Garlic anyone?

Enjoyed a ride to the northwest hills in Connecticut to check out the Connecticut Garlic festival which has been on our list of sites to visit for a long time. As one would imagine there were several delicious creations using garlic. We purchased a few things for the pantry and the refrigerator to savor for weeks to come.

I was surprised there was only one establishment selling ice cream in a truck call Blue Chip Creamery. But no garlic ice cream which was disappointing. mighty Mo passed but I tried the spicy pumpkin which hit the spot after the strong pungent taste of these garlic treats!

Hot and humid!

On the way home from a visit to Ashford I stopped at Jessica’s garden on a hot and humid afternoon. Looking for a cool drink to satisfy my thirst, I also noticed they sold Gifford‘s ice cream and how could I not give it a taste!

Jessica’s serves a variety of sandwiches and lunch entrées as well as Gifford’s hard ice cream. Unfortunately, Jessica‘s did not have coffee or chocolate this afternoon so I went with an old favorite, a kiddie scoop of mint chip ice cream in a cup, which was refreshing and delicious.

Jessica’s is also a nursery and sells a variety of different plants. If you’re out for a Sunday drive and looking for something refreshing stop at Jessica’s. You might come home with a few plants as well.

A lot of happy memories…

On a warm Sunday afternoon Mighty Mo and I headed north to my old stomping grounds. My grandparents would take us on drives in northeastern Connecticut looking for genealogy information in various towns with cemeteries, and often we would end up at Frog Rock in Eastford where my brother and I would enjoy an ice cream cone to end the drive.

Eastford is one of the many rural towns in Connecticut that has abundant natural areas and places like Frog Rock Park. Frog Rock Park has a lot of activity for a small town including music events, trails to hike and the amazing Summer Shak. They make a wonderful array of burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fried food, soup and of course ice cream. To start Maureen had a homemade hamburger that was tasty, while I had a hot dog with Kraut. Both hit the spot and delish. If fact we wished we had ordered some hand cut fries that looked great to go with these treats.

The Summer Shack offers an interesting array of Hershey’s hard and Dairy Queen softserve ice cream with a wide variety of toppings. They offered cups, cones, sundaes, floats and ice cream sandwiches. For the finish, we opted for two ice cream cones. I had a kiddie scoop of Hershey’s chocolate on a sugar cone, while Mo had chocolate softserve on a wafer cone.

Thanks for the memories Frog Rock Summer Shack!

Perfect for a rainy, spring day in New England

On a rainy spring day on my drive home from Hartford I drove through the town of Rocky Hill and stopped at Hayes Farm Market for a delicious dairy treat.

I was met by the owner Fran who was unloading milk and other dairy products and we had a nice chat about the wet spring and TGIF. Hayes Farm sells Tulmeadow Farm dairy products including ice cream.

Rather than going for a quart I had a toasted almond crunch ice cream sandwich with two chocolate chip cookies that was refreshing on a cold, wet day.

Ron’s Steakhouse to the rescue!

On the way home from Monroe, we were driving through the town of Derby and despite our best efforts we haven’t been able to find an ice cream place in Derby. Feeling the need for a cold drink we stopped at McDonald’s and voila’…I ordered a chocolate milkshake.

Not a lot of flavor, not worth the calories and disgustingly sweet but we got our “frozen dairy product” for Derby.

Cheers to the 5th President of the United States!

The town of Monroe is in the western part of Connecticut in Fairfield County and is named for our fifth President, James Monroe. Sip & Scoop is along one of the main drags in Monroe in an unassuming strip mall.

They offer a wide varieties of flavors in cups, cones and sundaes. In addition they have chocolate and vanilla soft serve and a lot of toppings. And as tempting as it is, Sip & Scoop offer crepes as well!

I had my old faithful, a coffee-chocolate milkshake, Mighty Mo had a chocolate soft-serve sundae, and our boy Shelly Bean had a scoop of rich, creamy vanilla in a cup.

If you appreciate our past presidents, head to Monroe for a taste of history!

It’s a long way from Hampton

About five miles down the road from my last stop is the Stop N’ Go in Chaplin, another small eastern Connecticut town. Chaplin has multiple businesses along Route 6 and a couple gas stations but no groceries or ice cream shops.

Just to be different I went for a pint of Hershey’s Green Mint Chip. Hersheys was my grandparents favorite so this brought back a lot of memories of driving around eastern Connecticut with my ma and pa.

What to do?

On my way home from a meeting in Ashford, I needed to stop for fuel or petro and much to my surprise the Hampton Mini-Mart sold ice cream products! As I entered the door of the Hampton Mini-Mart, an ice cream freezer was staring me in the face. What to do?

Resorting to my old standby, I opted for a Klondike Bar which was nice cold with that sweet vanilla center with chocolate crunchy coating.

After I got my fuel I was on my way but not for long! 😉

Shooting stars!

After visiting with Magnificent Nicholas, we stopped in Prospect at a legendary place called The Big Dipper Ice Cream Factory. The Big Dipper has been around for 35 years or so. They make their own ice cream and distribute it to a number of places, mostly in western Connecticut.

The Big Dipper offers a wide variety of homemade flavors, with a variety of toppings and sprinkles including bunny poop! They sell four or five different cones, cups, sundaes and other tasty products. They also sell ice cream cakes, pies and cookies that look delicious.

Maureen had a chocolate-vanilla soft serve twist with chocolate sprinkles on a chocolate dipped wafer cone. The soft serve was a bit “soft” but tasty. I tried something different…the pistachio ice cream on a sugar cone that had whole pistachios in a sweet cream base with sea salt, which was good and refreshing!

If you are looking for a shooting star, head to the Big Dipper in Prospect.

Hundreds and thousands…

Our trip through the western highlands of Connecticut took us to the town of Kent. Kent is on the New York border and home to three boarding schools, which gives the town a vibrant feel. Adding to the character and vibrancy of Kent is 45 on Main.

45 has been under new management for the past two years. Gary, the owner brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to 45 and has connected to his community providing a place for all those students and locals to congregate year round.

Big Dipper ice cream is the product of choice and it does not disappoint. Maureen passed on ice cream (the shame) and had the homemade, dark chocolate nonpareils. I went with the usual, coffee milkshake with a scoop of chocolate. To be honest this was the richest coffee flavored ice cream we have had in the past seven years. Maureen, our communications director, struck up a conversation with Shelby and Gary about common names for “sprinkles.” Gary who is Scottish refers to them as “hundreds and thousands,” a common expression from his homeland. Maureen, of course, refers to them as “shots.” Gary shared with us another product of Scotland, nougat wafers and oysters, which can be filled with ice cream. Hmm, that might just be next time.

All of the staff at 45 create a fun environment and give the vibe that you want to come back and see what they are up to. I know we will be back this summer!

Sheldon’s Sunday drive…

On a Sunday afternoon we took a drive with our favorite companion, Sheldon Cooper to northwest Connecticut. We drove through the hills on a gray day and ended up in the quaint Connecticut town of Warren. Warren has a charming village feel as does the Warren General Store where they make sandwiches, prepared meals and have a cooler with ice cream!

They offer a couple varieties of pints and ice cream sandwiches. Big Dipper ice cream from Prospect (CT) provides a variety of flavors in pints and ice cream sandwiches. And they offer Cold Fusion sorbet products too.

Maureen and I shared a pint of Cold Fusion Lemon Sorbet, along with a chicken salad sandwich. Both were delicious and the lemon sorbet was a good dessert after the sandwich.

And away we go…

I am embarrassed it has been 5 months since our last post but 2025 is off and running. On a brisk spring day we took a drive south to Mongers Market in Bridgeport, an indoor flea market with vintage clothing, furniture and architectural items. After browsing Mungers, we drove to Main Street Creamery, a drive-in that is open year round.

Main Street Creamery offers hard ice cream and soft serve, cup, cones, shakes, frappes and Sunday’s. Mighty Mo started the year off with a sugar-free, chocolate frozen yogurt parfait with hot fudge, whip cream and peanuts on top. I on the other hand stuck with old faithful, a coffee milkshake with a coop of chocolate, which was rich and creamy and hit the spot!

Looking forward to 2025. I hope many of you will join us in the “knights of the round table” quest! Happy ice cream!

Like the sign says…

On a mild August afternoon I took a drive to Wentworth’s in Hamden. Wentworth’s may very well be the first place I had ice cream when I moved to the New Haven area 41 years ago.

Wentworth’s is well known for their delicious homemade ice cream and it did not disappoint. I had my usual, coffee milkshake with a scoop of chocolate and it was delicious! They offer a wide variety of flavors, cups, cones, shakes, sundaes and …cakes!

This really isn’t bad…

On the way home from the Trumbull Mall we took a diversion and traveled to Plasko’s Farm and Creamery. Plasko’s is an active farm that has a corn maze, pumpkin patch and creamery and the place was hopping this Sunday afternoon.

Plasko’s makes their own soft serve and hard ice cream and offer cups, cones, enormous sundaes and ice cream sandwiches and cakes that look delicious!

Nothing at Plasko’s seemed standard except for the tradition soft serve flavors chocolate, vanilla and a twist. There were about 15 hard ice cream flavors that all seemed to be original. My soft serve aficionado, Mighty Mo, had a twist on a gourmet cone with chocolate chunk.

I had to modify my standard and had the double chocolate milk shake as they didn’t have coffee ice cream. They did have coffee Oreo ice from but I was skeptical of that in the shake. My shake was great, rich and creamy and thick-thick-thick as Dan Connor would say from the television series Roseanne.

If you’re looking for some ice cream that “isn’t that bad” head to Plasko’s this fall.