Nothing to write home about…

Not as many ice cream shops as I would have expected. Scoop is a nice place on a popular corner of Golden Street and South Great George’s Street. Stopped after a nice dinner with our nieces.

Scoop is a small takeout joint with a couple benches inside and out. Limited number of flavors and toppings but decent quality, creamy ice cream. Maureen had mint chocolate ice cream in a chocolate-dipped waffle cone, which Mo said the cone was the best part! Charlotte had two scoops of chocolate that she said was good, while Jane managed to keep a scoop of hazelnut on a waffle cone. No coffee ice cream so I went with the mint chocolate milkshake that was bland, tasteless and poorly prepared…thin in places, kind of thick in others and kind of grainy. Overall nothing to write home about.

N.B. I just realized I still had this and didn’t publish this from last July. Tim

169 or bust!

As part of Maureen’s state quest to visit something historic in each of Connecticut’s 169 towns, today we spent time driving around Hartford, Wethersfield, Newington and West Hartford. We ended our junket on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford at a popular ice artisan ice cream place called Milkcraft.

Milkcraft is a small-batch creamery that only uses local dairy products from New England farms. All their ice cream is made daily at each establishment. They use liquid nitrogen infused mixing bowls to chill their dairy mixtures that produce their soft ice-cream product.

Since there isn’t a milkshake option I went with the Bourbon Breakfast, Madagascar vanilla cream with corn fakes and Whistle Pig bourbon. Maureen had a scoop of their signature chocolate. Both of us had our ice cream on their signature “bubble cone” which is a Hong Gong caramelized waffle cone made to order.

Maureen enjoyed her single scoop of chocolate on the bubble cone. The chocolate was rich and creamy and this a unique way to make “soft” ice cream. On the other hand the Madagascar vanilla, corn flakes with Whistle Pig Bourbon was tasteless and rather boring. I found the waffle cone interesting but coming directly off the griddle it melts the ice cream, which is soft to begin with.

Milkcraft has a few shops around Connecticut and worth a stop but don’t surprised if your disappointed. I guess artisan ice cream isn’t my thing.

This place is totally legit…

Okay I know this isn’t an ice cream shop but it’s worthy of the attention. I have been coming to the Palm Springs area for almost 20 years and despite all this area has to offer I have failed to find a really good ice cream place. That ended this week.

Grill-A-Burger (AKA Gorilla Burger) is a hamburger restaurant but not just any burger joint. They make the most insane burger combinations you can imagine, all beef hot dogs, tangy-sweet coleslaw, and an amazing selection of fries.

And I should know. I have patronized this place for the past five years and in fact visited it twice on this trip. I had the Blu Job (blue cheese) on a pretzel roll which was probably the best burger I have ever had. My nephew, true blue Chicago lad, had the Chicago dog which was as authentic as the super green relish would suggest and elicited the comment “this place is totally legit.”

I even posted on Facebook my countdown dates with a tip of the hat to my fave eatery in the valley. I was shocked when we visited Grill-a-Burger last Friday and I was greeted by name. Apparently the owner saw my post that we had “landed” at Grill-a-Burger and offered Maureen, my nephew Jon and I milk shakes. And much to my surprise these were incredible. Thick, creamy and delicious. No doubt the best ice cream product I have had in the Coachella Valley.

If you live local, or are traveling, check out Grill-A-Burger in Palm Desert. You might come for a burger but you may just leave talking about the milk shakes. I know I am ( but ah I’m also talking about the burgers)!

Happy Thanksgiving Grill-a-Burger!

Our blue ribbon niece.

Spent the afternoon with our niece Jackie who is an animal science major at UCONN. Not only does Jackie have a job at the horse barn she is also an award winning calf trainer. Yesterday she won first place in her division at the cattle show.

Since we were at UCONN this was a great opportunity to checkout the UCONN Dairy Bar. It’s been years since I last visited this place and it did not disappoint. Despite the 48-degree temperature there was a line out the door when we arrived. They have all the basics and some unique creations. The placed was pack and the line long but the students behind the counter were hopping. All of their ice cream products are created locally in an on campus Creamery.

Jackie had a sugar cone with chocolate fudge ice cream and a side of gummie bears. Maureen went for a two-scoop sundae with coconut chip and chocolate fudge, although it was light on the chocolate chips. As usual I had an extra thick coffee milkshake with a scoop of chocolate. I think we all agreed the ice cream was rich and creamy and good to the last lick.

There’s a good reason families from the northeast part of Connecticut flock to the campus and a lot of it has to do with this Creamery. For us it was a chance to see our blue ribbon niece!

Ice cream and oysters, what’s not to like?

Spent the afternoon in Niantic, a charming seaside village in the town of East Lyme. Beautiful Main Street district with lots of old and new shops. Started the trip with a stop at the Niantic Oyster Festival and wow was it worth it. Tried oysters from two local farms, Indian River from Madison and Sixpenny farm in Mystic. Sixpenny is a startup farm, two years in the business run by a couple nice guys, while Indian River farm is an established group with tasty oysters.

Since I started this “Knights of the roundtable” quest, I have wanted to try Gumdrops & Lollipops, which did not disappoint. This has the appearance of an old fashion soda shop that serves burgers, coffee, candy and of course ice cream. But not just any ice cream. They serve hard and soft ice cream and frozen yogurt. The hard ice cream is made fresh by the owner who makes all the standards but also some incredible concoctions.

I had my standard coffee milkshake and Maureen had a small banana chocolate chip on a sugar cone which was pure heaven…sweet, rich and creamy, with big chunks of chocolate and banana floating in a sweet cream. The shake was also delicious, thick and consistent from start to finish.

If in the neighborhood, check out Gumdrops & Lollipops…you won’t be disappointed!

Much more than an ice cream shop…

Maureen and I spent the day driving around northern Connecticut again today and we ventured over to Enfield. Since we were in the area we stopped by Collins Creamery, which is much, much more than an ice cream shop. Collins Creamery sits on a working dairy farm in a rural part of Enfield with beautiful views and the farm-tastic aromas!

Collins makes their own ice cream products that is high in butterfat, rich, creamy and tasty. They offer about 20 flavors of hard ice cream and soft serve. They offer all the standards and their own specialties and mixes. They offer ice cream cakes, pies and their own sandwiches, which look scrumptious.

I went with the old standby, a coffee and chocolate milkshake, while Maureen had coconut chocolate chip with chocolate sprinkles on a sugar cone. Both were very good but the coconut chocolate chip was the prize of the day. Absolutely tasty.

If you are out for a drive and want to try something new, check out Collins Creamery at Powder Hill in Enfield.

Happy 300th Birthday Stafford!

Spent my second Saturday in a row in my birthplace Stafford for our towns 300th anniversary. Along the way we stopped for fuel at the Sunoco station just off the I-84 exit for Route 32 in Willington and much to my surprise they offer soft serve ice cream in a cup or a cone. They offer a Hood dairy product, two flavors chocolate, vanilla and a twist. As Maureen pumped gas, I ducked inside and made my own small chocolate soft serve on a wafer cone which was nice and refreshing for a Saturday morning.

While in my home town we took in the anniversary parade and afternoon celebration at Stafford Motor Speedway. My grade school friend Mary Mitta is the town’s First Selectman (selectperson?). From what I can gather Mary is a very thoughtful and caring leader. Congrats Mary and the 300th anniversary committee on a nice day of events.

Much to my surprise we ran into other friends, some of whom I see occasionally and others I have not seen in many years. There was a number of women I went to high school with who played a variety of sports and won a number of state championships. Despite their athletic prowess, I really admired them for the camaraderie they had and the sense of togetherness, which is still very evident today.

There was a women who I called “Slick” and likewise she called me the same. And my friend we all called “god”, (as he says with a lowercase “g”), who always seemed to have the answer on any topic, long before the internet existed.

If you have a chance to visit this part of the state, I strongly encourage it. Whether it is ice cream, a good cup of coffee or a scenic ride I think you will be surprised by this quaint little mill town.

Rest in peace my brother…

We spent much of today in my home town, Stafford and wish all of it was eating ice cream and enjoying the beautiful country side. Last Saturday (September 7) my brother Fred left this earth at his home in Waterbury. Fred was 61. Today we spent time making arrangements with old friends at Introvigne Funeral Home and at Stafford Street Cemetery for my brother.

As time passed, my brother and I took very different paths with our lives but our roots are the same. Fred and I grew up in Stafford Hollow at the end of Patton Road, next to what is now the Mill Pond General Store and spent much of our early years with our grandparents. We enjoyed many of the things that kids in the 60s and 70s did including playing ball games in the park, ice skating on the pond, exploring in the woods nearby and fishing with my grandfather. Although to be honest, I never caught a fish…my brother was the angler.

After our activities we stopped by the Ice Cream Depot on Main Street for something tasty. As you can guess, I had a coffee milkshake with a scoop of chocolate. The Depot uses Gifford’s hard ice cream which seemed to lack the predictable taste of Gifford’s. Maureen, who prefers soft ice cream had Hood’s chocolate on a wafer cone with chocolate sprinkles. It appears that the Depot has all the basics and a few specialties. Despite the 60 degrees the Depot was a refreshing break.

One of my oldest memories is a visit to an ice cream shop called BellPats that my brother Fred and I enjoyed with my grandparents, mother, aunts and uncles and cousins. If my memory is correct Fred would usually have hard chocolate ice cream on a wafer cone and I had (drum roll please) a chocolate milk shake. At least this is how I want to remember my brother.

Rest in peace my brother.

The other ice cream shop in Mystic…

We spent the afternoon at Mystic Seaport watching the celebrations and launch of the Mayflower II that was a very cool event. Maureen’s second cousin Matt Barnes was one of the lead shipwrights on the project and it was nice to see him acknowledged by so many of his colleagues.

After the inauguration we drove down to the center of town and parked at the home of a friend, which is walking distance to the Mystic Drawbridge. As we were headed to the drawbridge to check on the Mayflower II launch we ducked into the Mystic Sweet & Ice Cream Shoppe for something refreshing.

We were lucky that the owner of the Shoppe was in the store and Rita was a breathe of fresh air and clearly proud of her shop. Rita makes her ice cream and is using more natural dyes and flavoring in her concoctions. She serves all the basics and has her own special blends but their ice cream is anything but ordinary. Her ice cream has 16 percent butter fat which no doubt adds to the flavor… and my cholesterol, ha ha!

Maureen had a recent fave, mint chunk, which was very flavorful and tasty and no doubt influenced by seaweed food coloring. As predicted I had a coffee and chocolate milkshake but this was not your every day coffee ice cream. This was called “fresh brewed coffee” ice cream, made with real espresso coffee. And the shake was pure yum! Nice and thick and creamy. So good I went back for a try of their maple walnut ice cream that had real maple syrup in the ice cream. In addition Rita also makes gelato and Italian ice. She let me sample the lemon that also rich and flavorful.

To be fair the ice cream seemed a little pricey but Rita must be doing something right. She has been in the business 24 years!

Definitely a birdie!

Spent an overcast afternoon in a light rain at Safari Golf in Berlin, followed by a stop at Praline’s Ice Cream in the Kensington section of Berlin.

Praline’s is a nice small place in a strip mall on Farmington Avenue in Berlin. This is a charming place with a spectacular selection of ice cream including all the basics and their own particular concoctions. Praline’s has been franchised but they make their own product and they all have their particular varieties. Priced very reasonably and portions are generous. I had the old standby, a rich dreamy coffee milkshake with a scoop of chocolate. Both the coffee and the chocolate ice cream are some of the most flavorful products we have had. The shake was excellent, creamy delicious and thick yet drinkable without clumps of ice cream. Maureen had a kiddie cone of Coconut Bar with “shots” (sprinkles for most of us) that was crunchy and tasty beyond belief.

If you are looking for a fun afternoon, try Safari Golf and Praline’s in Berlin. Both are definitely a birdie!

We do li kit!

Over the past year I have had several people suggest We Lik It Ice Cream in Pomfret and it did not disappoint! The place is not much of an establishment with only a takeout window and a couple kids behind the windows but they know their stuff.

This is a working farm that creates their own ice cream weekly. In addition to sugar and waffle cones, cups and shakes or frappes they also make ice cream cakes and sell their product by the pint or quart. They have a variety of flavors, all of the basics and their own exotic concoctions. I had the old standby, coffee milkshake with a single scoop of chocolate to add a little zip. The shake was rich, creamy, thick, let me repeat thick, and gooooddd! Maureen had something called Cricket Crunch, which was vanilla ice cream with mint cookies and giant chocolate chunk. Totally delicious!

If you are in the quiet corner of northeast Connecticut I strongly suggest you check out We Li Kit. You won’t be disappointed! I know I will be going back.

“Best ice cream in the Milky Way”

Spent the day with my good buddy Bill Colehower from Marblehead, Massachusetts. We have an annual golf outing at the end of August and we ended today’s round with a trip to a quirky ice cream shop at Fort Hill Farms in the quiet northeast corner of Connecticut. Fort Hill is an active dairy farm, that also sports a corn maze, some games, and an ice cream shop.

There are ten flavors on the menu but none of them are anything near traditional or common. Bill had raspberry beret which he described as refreshing, fruity, creamy and not the least bit sweet. On the other hand I had the PumpkinCream which was rich in flavor with a granular, icy texture.

According to the owner, Fort Hill Farms makes their exotic flavors weekly and one patron described this as the best ice cream she had in 57 countries and as the “best ice cream in the Milky Way.” I would have to agree.

A family owned place…

To call this place “old school” is a misnomer for sure. Vecchitto’s is a classic! They have been in this location and family owned since 1930…that’s 89 years.

On one hand the establishment doesn’t look like it has had an update in years but in the short time we were there five families with lots of bubbly kids came and went. It was quaint and charming for a Saturday night.

I tried their raspberry Italian ice, which was tasty and delicious but not the least bit sweet, which I found very refreshing. Their most popular flavors are lemon and watermelon.

Maureen had chocolate almond gelati which was was a scoop of almond and a scoop of chocolate with crushed almonds and maraschino cherries in between. I must say the chocolate gelato is the best chocolate product I have had on this “knights of the roundtable” quest.

Both Italian ice and gelato are made fresh, on the premises every morning. And they have two trucks that are available for special occasions.

For a refreshing treat, try Vecchitto’s in Middletown.

100 degrees and counting!

Maureen and I decided to venture out this afternoon and drove up to Cromwell, which is a nice small town on the Connecticut River in the northern parts of Middlesex County. The Subaru showed 100F as we pulled onto West Street in Cromwell.

The Cromwell Creamery is in a small strip mall on the west side of town. Takeout only but they have a couple tables and chairs for guests. I suspect the heat scared people away as as we seem signs up to 103 F!

Once again I had a nice thick, rich creamy coffee milkshake with a scoop of chocolate that was fantastic! Maureen had her old standby, chocolate soft serve with chocolate sprinkles, which collapsed in the heat and landed on a cup. They served both Gifford’s and Ashley’s hard ice cream. Both were delicious for a Sunday afternoon.

If you live in the middle of the State, the Cromwell Creamery is a nice place for a Sunday afternoon drive.

…since 1956!

Dip Top is a classic soft serve ice cream place serving the Orange community since 1956. A smallish place that serves both soft-serve and hard ice cream, this place has a strong local following. Situated on the Boston Post Road in a small strip mall, this place can’t be missed. They serve the traditional chocolate, vanilla and combo soft serve with all the trimmings, hard ice cream, shaved ice and ice cream sandwiches and cakes.

They had a variety of hard ice cream flavors but oddly not chocolate nor vanilla so had to pass on my usual milkshake. Maureen had a chocolate soft serve with chocolate sprinkles (do you detect a theme here?) and I had a mint chocolate chip on a sugar cone. They sell Gifford’s hard ice cream, a fine high quality product which I thoroughly enjoy. Cones and cups were reasonably priced. We were joined by our good friend Renee Leary, who had a vanilla soft serve with chocolate sprinkles on a sugar cone.

A nice lunch time break but all things considered nothing special.