Tag: ice cream travel

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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Roxy’s Ice Cream Social, Oklahoma City, OK

January 2, 2021Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , 1 Comment

Back in August, I had the pleasure of visiting Roxy’s with my husband. They clearly advertise their vegan options, but they also have a book to help those with other food restrictions (like me being gluten-free).

They have knowledgeable staff and they’re super nice. Here’s what I tried:

Photo by insearchofascoop.com

Brown Sugar Vanilla – This vegan flavor has a very strong coconut base, which pairs well with the brown sugar and is lovely. It’s great if you love coconut!

Chocolate – This is a light to medium chocolate, kind of like hot cocoa. It melts in your mouth, becoming softer in texture, and it’s very delicious. It’s great paired with the vanilla.

Donatello Sundae – Enjoy pecan ice cream, with almost a cakey texture. The toppings are good, but not gourmet. Next time, my husband would do just the ice cream.

I got a double and thought the portions were great. A single scoop sundae was a satisfying size.

Roxy’s offers excellent ice cream, consistent and with a creamy mouthfeel. Thanks for a great experience, Roxy!

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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Big Spoon Creamery, Birmingham, AL

December 12, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

When I read the reviews for this place, I knew it was worth a little risk and discomfort to visit. They offered curbside delivery for those who called ahead, but with a mask requirement, clear directions on where to go and strict capacity limitations, I felt very comfortable heading inside.

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Ritter’s, Clermont, FL

December 5, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , Leave a comment

I haven’t spent much time in Clermont, so while traversing the Orlando area, I was delighted to stumble upon Ritter’s. They make their frozen custard fresh daily, and it’s all super creamy, a soft serve consistency. They have franchise locations across the midwest, with several additional locations in places like Florida.

On a particular day you might find eight or so flavors here. They’re willing to combine two flavors in one scoop, which I always love, and it’s very affordable at less than $8 for two, one scoop dishes.

They also have some hot food here, including Nathan’s hot dogs and the like, so if you need some “real” food before your ice cream, you have options.

Here’s what I tried:

Cinnamon – This tastes like it has red hots in it! It’s got a super creamy base and a nice kick.

Vanilla – This is a pretty mild flavor, nice and creamy, but in my opinion it could be a stronger flavor. Too subtle for my taste.

Chocolate – This is a medium, deep cocoa flavor. It’s super creamy, and really nice.

Butter Pecan – I didn’t think this flavor was strong enough to be worth eating, unfortunately.

Turtle – Okay, the name was actually turtle something or other and I didn’t take good notes on it. This was kind of subtle, with nuts and chocolate chips in the mix.

I enjoyed my visit to Ritter’s I always enjoy frozen custard, and it isn’t easy to come by in Florida. Likewise, just finding great ice cream can be a challenge in much of Florida, so Ritter’s is a good option if you don’t have a local ice cream place you love.

And if you liked reading about Ritter’s, you might want to check out my review of Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream or my Tampa ice cream adventure. (Or just flip back as my most recent blogs have been Florida-based.)

Thanks for reading, and happy eating! (And if you are in the market for some holiday tunes, my husband just dropped a new acoustic ukulele album!)

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.

Wondermade in Sanford, FL

November 14, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Wondermade in downtown Sanford, Florida is a super sweet spot with lovely and enthusiastic owners. In addition to homemade ice cream, they sell lots of nice chocolate bars, honeys and a wide selection of homemade marshmallows (including delightful alcoholic flavors like Fireball!) to enjoy in various ways or to take home. I would love to try a “krispwich” aka a sandwich of rice krispie treats and ice cream, someday.

If you need a drink, they’ve got hot and iced chocolate as well as iced honey milk to enjoy, and you can order their marshmallows and hot chocolates for delivery around most of the U.S. There’s even a “mallow of the month” club!

During our visit, they were experimenting with waffles for in-store enjoyment. I couldn’t try them myself being gluten-free, but my husband absolutely raved about them, and we always love free samples of course.

Here’s what I tried:

Nutella – This was very good! It’s a creamy, lighter flavor for fans of Nutella (like me).

Avocado – It’s so fluffy and not too sweet – honestly, a pretty awesome rendition!

Churro – I can’t believe this is gluten-free! It’s a cinnamon sugar ice cream. It’s super satisfying, like the cinnamon sugar on a churro or maybe a cinnamon bun. I got one amazing huge bite full of cinnamon sugar too.

Salted Caramel – This is light, with a whipped texture almost reminiscent of marshmallow (honestly, that texture holds true for many of their flavors). It’s unique, and very good, though it won’t make my top five.

Cornbread – My husband tried this and found it to be excellent! It’s sweet and smooth, with lots of chunks of cornbread.

All of the flavors have a whipped and fluffy base – all of them! Interestingly, it’s NOT always super creamy, but the consistency is there within each flavor, and it’s really unique and fun.

There are also lots of vegan and non-dairy flavors to try here for the future.

I loved the whipped and fluffy base – it reminded me of the delightful ice cream place that has unfortunately closed in downtown Roswell. All of the ice cream was very good and consistent, with cornbread and churro truly knocking it out of the park.

We also took home Fireball marshmallows and would highly recommend their marshmallows if you’re considering an order. They’d make amazing stocking stuffers or less expensive gifts for someone who is harder to buy for. And that mallow of the month club sounds pretty sweet too, no pun intended.

They’re willing to cram multiple flavors into any size, which my dedicated readers know is a major selling point for me. They have good portions, and it came to $10.36 for a small and medium, which felt pretty reasonable to us.

If it wasn’t for COVID-19, we would have returned several more times to Wondermade. Sanford is a delightful community and worth a visit for lunch or a stop by the water, and there are wonderful coffee shops nearby too including this non-profit dedicated to ending human trafficking.

Photos of Wondermade in Sanford, FL, a wonderful ice cream and marshmallow cafe. Photos by Jamie Feinberg.

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!
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  • Listen to, subscribe and review my theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
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Jeni’s, Atlanta, GA and Online

October 24, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I’ve reviewed Jeni’s before (head here for my review from a few years back in Charleston), but I thought they could use another one. I was thrilled to bring a friend and her friends to Jeni’s when I was in Atlanta at the beginning of this year. (That was the last time I flew on a plane…those were the days!)

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Kilwins, Celebration, FL

October 18, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I’ve been meaning to visit Kilwins for years, but this was my first visit to the national chain. To be perfectly honest, I’d resisted visiting this location in the past because every time I went, the store was astonishingly crowded and felt overwhelming.

But last fall I found myself in the right mindset, so I made it inside. I limited myself to one flavor only because the crowds were quite extreme (and there were some really rude people too). They specialize in candy and fudge (made on site) and I wouldn’t be surprised if the ice cream itself is made elsewhere.

Here’s what I tried:

Cappucchino Chocolate Chip – It’s very creamy. Surprisingly, I found it a lot less sweet than I anticipated, but the chocolate pieces are excellent, melt in your mouth and plenty sweet, like a semi-sweet chocolate. It’s the kind of cappucchino or coffee flavor that I really enjoy, though a bit sweeter and a bit more of a coffee punch would have been great.

I got one scoop, which is quite pricey at $5.36. The portion is very plentiful, but it still feels overpriced.

The flavors on the board here are quite traditional, with perhaps 6 more unusual ones in the mix, and they all are in the sweeter realm.

Photo courtesy of Kilwins.com

This location is gorgeous – downtown Celebration is fabulous, with tons of water to walk around or sit and look out on, and they have several tables and chairs outside to sit at and benches nearby.

Overall I’d say if you need some ice cream while you’re in Celebration, go for it, particularly if you can tolerate crowds and aren’t on a budget.

Thanks, Kilwins!

I’ve got one more hot tip for you too – Wonderland Cookie Dough is also in downtown Celebration. They’ve got a sampler and a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie dough, and I highly recommend a visit if the idea of edible cookie dough is intriguing.

Have you tried Kilwins? Where, and what did you think?

Thanks for reading, and happy eating!

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.

Golden Cow Creamery, Charlotte, NC

October 10, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

While passing through Charlotte (on the way from visiting a cousin to return to visiting my sister-in-law and her husband), it was essential to escape the rush hour traffic, so we took a break to check out Golden Cow Creamery. I’m so glad we did!

They were extremely patient with me as I tried different flavors. I was pleased to see they don’t use anything artificial in their ice cream – ice cream isn’t health food, but we all can use less chemicals and artificial flavors in our lives.

They bill themselves as Charlotte’s best homemade ice cream, and though I can’t say that for certain, it’s certainly worth a stop to find out for yourself.

Here’s what I tried:

Mint Chocolate – This had excellent chocolate chips, but the mint unfortunately was fairly medicinal to me, like toothpaste. (Regular readers know I’m more picky about this flavor than any other.)

Toasted Coconut – Yum! This is super creamy and light, except for the toasted coconut bits. This is a really excellent ice cream if you like coconut (like I do). It would also cut well with other flavors.

Chocolate – This is super creamy and tasty, reminding me of hot chocolate, with almost a grainy quality to it. This is in my top five for a lighter chocolate ice cream. Wow! Delicious, like a high-quality fudgsicle.

Pumpkin Spice – This is a super pumpkin base, tasting very much like the real thing, with spices – like pumpkin pie filling. It so tasty, one of the best and most natural I’ve had. It isn’t too sweet, and it’s very smooth. To be honest, it isn’t my favorite spice combination, but it’s really interesting, and I enjoyed it more with each bite. It paired well with Mexican hot chocolate.

Mexican Hot Chocolate – Fun, with a coconut cream base.

Dunkaroos – This is almost like a more vanilla flavor of birthday cake, with sprinkles and Dunkaroos and a sweet frosting-flavored base. So yummy! My husband got it and said it’s “Saturday morning ice cream”.

What great ice cream! Overall Golden Cow Creamery’s ice cream is excellent, with smooth and consistent bases. It’s quite small, so it makes sense that they’re currently offering takeout and outdoor seating only.

The prices here are reasonable, and you can do two flavors in either a single or a double. I went with a good size flight of four flavors for $6.50.

Photos from Golden Cow Creamery’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.
  • 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.