We’re number 1!

On the drive home from New York, I stopped at a well-known ice cream establishment Dr. Mike’s in Bethel. Dr. Mike’s ice cream is a legendary place in the town of Bethel in the western part of the state. They are well known for making their own ice cream and that did not disappoint. I was met by Emily a few minutes before opening, who welcomed to me and made my milkshake.

They are on the backside of an unassuming building, the former Masonic Lodge, on Greenwood Avenue in the heart of Bethel. They have been around since 1975, and are open year-round. 

They make all of their own ice cream products on site, which did not disappoint and in 1981 their Chocolate was proclaimed best in America by Magazine. Dr. Mike’s make all of the standards flavors plus a few interesting varieties. They offer cups, cones, sundaes, and shakes with all the fixings, plus pints to go.

As usual, I had a coffee milkshake that was simply delicious. Maureen did not make this trip but I have a feeling we will be passing through here again for seconds!

One of the oldest around

Opening in the early 1950s Michael’s Dairy at Mitchell College is one of the oldest ice cream establishments in the state of Connecticut. In 2006 Michael’s Dairy was acquired by Mitchell College and proceeds from the Dairy Bar supports the universities’ educational activities.

The shop has an old-school vibe and serves a variety of hard ice cream flavors. For years, they made their own ice cream, but they now acquire it from an “unknown” creamery in New England. they offer cups cones, sundaes, shakes and floats, as well as cakes, pup cups, and ice cream sandwiches. We were the first to arrive, but by the time we left the place was hopping with 15 cars in the parking lot and lots of happy, smiling faces.

Mighty Mo had a sundae with moose track ice cream, hot chocolate fudge (are you surprised?) and peanuts, while I went back to an old favorite and had a coffee milkshake with a scoop of chocolate, which was excellently prepared and very satisfying. The staff was pleasant and helpful and enjoyed our stories of our ice cream blog. They were so helpful that they offered Maureen the whipped cream from my milkshake for her sundae.

If you are passing through southeastern Connecticut, take a diversion and head to Michael’s Dairy at Mitchell College. You will be surprised by the fantastic ice cream and old school vibe!

Planning for our 50th High School Reunion

On my way home from a planning meeting for our 50th high school reunion in the Town of Stafford, I passed through East Hartford and stopped at Homestead Farm for an ice cream treat. Homestead offers Hershey ice cream products.

I usually have a milkshake but their machine was not operating so I asked for a small scoop of maple walnut in a cup, which was tasty and delicious.

They offer about two dozen flavors in cups, cones, sundaes and shakes. In addition they have a nice farm stand with local produce and a charming field of sun flowers next to the dairy store.

From docu-scanner to delivery!!!

On the way home from visiting my aunt in Stafford, we drove west to the town of Bloomfield to check out Bloom Hill Farm. We were met by a very nice young lady named Ariana, who was taking orders in the line and explaining the various flavors of ice cream. She highly recommended the peach crumble, which I decided to take a chance and go with a cup. Maureen decided to go with a small cup of chocolate soft serve with chocolate sprinkles on top.

Bloom Hill Farm uses Pralines ice cream, an excellent, rich product that is sold at a number of places around the state. Both the peach crumble and chocolate soft serve were excellent choices for a nice warm Sunday afternoon. In addition, they have a variety of interesting and standard flavors. They sell cups, cones, and quarts if you so desire.

One of the pleasant surprises was meeting, a couple of fellow foodie and ice cream aficionados from East Hartford. After we chatted for a few minutes we shared our favorite ice cream places in the state and hope to meet up at some point in the future.

If you’re looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon, head to Bloom Hill Farm and check out their unique method of ordering and some nice flavors!

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!