Donuts on a Stick, Duck, NC

June 16, 2018Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, traveldonut sundae, donuts on a stick, duck, duck nc, gluten-free donuts, in search of a scoop, North Carolina, outer Banksjamiefeinberg Leave a comment

Donuts On A Stick was not the first donut place on the Outer Banks; the most well-known would be Duck Donuts, with several locations of their made-on-the-spot donuts and coffee. But being gluten-free, I got very excited when I read an ad for Donuts on a Stick and it mentioned gluten-free donuts. So we had to make a trip.

Donuts on a Stick Entrance, Duck, NC | In Search of a Scoop

When we arrived, we learned that we would have been better off calling in our order a day prior, to request a gluten-free donut. Lucky for me, they had one left. They also make homemade chocolate chip and french vanilla ice cream (plus soft serve), and they carry some standard premium flavors that they don’t make themselves.

We both ordered a single size homemade chocolate chip ice cream. We found it milky, with a light base, and with delicious, not too sweet mini chocolate chips. It was a hard texture, but it melted easily in the mouth. We enjoyed it a lot and appreciated the effort at homemade ice cream. (Was it our favorite ice cream on the Outer Banks? No. But it’s well-worth it if you’re in Duck!) Chocolate Chip ice cream, Duck, NC | In Search of a Scoop

Of course, we wouldn’t want to visit without a donut!

Donuts on a Stick Entrance, Duck, NC | In Search of a Scoop I got a gluten-free donut with fudge and bacon for toppings. The gluten-free donuts are made daily. It was an excellent cinnamon-y, cakey donut with delicious fudge and warmed up, super tasty, if average quality, bacon. They add the toppings of your choice on the spot and it was so delicious. Two donuts, Donuts on a Stick, Duck, NC | In Search of a Scoop

Ross went with two (they’re smaller) chocolate peanut butter donuts, and he found the base, which is made on the spot when you order, similarly cakey and excellent. Ross’ donut was the donut to beat, according to him. It came right out of the fryer. The outside got crispy when it was fried. Just awesome. He found the peanut butter excellent, although the chocolate was “fine”. He thought two donuts was the perfect size. It’s easy to eat these with the provided fork, but they’re too messy to eat on a stick.

(If you’re wondering, we later visited their competitor, who doesn’t carry a gluten-free option. Ross enjoyed their donuts a lot, as well as their coffee. But they couldn’t beat Donuts on a Stick.)

We love the homemade ice cream option here, and the donuts are out of this world. It’s an affordable treat, with $12.60 total for two ice cream and two don’t orders. The donuts are very filling, and the warm toppings are delicious.

If you were wondering, the next time we returned here, I got a donut sundae and Ross got a donut ice cream sandwich. Donut sundae, Donuts on a Stick, Duck, NC | In Search of a Scoop

I went with a Cinnamon Roll donut, with vanilla glaze, cinnamon and sugar as part of my sundae. Ross went for a Pancake donut, with syrup, butter and light powdered sugar.

Donuts on a Stick is probably our absolute favorite place to eat on the Outer Banks. It is highly recommended as a stop during your vacation.

Enjoy, and call ahead if you’re gluten-free or vegan! Head here to learn more about our favorite spot on the Outer Banks for soft serve (it’s custard and it’s amazing). And to read about our favorite place for hard ice cream and ice cream cakes on the Outer Banks, head here.

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

Frozen Custard on the Outer Banks

August 15, 2017Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travelbest frozen custard, buxton, destination, frozen custard, ice cream, in search of a scoop, insearchofascoop, mini golf, outer Banks, travel, uncle eddy'sjamiefeinberg Leave a comment

Uncle Eddy’s Frozen Custard and Mini-golf isn’t glamorous. In fact, from the outside, you could reasonably presume it’s a small-town mini-golf place, perhaps with some cheap chain’s ice cream on offer for after your game.

But in reality, this place is an absolute must stop in Buxton, NC. You’ll find six flavors of tasty hard frozen custard (next to some flavors they don’t make themselves) with memorable names like Elvis and Spongebob. You’ll also find two delicious flavors of fruity sorbet. But the reason that Uncle Eddy’s is a must for anyone visiting the Outer Banks is their soft serve custard in chocolate, vanilla and twist.

I’ve had excellent soft serve, but it’s kind of an ephemeral thing. Most places serving soft serve in NH, where I am from, are more focused on it being healthy or low/no fat than it tasting delightfully indulgent. Custard is delightfully rich and creamy, and this stuff is the real deal. I know I should broaden my custard horizons, but to date, this stuff stands as the best I’ve had.

If you’re a Dairy Queen fan, you probably love a Blizzard. I used to as well, but they’re really overpriced and the ice cream isn’t exciting. For a nearly comparable price, have a “Hurricane Eddy” with the outrageously smooth and creamy custard you’ll find here. You can get chocolate, vanilla or a twist (my favorite) with two mix-ins. I have enjoyed chocolate syrup and banana, strawberries and chocolate syrup, peppermint patties and chocolate syrup and my absolute favorite, peppermint patties and hot fudge – not a normal option but they offered when they ran out of syrup! This stuff sells for $5.99/16 ounces which is a huge portion. For another buck you can get 20 ounces.

I will review for you some of their hard flavors as well. But remember, while their hard custard is one of the best such options on the Outer Banks (next to Scoops in Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills), it’s not necessarily going to excite a city slicker ice cream connoisseur. So have some soft custard. Today, preferably. But if you can make a few visits, here’s your hard custard guide.

Hard Custard Flavors:

Black Sand – tasty chocolate base with butterfinger. Yum! Almost a German chocolate base.

English Toffee – The toffee addition really makes this one special.

Raspberry Margarita – This combines their raspberry and lemon sorbets with vanilla custard and margarita mix. It’s fun and fruity, and like an adult beverage. Kind of sweet and odd, but it’s fun and better and richer than I imagined.

Golden Toffee – This one combines vanilla, caramel and Heath bar. It’s seriously excellent and was the best ice cream I had had in a while. The flavors meld perfectly.

Lemon Raspberry Cream – This light and refreshing one combines vanilla, lemon and raspberry.

Yellow Brick Road – This is a fabulous combination of vanilla, cashews, white chocolate chips and caramel – even if you aren’t fond of cashews! The vanilla is perfect.

Hatteras Sunrise – This is vanilla with cherry, pineapple and coconut. It’s so fun and fruity, very candy-like but lovely and bright. Coconut makes me think of a snowball…the finely chopped fruit is well mixed so you get some in every bite.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Krisp – This has a chocolate base with peanut butter and rice krispie treats. I’d prefer bigger chunks but it’s fun and tasty.

Rice Krispie Treat – A nice vanilla base with treats and caramel.

Elvis – This is a chocolate peanut butter ice cream with banana – it’s fun with tasty if cold banana chunks.

Golden Toffee – A lovely warm vanilla with delicious chocolate Toffee pieces. Really nice.

Be sure to check out their fun beach gift shop. And while I haven’t tried it yet, their shades mini-gold course is very pretty and a bargain at $8/as many games as you want.

Bring cash – there’s an extra $1/order charge if it’s under $10 and you use a card. And this stuff is priced well. I first enjoyed a small, 5 ounce serving for only $3.18, and they’re happy to combine flavors for you.

If you go, tell them Jamie from Camp Hatteras sent you! They’re wonderful people and I hope they stick around for a long time. Thanks for reading and happy eating!

Scoops of Delicious on the Outer Banks

August 2, 2017Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travelice cream, in search of a scoop, insearchofascoop, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, outer Banks, scoops, scoops ice cream, traveljamiefeinberg Leave a comment

Being from New Hampshire, where homemade ice cream can be found almost everywhere, I have fairly high expectations for local ice cream. I’m not content with whatever the local, cheap premium offerings are. I like to taste the local flavor, you know? In touristy, vacation areas, ice cream places are everywhere, and that can make digging for the good stuff a real challenge. That’s especially true here in the Outer Banks, where most places don’t have a website and at best have an active Facebook page. But we’ve done the hard work of sorting out the local offerings for you, so you can focus on enjoying your ice cream, and here is one of our favorites.

Scoops could easily get lost in the shuffle of touristy shops in Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills. But it shouldn’t – this place is special. Their Nags Head location is in a small, two-story shopping plaza that includes Kitty Hawk Kites, a fun boutique, a fudgery and more.

Their Kill Devil Hills location is a few miles north of that, on the opposite side of the street. They’re close enough to each other that we recommend visiting whichever one is on the more convenient side of the street.

When we first visited Scoops, it was after trying out two other local, homemade ice cream offerings in the area. We hadn’t been super-impressed and weren’t expecting to be here. But lucky for us, Scoops is really worth a visit. Ignore the few non-homemade offerings in the case (it will be obvious) and stick with Scoops for some creamy ice cream in original flavors that are perfect for summer. They’re also excellent at recreating the flavor of particularly non-ice cream foods.

Here are some of the diverse offerings we’ve tried, with our thoughts:

Mandarin Chocolate Chip – A summer fun orange flavor with less sweet chocolate chips. A much more upscale sherbet/chocolate jimmies/sprinkles combination!

Beach Cooler – This is like a pina colada, but with banana instead of pineapple. I loved the first bite, although I was less enthralled after that. The fluffy texture is great. It reminds you of a delicious coconut beverage, and the texture is so fun that it kind of re-sold me as I ate more of it!

Cantaloupe – The real fruit is subtle, and this is too! Not very sweet and tastes just like the real thing. It’s awesome, a perfect summer flavor.

Chocolate – Expect a lighter chocolate flavor, super creamy and melt in your mouth delicious.

Butterfinger – So fun! It tastes just like the candy.

Salted Caramel – This is pleasant, but not striking. The consistency is similar to a cheap coffee ice cream. It reminded me of a cheap caramel candy.

Cotton Candy – This one is highly recommended! It honestly tastes just like the real thing. If you like cotton candy, you need to experience this for yourself!

Mint Chocolate Chip – Charming, with good chocolate chips, but not revelatory.

Strawberry Cheesecake – This has an excellent fruity base with a real creaminess to it, with excellent chunks of cheesecake.

Heavenly Hash – Uses their already great chocolate base, so it’s delicious.

Chocolate Brownie – Ross’ review is that this is the “same chocolate we know and love with chunks of moist, delicious brownie”.

Butter Pecan – A light, sweet ice cream with a wonderful buttery aftertaste.

Amaretto – Very good and tastes authentic.

Scoops is one of two great options for ice cream on the Outer Banks. They’re reliably tasty, but they’re also extraordinarily friendly. They’re one of the few places that encourage you to try whatever flavors you’d like, and they will combine flavors into a scoop too. And it’s very affordable!

Both locations have pleasant places to sit – Nags Head outside in the shade or in view of the ocean, and Kill Devil Hills inside like a traditional ice cream parlor. We’ve also sampled a tasty burger in Nags Head, so this is a great option for a fairly quick, cheap meal. (Think under $3 for a burger.)

Their ice cream melts in your mouth and is never icy, and they make gorgeous ice cream cakes if you should need one. We recommend a side of hot fudge to put on top!

They also carry some delightful candy, including locally made bacon truffles. You’ll want to try one – trust us on that. And we hear the Nags Head location has some fun live music during the summer.

One thing to note? Everyone around here has flexible hours, depending on traffic and maybe their whim. So call ahead and be willing to go to the other location if one is closed. Less of an issue in the heart of the summer, but the sign says to be aware of this.

We love Scoops and if we are in the area, we always try to stop in for a scoop or two. We’re very thankful for this local homemade ice cream option on the Outer Banks!