gelato

How To Choose An Ice Cream Stop

February 21, 2021Destination Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Gelato, Ice Cream, Round Up, Roundup, travel, , , , , , Leave a comment

You know the saying about giving someone a fish versus teaching them to fish? I’m going to teach you how to choose an awesome ice cream stop, since unfortunately I can’t review every single ice cream place out there. (At least, it won’t be complete for a VERY long time. But I’ll try!)

Here are my top tips for choosing an ice cream stop.

  1. Look For Excuses For Ice Cream

Going on a vacation? Get some ice cream while you’re there! Meeting up with a friend? Go early or stay late and add ice cream into the mix.

Work sending you somewhere? Ice cream takes maybe an extra half hour – add it in!

Basically, every road trip/travel trip is an excuse for ice cream in my book.

2. Identify Potential Locations

Once I know the area I’m heading to, I narrow down the list of towns/cities/neighborhoods I can get ice cream in. If I’m driving, I might be able to stop halfway to my final destination. If I’m taking public transportation or someone else is driving, I may be limited to one city OR I may be limited by where I can walk or get public transportation to take me to.

Narrow down the parameters so you know exactly what you’ve got to work with.

3. Google is your friend!

My favorite way to identify potential homemade ice cream places begins with a Google search. I’ll search for ice cream in each of the towns or cities on my list. Keep in mind that some of your results may be in another town. I’ll look for keywords like “homemade” or “gourmet”, highly-rated places, and names that I don’t recognize (to avoid chains).

Using this method, I’ll identify the top contenders.

4. Cross-check Google

For any spots with their own website, I will visit the website and look for an indication that they’re making their own ice cream. (They will almost ALWAYS tell you if they do.) If I can’t find a website for them, I’ll look them up on Facebook. If they’re making their own ice cream, they will almost definitely have posts talking about the new flavors they’ve created, which is a definite giveaway of house-made deliciousness.

If I can’t find it indicated elsewhere, I will read reviews to see if they mention it being homemade (never 100% reliable, but it can help), and I’ll make sure they get at least reasonably good reviews.

5. Make Your Final Decision And Go

With all this info in hand, I’ll make my final choices, in part informed by proximity, flavors that interest me, reviews, cost, and anything else I’ve gathered.

I hope this helps you plan your next ice cream getaway. Stay safe, take care, and happy eating!

P.S. Do you have your own tips? Please comment and share them below!!!

Supporting This Blog

I am truly grateful for your support of my blog! You can help keep the content coming regularly by doing any or all of the following:

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Ceo’s Gelato Bistro, Portsmouth, NH

September 13, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Gelato, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

My generous friend Tom, after getting ice cream with me, agreed to also stop for gelato with me while we were in Portsmouth. Ceo’s Gelato Bistro was friendly and fun. This homemade place hadn’t come across my radar before, and I was very glad I stopped. Prices were $5.96 for a large (8 ounces) or $5.27 for 6 ounces, plus tax, and they were willing to cram 4 flavors into one dish for me!

They’re currently offering contactless curbside delivery, with extra offerings like party packs and some other fun local products too.

Here’s what I tried:

Avocado Chocolate Chip – This is a bright and super creamy avocado base. Really nice!

Apple Cider Sorbet – This is like a smoother take on applesauce. It’s tasty, mild and reminds me of fall.

Honey Grapefruit – This has a nice natural sweetness, and the creamy pairing is neat with grapefruit. This is really fun and not too tart.

White Chocolate with Fig – Yum! This is a very smooth and creamy, not too heavy, white chocolate base. The touches of fig in it are lovely, and it has a nice and natural sweetness to it.

Ceo’s was definitely a hit. It’s a really fun place if you’d like to try some unique flavors, especially because they’ll let you sample a lot of them. And curbside pickup makes it even easier.

Thanks, Ceo’s!

Photo from Ceo’s website

Supporting This Blog

I am truly grateful for your support of my blog! You can help keep the content coming regularly by doing any or all of the following:

  • Become a patron of my work!
  • Make purchases via my Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
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  • Listen to, subscribe and review my theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
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  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from me and my husband, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com.

Pretty Sweet Emporium, Silver City, NM

July 13, 2019Destination Ice Cream, Gelato, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

When I last visited Silver City, the only homemade ice cream of note was Vicky’s. Delicious as it was, they keep short hours, are a sit-down place and have limited options. So I was psyched when I stumbled on some ice cream in an antiques store. Pretty Sweet Emporium, Silver City, NM | In Search of a ScoopPretty Sweet Emporium, Silver City, NM | In Search of a Scoop

This visit, I didn’t know if they’d still be in business. I was delighted to see them not just surviving, but thriving, in their downtown location!

Pretty Sweet Emporium is fancy, with small and pricey portions but clearly very high quality, homemade ice cream. They mention that their super premium ice cream uses no eggs and has less sugar than you might expect. Pretty Sweet Emporium, Silver City, NM | In Search of a Scoop

Taking the kids or just craving a big cheap sundae? They’ve got some more basic flavors too, at a price point your budget can more easily handle, if you can give up the homemade, higher quality.

Here’s what I tried:

Ghirardelli Chocolate Fudge Swirl – This is a pretty intense flavor! It’s not too sweet, and super creamy. I found it very smooth and almost fudge-like.

Dulce de Leche – This is their most popular – it’s a super forward caramel. I enjoyed this flavor – it isn’t my favorite, but it’s so unique!

Coconut Fudge – This is made of coconut cream, shreds and such. It’s very good if you love coconut!

Lemon Crepe Blueberry Ribbon – Wow. This was incredibly creamy – the creaminess reminds me of a cheesecake! The lemon and blueberry combo is fabulous – the lemon is especially prominent here. I highly recommend this! Pretty Sweet Emporium, Silver City, NM | In Search of a Scoop

They slow churn their ice cream like a gelato, which is really nice. Next time, I definitely want to try the raw Texas honey vanilla and the boysenberry.

Their other offerings include coffee house items, shakes and a chocolate float!

They gave me a single bowl with an extra scoop to get two flavors as small as I could. It came to $6.43 with tax. It was very rich and satisfying.

I’m delighted to see the direction these folks are going in. Be sure to stop in and give them a try when you’re in Silver City!

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Supporting My Blog

I am truly grateful for your support of my blog! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Become a patron of my work!
  • Make purchases via my Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using my affiliate links. Signing up with Dosh or Capital One 360 is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support me, and I also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money. This link will take you to my other travel page with my husband – we’ll have one here soon!
  • Listen to, subscribe and review my theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to this as well as my other travel blog, RossAndJamieAdventure, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from me and my husband, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com.

Gufo du Milano, El Paso, TX

May 18, 2019Destination Ice Cream, Gelato, travel, , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Gufo di Milano gets the best reviews for ice cream or gelato in El Paso, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a sweet cafe worth a visit, offering coffee, sandwiches and occasional live music in addition to the gelato. They also host an open mic once a month, which we appreciate! Gufo di Milano, El Paso, TX | In Search of a Scoop

The staff was super-friendly and very patient with me. The sign stated we could try two samples each, but I was allowed the three I requested. Their signage shows a commitment to fresh and natural and to community, and it showed. Gufo di Milano, El Paso, TX | In Search of a Scoop

My first thought as the scooping began was that the gelato had a harder texture than I would have anticipated. But don’t you worry.

Here’s what I tried: Gufo di Milano, El Paso, TX | In Search of a Scoop

Pistachio Bronte – If the name sounds unusual, it refers to a specific kind of pistachio. This is some truly serious dark pistachio flavor. I found it very smooth, rich and pretty creamy too. I enjoyed the little chunks of pistachio. I could eat this all day! Yum.

Coffee – This coffee packs some serious heft. I really loved it. It’s for coffee lovers only. I found it a little deeper than Brigham’s, the coffee ice cream I hold as the standard from my childhood. This definitely makes my top 5, and maybe even my top 3, for coffee!

Lemon Cucumber Tajin – Wow. This is spicy, bright, and all the mentioned flavors come through clearly. It’s amazing and complicated and lovely. If I had to be picky, I’d mention that it’s slightly less creamy than the others I tried. This is a perfect summer flavor.

For the record, the pistachio and coffee are a fabulous pairing. Pricing here is reasonable for gelato, starting at $4.19 and going up to $5.99 for a large, which I did with three scoops.

This place offers really great gelato! Also, it appears that ALL of their gelato is gluten-free, which is awesome to see. I had a fantastic visit here and look forward to returning again soon!

Gufo di Milano, El Paso, TX | In Search of a Scoop

_____________________________

Supporting My Blog

I am truly grateful for your support of my blog! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Become a patron of my work!
  • Make purchases via my Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using my affiliate links. Signing up with Dosh or Capital One 360 is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support me, and I also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money. This link will take you to my other travel page with my husband – we’ll have one here soon!
  • Listen to, subscribe and review my theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to this as well as my other travel blog, RossAndJamieAdventure, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from me and my husband, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com.

Sacred Grounds, Ruidoso, New Mexico

April 5, 2019Gelato, travel, , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Sacred Grounds has some pretty delicious gelato and sorbet. Located in Ruidoso, a really cute tourist town in the mountains, it’s a large, beautiful cafe. Unfortunately, I almost left without trying their gelato! Here’s the full scoop on why. 

When I arrived at Sacred Grounds, it was a very busy place. I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to try much, and I was okay with that. But what I didn’t expect was to be dealing with a pretty clueless staff member behind the counter. 

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Best Gifts For Ice Cream Lovers

February 23, 2019Destination Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Gelato, Ice Cream, Round Up, travel, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Everyone loves ice cream, but packaging it up for a birthday or anniversary may give you more of a mess than a thank you. And my brother’s solution, which was to Venmo me $50 and say go eat some ice cream, is absolutely amazing but also not the most visceral kind of gift-giving. So if you need some ideas on gifts for the ice cream lover in your life, this should get you started!

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Ecco in Santa Fe

February 2, 2019Gelato, travel, , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

On a recent visit to Santa Fe, I stopped into Ecco Espresso and Gelato. They pride themselves on bringing fresh, natural and authentic gelato to Santa Fe.Ecco Espresso and Gelato, Santa Fe, NM | In Search of a Scoop

They have a beautiful downtown location with plenty of seating and art on the walls. I found their staff friendly and almost all of their flavors were gluten-free, so I tried several and really enjoyed them. A Kids or small size is under $4, and they let me get a couple of flavors, so the prices weren’t too bad for gelato in a city. Here’s what I got:Ecco Espresso and Gelato, Santa Fe, NM | In Search of a Scoop

I adore the presentation of gelato!

Earl Grey Tea – I sure love this flavor in ice cream and gelato! The tea flavor was very forward here, just lovely. Obviously it was a lighter intensity than ice cream but this was excellent.

Nutella – This reminded me, a bit, of a chocolate shake crossed with Nutella. It was very satisfying, although it was subtler than some similar gelato I’ve had.

Pistachio – This is probably the most pistachio ice cream type thing I’ve had, ever. It’s just full of pistachio flavor with just a touch of cream and super good! Possibly a best, and definitely in my current pistachio top 3!Ecco Espresso and Gelato, Santa Fe, NM | In Search of a Scoop

Strawberry Habanero – Step one here is the creamy strawberry. After that’s about past, you get the big spicy kick of the habanero. This is a really satisfying dual flavor.

Panna – This is Italian sweet cream. It’s very subtle, like a sweet cream or milk flavor. I didn’t find it super memorable.

It looked like they carried several vegan flavors. Overall everything here was super smooth and pretty perfect for gelato. It was about as creamy as gelato can be!

I really enjoyed my visit to Ecco and will definitely go back when I’m in the mood for gelato. Thanks!

Ecco Espresso and Gelato, Santa Fe, NM | In Search of a Scoop

If you enjoyed this, you might enjoy reading about a stop at my other favorite place for Earl Grey Tea!

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Supporting My Blog

I am truly grateful for your support of my blog! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Become a patron of my work!
  • Make purchases via my Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using my affiliate links. Signing up with Dosh is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support me, and I also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money. This link will take you to my other travel page with my husband – we’ll have one here soon!
  • Listen to, subscribe and review my theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to this as well as my other travel blog, RossAndJamieAdventure, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from me and my husband, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com.

Finding The Big Dipper

September 29, 2018Destination Ice Cream, Gelato, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

During a recent visit to Cheyenne, Wyoming, I got a craving for ice cream. Although there wasn’t any homemade ice cream there, it told me I could visit Big Dipper Ice Cream in Laramie for my fix. So the next week, I did just that.

Big Dipper is in a college town, and that seemed to show itself in the staff and students. The shop is adorable, with stools by the windows and some comfy seats for lounging, and the staff, while not forthcoming on their own, were friendly when I asked questions.

A sign told me I had to limit myself to trying only three flavors. Though that is always a bummer to see, three is more than two and certainly more than none, which I sometimes see in tourist towns, so I set out to choosing flavors.p.s. Thanks for supporting my blog by doing your usual online shopping via my Amazon affiliate link!

The staff told me I could get two flavors in one scoop, so that helped me with my decision.

Here’s what I went with:

p.s. Thanks for supporting my blog by doing your usual online shopping via my Amazon affiliate link!Chocolate – The chocolate ice cream here is very rich and dark. It’s full of flavor and very satisfying.

Watermelon Sorbet – This was fun, if you like sorbet, but it wasn’t anything special. It has the icier quality typical of sorbets.

Wyoming Black Bear – This is a pretty rich raspberry base with decent chocolate bits, and it’s very satisfying. The chocolate chunks weren’t the best, but they were okay, and Ross enjoyed the base a lot.

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow – This is a simple, refreshing and fairly creamy base, probably vanilla. The chocolate covered marshmallow mix-ins were very fun.

Grapefruit – This was the surprise win of the night! It’s super grapefruit-y, perfect if you love grapefruit like me. It’s so creamy! I interrogated the staff about how it could be so creamy if it’s sorbet, but they said it must be the stirring process. This is wildly awesome and blows the average sorbet out of the water. Smooth and delicious.

Despite the signage for gelato, they didn’t have any gelato in stock while I was there. The ice cream felt a little pricey, but the portions made it fairly reasonable.

I am so glad I got to visit Big Dipper. They have very tasty ice cream, even if it didn’t stop me in my tracks, and I love their downtown location. Plus, the grapefruit sorbet may be the best sorbet I have ever had!

Thanks, Big Dipper. If you’d like to read about my adventures getting ice cream in nearby Fort Collins, I wrote about gelato here and ice cream from Walrus and Emporium.

p.s. Thanks for supporting my blog by doing your usual online shopping via my Amazon affiliate link!

Big Dipper, Laramie, WY | In Search of a Scoop