Kimball’s cookies and cream, westford MA
not only is it great but the normal serving is the size of a tub you’d buy at the store
I loooove Starbuck’s Mocha Almond Fudge Swirl–a bowl of that leaves me in an ecstatic swoon for hours.
Other than that, I have an ice-cream maker of my own, so I’ve been playing with flavors, and seeing what works best. The best ones I’ve had so far:
Strawberry-Port ice cream
Mojito Sorbet (Rum, lime, and mint–after a popular Cuban drink)
Citrus-Triple Sec Sorbet (lemon, lime, orange & triple sec)
So I guess this means you aren’t sending me any samples. 
Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup. It kicks my ass.
The ice cream at the Ile de St. Louis is excellent stuff, the best I had ever had until…
…I went to Italy. Oooof. Mmm. Gelato.
I’ve also heard that the ice cream in St. Petersburg (Russia, not Florida) is excellent, but I have never been there. Until I have that opportunity, the gelateria my friends and I popped into on the way to the Spanish Steps in Rome will always hold a special place in my heart.
The absolute best ice cream is the real homemade stuff, that is, made at home. Use a real vanilla bean (split, scraped, and every little bit thrown into the cream ‘n’ sugar mix overnight), and only the best ingredients. Let the mixture mellow for at least 12 hours, then throw it into an ice cream freezer and wait for the magic to happen. Yeah, it melts faster than store-bought ice cream, but that’s because it doesn’t have gelatin or other stablizers in it to muck up the flavors.
I don’t like Breyers…even though the labels say they use only the best stuff, it tastes awful, IMHO. Plus, I don’t appreciate the way they dissed Dreyer’s, but that’s another story.
As for Thrifty ice cream…I 'member when it was a NICKEL a scoop…made myself sick on a quarter there once.
All this talk prompted me to go to the local Rite Aid, and I found out that the price of a single scoop is now 89 cents! (I still would have gotten some ice cream if the stand hadn’t been temporarily closed).
Omni, Ben and Jerrys has some smooth flavors, try the coffee. Well worth a try.
As for me, Ben and Jerrys Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. Has to be the COFFEE Heath Bar, the vanilla just isn’t close.
As my Mom used to say “There’s no such thing as Yucky ice cream!”
I just tried a new (to me) flavor from B&J, called “From Russia With Buzz”. Great stuff, as youw ould expect.
So what’s up with them? They sold out? To whom?
BTW; Gelato is available here in Berkeley. And it is yummy. Very dense and rich.
Peace,
mangeorge
I’ve mentioned before my fondness for Yarnell’s Ice Cream, made in Searcy, Arkansas, and distributed only in Arkansas and border areas of the surrounding states. The Homemade Vanilla flavor is, IMHO, the platonic ideal that Blue Bell only approaches distantly (sorry, Texans).
There’s a Thai restaurant near my house that makes their own ice creams that are fabulous – red bean, mango, and my personal favorite, coconut. They’re made with only milk, cream, and sugar – no eggs, which gives them a very different, slightly icy but still creamy, consistency. It’s a practice I’ve adopted in my own homemade ice cream, which usually gets rave reviews from guests.
I love spumoni ice cream, but I’ve only ever had it at restaurants. The same with Green Tea ice cream which sounds questionable, but is actually sublime.
I really like Starbuck’s Java Chip, but it is the only Starbuck’s ice cream I’ll eat.
there’s this little hole-in-the wall ice cream shop in loganville, pa called carmen’s – they make the best caramel, and some pretty fine teaberry.
cool fact – they wrap their ice cream in used newspaper – acts as a perfect insulation. they have stories of folks travelling 12+ hours with wrapped ice cream in an otherwise empty cooler, with no melting.
Girl Scout Cookie Ice Cream from Edy’s is the ABSOLUTE king! Samoa flavor is apersonal fave…
Haagen-Dazs lemon sorbet
Breyer’s coffee
Ben & Jerry’s chocolate chip cookie dough
Edy’s chocolate chip mint
I can’t ever pick between these, it usually depends on my mood. But out of homemade ice cream, this ice cream place opened just down the road from me and they have a flavor called brownie batter that is really good in shakes.
Also I recommend anything from Applegate Farms in Clifton,NJ which is my dad’s childhood favorite.
But the BEST ice cream I’ve ever had was Bailey’s Irish Cream at Mad Martha’s on Martha’s Vineyard. mmmm…
-julie
OK, it’s not the best, but certainly the weirdest ice cream flavor! In Los Angeles on Hollywood Blvd. we had ice cream from a Thai food store. It was made with coconut cream with peas and carrots and maybe some green beans in it. The ice cream would have been incredible except for the vegetables!
it Italy. Really, it is amazing!!! After I came back I couldn’t eat North American Ice Cream for a year. Maybe a bit excessive, but trust me.
:eek:
B&J: Coffee Heath Bar Crunch, Coconut Almond Fudge Chip, Choc Chip Cookie Dough, Cherry Garcia (in that order)
Haagen-Dasz used to make something wonderful called Cappucino Commotion which was pretty incredible too–haven’t seen that in a long time but it haunts my dreams…
Found some Blue Bunny last summer called Muddy Sneaker. Only found it once but I’ve been on the lookout ever since.
BTW, you used one too many commas.
Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food is the all time best! Blue Bell cookies and cream is second, I think it’s half the reason I live in Texas.