And the winner is…
On my home from a meeting in Willimantic, I was passing through Andover and stopped at a Dollar General for a drink and…surprise they have ice cream!
Lots of options including pints of various flavors and boxes of drumsticks, fudge bars, Dove bars, Klondike bars, and popsicles. I opted for an old favorite, the ice cream sandwich from Nestle. And for the record I had a bottle of water to wash it down.
The healthy choice!
Well not exactly so sure how healthy this was but Maureen and I stopped at Peachwave, a frozen yogurt place in the town of Brookfield. There are a few Peachwave yogurt places in western Connecticut and this was our first try. Peachwave. It is a self serve yogurt place that you can select from a variety of soft serve flavors and select toppings, which are plentiful. Some stores offer gelato and traditional soft serve ice cream as well.
Maureen and I opted for smoothies. I had peach yogurt and carob chips, while Mighty Mo had pineapple raspberry swirl topped with bananas and chocolate chips.
I doubt this will be our last visit to a Peachwave and we urge you to check them out!
This pie’s for you!
On the western border of Connecticut in the town of Sherman is the American Pie Company that makes breakfast, lunch and pie à la mode!
For lunch Maureen and I had a plate of Uncle Sam’s nachos. Maureen followed this with a slice of peach blueberry pie, while I had cherry pie à la mode with vanilla ice cream. I suspect the ice cream is Hersheys.
Every January my nephew Jon takes us up in the mountains of Southern California for Julian pie. I think he would be pleased with the American Pie Company but I think so can honestly say this pie’s for you Jon!
Up, up and away…
Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting my nephew Jon at Atlantic Aviation, up near Bradley International Airport and we had ice cream after a nice dinner @ the Barn in Granby.
After dinner, we drove to a place in Windsor called Frisbie’s Dairy Barn, which is at a truckstop near I-91. There are a few Frisbie’s Dairy Barn’s around the state and much to my surprise they make their own ice cream on site. They offer a variety of sizes of cups, cones and sundaes and had about 20 different flavors to offer. While you might think a truck stop leaves much to be desired there was pleasant seating outside and the ice cream was rich and delicious.
I opted for a single scoop of coffee on a sugar cone, which had a strong coffee flavor but was a little bit soft. Although that may have had more to do with the 90F temperature 😉. Jon opted for chocolate peanut butter and I think he was pleasantly surprised as well.
Next time you’re traveling north if you’re looking for something different, don’t hesitate to stop at the Noble truckstop in Windsor and enjoy some nice ice cream from Frisbies!
Ice cream and witchcraft!
We have tried a few times and failed to make it to Goody Bassett’s but today was the day. We were met by the owner and ice cream aficionado Paul who loves ice cream as much as me. He has owned this olde time shoppe for the past 21 years and it has lots of charm. You actually feel like you are stepping back in time.
Paul serves a wide variety of ice cream from several vendors but he also make his own. Two of his homemade favorites that are very popular in the community are cannoli ice cream with mini-chocolate chips and vanilla with grape nuts…yes grape nuts! We sampled both and they were delicious beyond belief.
Unfortunately, they were out of coffee ice cream so I went with a chocolate milk shake for comparison. The pressure was on (😂) and Paul delivered a nice thick shake that was rich and creamy tasting. Maureen decided to pass on anything, but enjoyed the cannoli and grape nut samples and got a brownie to go for her dessert tonite.
Goody Bassett’s is rich in history including their namesake who was executed for witchcraft in 1651, almost 40 years prior to the Salem Witchcraft Trials. In 2023, she was exonerated by the Stratford Town Council, due to the efforts of the local historical society.
If you are looking for some summer fun or something to do on a rainy Sunday head to Stratford and step back in time at Goody’s. I would just avoid practicing any witchcraft.
Another rainy Memorial Day weekend
On a rainy Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, we headed west to find a couple of new ice cream establishments. Wells Hollow Creamery in the town of Shelton is an active dairy farm with an incredible wide variety of flavors and options for ice cream. They serve ice cream from a variety of different vendors around the state and New England and seem to have all the bases covered. They offer cups, cones, shakes, malts, cookies, and even hot coffee on a cold, rainy day.
I went for a kiddie cup of coffee ice cream that was from Gifford’s, a well-known product from the state of Maine. While Maureen went for a “small” chocolate peanut butter sundae with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Both products more than met our desires for ice cream on wet Memorial Day weekend. The staff was fantastic and more than accommodating and seemed to enjoy our humor about driving around the state looking for ice cream in the rain.
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, drive to Wells Hollow Creamery and I promise, you will not be disappointed!
Shahan, the aficionado!
Spent the day riding around southern Connecticut with my good friend Jim Fregeau from Buffalo. Jim grew up in Hamden and Madison, Connecticut and attended Notre Dame High School in West Haven. After we toured his home towns we drove through the Heroes Tunnel on the Wilbur Cross Parkway and stopped in Woodbridge at Micro Creamery for an afternoon delight!
Micro Creamery is a family run business with locations in Woodbridge, Milford and Cheshire. We were met the enthusiastic owner Shahan, who clearly loves ice cream as much as me. Micro Creamery has a unique concept…they offer ice cream from some of the best creameries around the state in a variety of flavors and offer their own spin on some interesting concoctions too.
They offer all the basics…cups, cones, floats, smoothies, shakes, pies and cakes with all the toppings you can imagine. They offer ice cream from Arethusa Farm, Big Dipper, Cold Fusion Gelato, Pralines, and Salem Valley Farms. One of the most interesting aspects of Micro Creamery is the blackboard with creameries and their butterfat content, which I thought was very unique. I had a kiddie cup of Pralines mint chip while Jim had a cup of black cherries that had Bordeaux cherries! Jim described the texture as “creamy and rich in flavor with the gentle lingering floral taste of the rich natural ingredients.”
If you want to talk to another ice cream enthusiast, check out Shahan at Micro Creamery in Woodbridge. Just tell him Tim from The Connecticut Ice Cream Quest sent you! And enjoy all that butterfat!
Quack, quack, quack…
In Easton, Connecticut Silverman’s Country Market is a well known bakery, orchard, country market and a small animal farm. It’s a popular place on weekends and in the summer and fall. And don’t forget to check out the baby ducks.
Silverman’s Country Market is a charming, country market with a wide variety of homemade products from Bacon Jalapeno Jam to Apple cider donuts to a large selection of ice cream including Longford’s Craft Ice Cream.
Longford’s Ice Cream was born in New York in 1992 and has been a popular choice for years. In 2017 Longford’s moved their wholesale production to Stamford and began expanding distribution in southwest Connecticut.
In addition to a jar of bacon jalapeño jam (hmm good), we picked up a quart of Longford’s Mint Chip for dessert tonite. The mint chip was creamy, rich in flavor and good to the last lick!
The hub of natural beauty…
The small town of Weston is a nice rural community in Fairfield County in the southwest part of the state. With lots of beautiful natural areas Weston is a pleasant surprise with very little commercial areas. In fact I was worried we wouldn’t find an establishment selling ice cream and then there is Lily’s Weston Market.
Lily’s is a small grocery with all the basics you would need in a snowstorm, which have been plenty this winter. Lily’s has popsicles, fudgscicles, Dove Bars, Italian ice, and a variety of products including pints of a small batch creamery McConnell’s.
Mighty Mo opted for a cup of Hershey’s chocolate and I went for a ice cream sandwich with Ande’s Crème de Menthe. Both were tasty and hit the spot on a chilly afternoon.
Snap, crackle, pop…
After a wonderful morning with the good people from The Last Green Valley, I passed through the town of Scotland in the quiet corner of eastern Connecticut. The town of Scotland was settled in the early 1700’s and is a small, rural town with little or no commercial businesses.
Despite multiple visits to Scotland, including a stop at the Scotland Spirits and the Highland Campground, no ice cream could be found. I was cautiously optimistic that we might find ice cream at the Scotland Highland Games, but alas they are held in Brooklyn, CT.
On my way home today I stopped near the center of town and enjoyed some dehydrated “astronaut” ice cream, which went snap, crackle, pop and just how I remembered it from my childhood. Much to my surprise “astronaut” ice cream was created by the Whirlpool Corporation for NASA, although I am not sure if it was ever used on any of the Apollo missions.
Who would have thought there was a connection between my 30-year old washing machine and NASA, but maybe that’s why Jim Lovell’s mother in the movie Apollo 13 said “if they could put a washing machine in space, my Jimmy could fly it.”
Happy ice cream!
Wow! Just Wow!
After a nice lunch in Canton we headed to a place I have been eager to taste, Grassroots Ice Cream in Granby, and it did not disappoint. We were met by Bailey, a pleasant scooper, who was eager to talk ice cream…and I couldn’t resist telling her about our Quest!
Grassroots has all the basics and serves cups, cones, shakes, sundaes with lots of toppings, and offers pints of their unique concoctions. Many of their flavors are seasonal choices, and frankly, very original. We have only seen this type of creativity at a couple other ice cream parlors. We tried a few flavors, which were all so heavenly. One of the unique tastes is “Birch Beer” and was as genuine as it gets. The only thing missing with that flavor was a slice of New Haven Apizza! I also tried the double dark black coffee which was also insane.
I had a cappuccino milkshake and Mighty Mo had a healthy-sized kiddie scoop of cookie dough. To be honest this was the best coffee-flavored milkshake I have had so far in this “knights of the round table” quest, and it was beyond rich, creamy and thick. It was pure heaven. Mo enjoyed her cup of cookie dough ice cream, but not quite in the same way that I did this milkshake.
To be fair the prices are a bit on the high side but it is safe to say their ice cream is worth every penny. Well done Bailey. Keep scooping!
A pleasant surprise!
In the town of Plymouth Cleveland’s Country Store is a well established convenience store and delicatessen with an ice cream parlor by the name of The Sweet Tooth.
We were met by a jolly fellow who was happy to scoop almond joy for Maureen and coconut with a sliver of coffee for me, both in small cups. The Sweet Tooth sells The Big Dipper ice cream in a variety of rich, creamy flavors. They make milk shakes, floats, cups and cones with a variety of toppings.
The Sweet Tooth is a pleasant surprise, alongside Cleveland’s Country Store with all kinds of jellies, jams, pickles and lots of treats!
Check it out!
Took a nice quiet drive to the town of Litchfield in search of the ice cream establishment Peaches ‘N Cream, which did not disappoint. Peaches makes their own ice cream in a variety of standard and novel flavors in both dairy and non-dairy varieties.
Mighty Mo had Moose Tracks which was a rich chocolate with fudge swirl. I had a kiddie scoop of ginger that had a mild, sweet taste. They offered milk shakes, ice cream sandwiches, cups and cones.
If you’re heading west, check out Peaches ‘N Cream. You won’t be disappointed!
Friendly folks and fantastic scoops!
On the way home today we stopped at a nice ice cream shop in a Southbury plaza called Scoopin’. We were met by a friendly and welcoming couple, who make their own ice cream on site in this charming shop. They offer a wide variety of flavors in cups, cones, and shakes and have lots of toppings. Maureen enjoyed a nice complimentary cup of cafe mocha which was piping hot and hit the spot on a windy day.
Maureen and I shared a small kiddie scoop of some of the best maple walnut ice cream we have had in a long time. Scoopin’s ice cream is hand made on site with a rich butterfat that makes great ice cream.
Check out Scoopin’ if you are looking for something original and tasty!
Not all those who wander are lost…
Our next stop was the Roxbury Market & Deli in the center of this quiet village along one of the many rivers in Western Connecticut.
The Market sell the well-known Ferris Acres Creamery products. They offer cups, cones, shakes and floats. They have a dozen or so unique flavors and some basics, plus a few toppings. We shared a toddler cup of chocolate which has a creamy and smooth taste.
Check out the Roxbury Market & Deli if you are looking for a pleasant surprise…just don’t get lost!
The Connecticut Ice Cream Quest 