Category: Round Up

The Top Five Ice Cream Spots in the U.S.

April 17, 2021Destination Ice Cream, Drinking Chocolate, Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, Round Up, Roundup, travel, , , , , Leave a comment

I recently shared a guest blog with The Virtual Campground about the top five ice cream spots across the U.S. Collaborating with other people is a great way to spread the word about your work or passion, and it was my response to one of their weekly posts that led them to ask me to blog.

Check it out if you’d like some ice cream spots for your bucket list, and leave a comment with your favorite place in the U.S. for ice cream, or if you’re not in the U.S., which place would you want to check out first?

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.
  • 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.
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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:

  • 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.

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!

Read more

Ice Cream in Estes Park – Part 2

October 13, 2018Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Round Up, Roundup, travel, , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Munchin House was my second stop in Estes Park, and it’s a narrow but fun sweet shop whether you’re craving ice cream or other treats. (If you missed it, be sure to read last week’s blog for Part 1 of Estes Park ice cream.)

The narrowness of the store, like some others nearby, makes the forming of a line challenging, but customers were very nice so I wasn’t bothered by it. Munchin House, Estes Park, CO | In Search of a Scoop

Prices were reasonable at $3.89 for a scoop, and the staff was friendly and helpful, agreeing that I could get two flavors in one scoop. They also didn’t rush me as I tried several flavors, despite the long line behind me.

Here’s what I tried:Munchin House, Estes Park, CO | In Search of a Scoop

Slam Dunk – This is a red raspberry base with fudge and chocolate chips. It’s very busy, with fun chocolate chunks, but it felt kind of cheap and wasn’t my fave.

Mint Chocolate Chip – Yum! These were very tasty chips. They’re dark and have a touch of bitter. I enjoyed the pretty classic mint flavor here. It’s very smooth and consistent.

Chocolate – I was surprised that this is a pretty light chocolate flavor . I found it similar to a typical chocolate soft serve in flavor. This was creamy and smooth. It’s not a heavy flavor. It’s almost like a really mild, milky coffee. In terms of texture, this was slightly more of a fudge-like texture than the mint chip, which was a little smoother and creamier.Munchin House, Estes Park, CO | In Search of a Scoop

I definitely enjoyed my ice cream here. Of the flavors I tried, the mint chocolate chip was the most traditional, but I enjoyed the chocolate as well.

I can’t believe all of the great homemade ice cream options available in Estes Park! I look forward to returning and trying more of them in the future. Wherever you go, have a scoop for me!

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

In Praise of a Store Brand

August 25, 2018Destination Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, Round Up, Roundup, travel, , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Just a quick note, today. I love finding homemade ice cream in my travels. Going out for ice cream is literally one of my favorite things. But my budget and my waistline don’t allow me to go out every day. And much as I may try to convince myself to make other choices, I just love having ice cream every night, so I usually do.

I have a lot of favorite ice cream brands, including Tillamook, Gifford’s and Breyer’s. But I’ve really been enjoying trying store brands! It’s an easy way to save money, and often it’s really good too!

At Walmart, of all places, we discovered the tastiness of the cheekily named Hashtag Chocolate. And at King Soopers/Kroger’s, we’ve found that while their peppermint and mint ice creams aren’t worth the time of day, their chocolate-based ice creams, of all sorts, have really knocked it out of the park. Be sure to try French Silk – it’s outrageously indulgent. On the East Coast, we’ve always enjoyed Hannaford ice cream and frozen yogurt.

I’d love some insight into which companies make store brands for the respective stores. I’m quite curious, and I wonder if it varies by flavor.

Also, pro tip: if you’re prone to eating too much ice cream, get some adorable tiny ice cream bowls. That way you can stuff them to the brim and feel indulgent.

Do you ever get store brand ice cream? And do you have any favorites to share?

Five Places For Amazing Chocolate Ice Cream

July 28, 2018Destination Ice Cream, Gelato, Ice Cream, Round Up, Roundup, travel, , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Gelato Fiasco, Brunswick, ME | In Search of a Scoop

I love unique ice cream flavors, as you may know, but when it comes to classic ice cream flavors, chocolate is hard to beat. I will often try chocolate ice cream at a new place and use it as my quality reference: if they can’t do chocolate, they probably can’t do anything else either.

Here are some of my favorite places for delicious chocolate ice cream!

Pumphouse Creamery, Minneapolis, MN

If you’re looking for a great cup or pint in Minneapolis, you should run, not walk, to Pumphouse Creamery. Not only is this stuff the creamiest and most flavorful around, but it’s actually their dairy-free, coconut milk-based chocolate ice cream that completely blew my mind! Super smooth, kind of a Dutch chocolate, and you’d never know this was dairy-free. While you’re there, eat every other flavor you can get your hands on, especially their cinnamon trio.

Pumphouse Creamery, Minneapolis, MN | In Search of a Scoop

Pumphouse Creamery, Minneapolis, MN

Jeni’s, Charleston, SC

You can of course visit Jeni’s in a variety of locations across the country. And you should. But I can personally attest that the Darkest Chocolate flavor at Jeni’s is rich and well worth a scoop. Their other chocolate options were tasty, but this one is truly memorable.

Emack & Bolio’s, Albany, NY

Emack also has other locations across the country (and the world) but it was in their Albany location that their Chocolate Moose ice cream blew my mind. I highly recommend this, their Pumpkin, and everything else you can fit in the bowl.

Gelato Fiasco, Brunswick, ME

Okay, it isn’t technically ice cream, but their Dark Chocolate Sea Salt is one of the best chocolates I’ve tasted. They also have several other locations, including a new one in Florida. This is dark, rich and the sea salt makes it pop. Honorable mention goes to Gelato & aMore in Fort Collins, CO for their own chocolate gelato.

Gelato Fiasco, Brunswick, ME | In Search of a Scoop

So many flavors from Gelato Fiasco in Brunswick, ME, including their Dark Chocolate Sea Salt.

L’Artisan des Glaces, Epcot (France Pavilion), Kissimmee, FL

This chocolate is perfect and perfectly delightful, especially when you pair it with their (best I’ve ever had) mint chocolate ice cream. Only catch? If you include the cost of admission into Epcot, it’s the most expensive one on this list. But if you’re visiting Disney World, do yourself a favor and go here. Honorable mention goes to Ample Hills (which has a location on the Boardwalk and therefore doesn’t require park admission) for their Dark Chocolate flavor.

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

A Boulder Brief

June 9, 2018Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Round Up, Roundup, travel, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Well, it’s been a very, very busy week for ice cream here in Colorado. To celebrate our wedding anniversary, my husband and I spent a night in Boulder. Being our silly selves, I did some research and found three homemade ice cream places worth a scoop, so in about twenty seven hours, we managed to visit three parlors – plus a bakery for a gluten-free cupcake!

I will have my full report on each place in the coming weeks. Suffice to say that I’m full and Boulder is a great place for ice cream!

Ice cream in Boulder, CO | Ross and Jamie AdventureIce cream in Boulder, CO | Ross and Jamie AdventureIce cream in Boulder, CO | Ross and Jamie AdventureIce cream in Boulder, CO | Ross and Jamie AdventureIce cream in Boulder, CO | Ross and Jamie Adventure

p.s. Thanks for doing your usual Amazon shopping using my affiliate link!

Erin McKenna’s Bakery, Orlando

May 26, 2018Frozen Yogurt, Round Up, travel, , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

This week, I’m mostly straying from the pattern by covering Erin McKenna’s Bakery in Orlando, Florida! This is absolutely the place to go for people with food allergies and sensitivities and if Mark Bittman says they have the best donuts in the world, who am I to argue?

Erin McKenna’s can also be found in N.Y.C. and L.A., and it prides itself on being gluten-free, nut-free (besides coconut), dairy-free, soy-free and egg-free. It’s all vegan and it’s all delicious!

Eliza’s Bakery, Orlando, FL | In Search of a Scoop

Honestly, the soft serve is my least favorite of their offerings. When I bought this, it cost $7 for a large, though it did come with toppings – I got caramel and brownie. The toppings make it really fun, but as someone who can tolerate dairy, coconut milk soft serve just tastes like a decent soft serve yogurt.

Eliza’s Bakery, Orlando, FL | In Search of a ScoopEliza’s Bakery, Orlando, FL | In Search of a Scoop

The bakery, which is located at Disney Springs, the shopping destination at Disney World, is tiny, with only two small tables outside and none inside. But there’s beautiful outdoor seating on the water just a few feet away, and trust me – it’s all about the food here.

Be warned that these doughnuts don’t keep well; your best bet is to eat them quickly or refrigerate them.

They also offer cookies, cupcakes and cupcake tops, teabreads and much more.

Eliza’s Bakery, Orlando, FL | In Search of a Scoop

Oh. And they also have bagels! My only wish is that they’d carry smoked salmon or smoked salmon cream cheese. The bagels and the fake cream cheese are delightful!

So if I didn’t make it clear, the next time you’re at Disney World, you should visit Eliza’s. And if you have food allergies, this is your new favorite place. You’re welcome!

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