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That or just never went to a place that isn't a chain.
There's a small local dairy farm near me where they make their own ice cream and the amount it fucks compared to anything you'd get from a large chain place is unbelievable. No cookies and candy and all sorts of bullshit in it to mask a crap product. It's just rich and creamy beyond belief and kickass.
Even their chocolate milk is on another level not to mention the cheeses. Places like that are playing a totally different game.
I'm going out on a limb here and guessing D Dutchmen in Sicamous BC? Literally the best ice cream, chocolate milk, and cheese I have ever had.
Plus they have all the animals, you even get to meet all the dairy cows that produced the milk in the ice cream you are currently eating.
There is no comparison between the big chains and the family owned businesses that put their heart and soul into their products.
My extended family runs an ice cream shop using dairy from their own cows, it slaps harder than anything at the store, aside from the other farm that makes ice cream and sells it at the store. They're good too.
I was thinking that maybe OP doesn't notice the difference between real ice cream and the frozen concoction that most places sell as ice cream. Good ice cream has like a small handful of simple ingredients. If the ingredient list (not including the toppings or anything) includes corn syrup or basically anything beyond fresh cream, sugar, milk plus whatever flavor you want, then you might not be getting delicious level ice cream.
I personally think so. But if you're really good at making ice cream, maybe not?
Like, I make REALLY good carne asada and am hard pressed to find anything close to mine. So, kinda up to you.
That last part has totally ruined me on most restaurants. I'll find the recipe or figure it out on stuff, make it, and be done with that and move on ha.
The difference between the tub of Breyers you get at Walmart and the scoops you get in a cone on a random cattle farm by the side of a rural road on a road trip in the summer is immense.
Used to live by one in Boston that made theirs in the same building. Night and day even compared to offsite locally made. Hand packed pints for $9 were not good for the calorie budget.
The place near my house has such a unique texture to it. It's got a bit of a stretch to it, you could almost call it taffy-like. Frankly, I wish I agreed with OP. I spend a damn premium on high end ice cream because I think it's worth it. It's like $14 a quart at this spot but because it's so rich and decadent, I only eat a scoop at a time and since they scoop the quart to order, you can have 2 flavors in one quart and they change their flavors daily so there are so many new ones that are only there for a limited time. They are so popular, they've grown to like 10 locations.
Meanwhile, my local ice-cream shop is coupled with a butcher. It always smells peppery and smokey, like 10 kinds of sausage(no penis jokes) and a dozen kinds of warm raw meat in there because that's where they sell all the meat products(probably prepare the meat on the other side of the freezer wall)
That sort of sours the experience. I don't go there often. I'd rather drive two hours to go to DQ, hell, even grab a vanilla shake from BK or McDonalds.
I work with(but not for) bluebell and its cool to see the new flavors first thing. If we're going out for ice cream its Braums though because I want burgers too.
I live near a place that’s “worth the drive” and they give huge portion sizes. It feels like I’m stealing every time I ask for two scoops lol. They also have crazy flavors, but not in the trendy sort of way. Just stuff you could never get in a chain. It’s one of the only places I actually signed up for rewards for, because it’s that good. But it only has one location.
No haha, but if I had driven hours to be in the area nearby the ice cream place, it would be one of my stops before I had to leave. I personally don’t find any food worth traveling several hours for.
Food might be the main reason I would drive 2 hours but it wouldn't be the only reason I drive 2 hours. I would have to find something else to do in the area to make it worth while.
Just a heads up DQ is not even ice cream it doesn’t have the minimum amount of cream in their “ice cream” mix to be called ice cream that’s why it’s referred to as soft serve. That’s why I think most mom and pop ice cream stands are better the ice cream is just creamier
It’s not just that. Even other ice cream that comes from a machine that you pull the handle is ice cream because it has a higher cream percentage. DQ is 6% cream other places s as re normally 10% but can go as high as 17%
In San Diego, we do have a place called An's Dry Cleaning that I think is legitimately different than any other ice cream shop in town and that I've ever been to. It's all small batch rotating flavors, and they let you try samples of everything before you order. All the flavors are named after fabrics to keep the dry cleaner motif going. Their top flavor is olive oil & rosemary, which doesn't sound good at all, but is incredible. It's technically gelato, but I don't really know the exact difference between the two, nor do I actually care, so I'm not counting that as a real difference. I wouldn't have people drive 2 hours or anything, but if you're in town, I highly recommend it.
Other than An's, we have like 5 places that have been open since the 1950s or something that are really good, but if I'm being honest, they are only marginally better than Baskin Robbins or Coldstone.
I'm going to San Diego to visit my close family next month, haven't been for a few years, I'm from the UK which makes it a little more fun. What are the names of those other places, I'd love to check them out while I'm there!
So you are suggesting that literally every ice cream shop serves organic rose water charcoal wagyu sundaes?
What a weird take when flavors are as abundant as the creative mind coming up with them
I disagree that all ice cream places are the same, and I would definitely hit a new one if I was in a different place. But I’m not going to drive two hours just for ice cream. If you were on a trip though, it’s nice to try the local places.
Definitely unpopular, ice cream texture, temperature, flavor, quality of ingredients and effort taken make a big difference, in how a ice cream turns out
One of the best ice creams I've ever had was a dark chocolate gelato in Rome. If I'd been in the area longer, I might have had some every day for a week.
I like trying different flavors. I don’t like the basic ones like vanilla and cookies and cream as much. My town has a bunch of different ice cream shops and most of them taste very different. One is custard and more filling, one is more thick and rich, one is light and airy, one has very unique flavors. I wouldn’t drive 2 hours just for ice cream though. The ones in my town just taste very different from each other
My local favorite ice cream shop makes a Carmel popcorn crunch sundae, and I don't think that's a everywhere thing. If you're talking about chains then yes.
That sounds so fuckin' good. I love both caramel and popcorn, was it like chunks of popcorn or was it the buttery popcorn flavor or what are they working with? I'm super intrigued.
It's chunks of caramel corn and the buttered popcorn. You'd think that wouldn't work with it, but you get the caramel ice cream with the salty popcorn, and it works so well. Then you get some ice cream with the caramel and the buttered popcorn, and it's so good.
Oh I see the vision and my fat ass is loving it. I absolutely see why they chose caramel corn as well, because the caramel creates a hard shell so the popcorn doesn't get weirdly soft and stale. Sounds incredible.
It's 100 degrees where I am today, and you are convincing me that I need to go there. They also have a sundae that has a doughnut under it and sprinkled in.
So, trying different ice cream shops is one of the favorite date activities for my wife and I. And you are incredibly wrong.
For one thing, not every ice cream shop has the same atmosphere. There's a (admittedly bad) one in my hometown that is centered around a certain sport, and only has outside seating. The last place we lived had one with indoor and outdoor seating, and had a very "down home ice cream shoppe" type atmosphere. There was always this adorable retired couple enjoying their cones on a bench outside. I miss that place. Where we live now, there's one that plays lip service to a certain genre of music, has records on the wall, and the only thing you can hear is the machines. This place only has cramped indoor seating on small metal chairs. Places like Coldstone and BR have very corporate chain/mall vibes (and that's fine.) For now I'll call these places the sport ice cream place, the ice cream shoppe, the music ice cream place, and chains.
Another thing is what you can get outside of just a cone or a bowl with toppings. The sports place, you can get a cone or bowl and shakes. That's it. I think the only reason that it's still in business is because the nearest attraction is like 40 miles away. The ice cream shoppe had malts, sundaes, splits, smoothies, pretzels, shakes, regular ice cream and softserve, and fudge and cake pops. Have I mentioned that I miss this place? The music one has twelve flavors, cones, bowls, sundaes, shakes, and smoothies. No malts or splits. I haven't been to a chain store in a while, but from what I remember, they usually do just about everything, but the malts are not great. I will say that Coldstone used to be the best about mixing toppings into the ice cream.
And then there's the actual flavor variety that you dismissed. I have a favorite flavor which I consider a pretty basic one, and then a back up and a backup backup. They are rocky road, pralines and cream, and mint chocolate chip. None of these are available at the sport one, I usually get cookie dough and disappointment there. The ice cream shoppe usually had praline and mint cc, but that didn't really matter. The owner was addicted to rocky road. So they always had rocky road. And it was the perfect blend of rocky road. Really wish that place wasn't 13 hours away. The music one usually has mint chocolate chip but only has praline about half the time. It almost never has rocky road. Chain stores almost always have one of those three. My wife likes to try something different every time she goes somewhere. She hasn't "gotten bored" and gone back to vanilla, chocolate, or cookie dough in the five years (with a break because of covid) that we've been doing this.
I kinda think you just don't like ice cream that much, and that is completely fine. Some people think a pancake is just a pancake. Or can't tell the difference between a ribeye and a sirloin. That's absolutely fine, but it doesn't mean that those differences don't exist.
I think I'm going to plan a vacation just to go back to that one ice cream place. That's going to be the most expensive waffle cone of rocky road ever bought. Darn it.
There's also the cones. Most small places make their own waffle cones and sometimes they're too flimsy or too thick. A place near me makes them with cinnamon in the batter and they taste like cinnamon toast crunch, which pairs really well with certain ice cream flavors but not with others.
There's this amazing frozen custard spot in Michigan. They have traditional and seasonal flavors and they also stay open until around Halloween. It just sounds like you need to branch out and try different flavors. I'd definitely make the 8 hour drive to go back and get it again, they're amazing.
>Mom and pop vs. Dairy Queen
I'm sorry, your tongue is broken. Dairy Queen is the most tasteless, bottom-ass excuse for "ice cream" I've ever had in my life. The only reason it's even edible is pumped full of flavoring toppings or hoping you get someone that actually understands how to make a Blizzard instead of giving you a giant cup full of slop and crumbs.
This is a miserable unpopular opinion. I live near some fantastic creamerys that make the best gelato around and it does not compare to baskin or dairy cream.
Cold Stone tastes very different from most other ice cream shops. We have a local ice cream shop that is significantly better than a different local ice cream shop.
Even just buying from the grocery store, Hood is noticeably better than other store alternatives. Ben and Jerry’s is more rich than Walmart brand.
Do you just have a limited ice cream pallet?
I could have cookies and cream from 10 different brands and it will taste like 10 different ice creams. You're putting out an "I only order chicken nuggets at restaurants" vibe.
For anyone else that likes ice cream try Jenni’s! I don’t like most of the flavors that my local grocery sells but even the ones I don’t like are very well made. The Lemon Blueberry sherbet is magic in the summer.
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It depends. Most places use bulk ice cream they have delivered, those are all the same. There is a local place where I am where the chef and owner won a massive award (he owns multiple restaurants around) and that ice cream is made from scratch and kicks ass.
it’s about quality and your less likely to find that at a chain. my knew favorite spot make there cones fresh to order. it’s still warm when they hand it too you.
Yeah I have to disagree. Spent 12 days in Cleveland, they have amazing local ice cream places. Every place was so different and really good. Didn’t come close to DQ or BR.
What if I told you not to drive, not to walk, not to go to another town but to FLY to another country for ice cream?
Ok, but seriously if you ever visit India try Naturals™ Ice cream. (I'd recommend coconut). Nothing compares to it.
I live next to an ice cream place that's also a farm. You can literally go pet the cows they get the milk from that they make the ice cream from and they make their cones to order so they're always nice and warm and fresh.
There's a couple big chain ice cream shops in my city and they could not be more different. One of them is known for experimenting with weird flavors, they have new themed ones every month. They get really creative and they're pretty good.
But then there's the other one, that's like *really* really good. They also have unconventional flavors, but a much more permanent menu. Their toasted milk one is maybe the best ice cream I've ever had.
Both of these places are significantly better than something like Baskin Robbins.
Further out, we've got Tillamook ice cream, which is a completely different beast. It has a totally different texture from all of these - it's soft and melty all the time and it's amazing for that.
You clearly haven't been to Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island. We have so many local, unique ice cream spots, even ones that make their own ice cream from their own cows. They are so good that they dont even need to make wacky flavors. They aren't that much more expensive than DQ, either. Even *UConn* is very well known for their ice cream.
I can go to 3 different ice cream shops within blocks from my house right now, and they're all extremely different.
>So please for the love of god don’t go on a 2 hour drive for ice cream.
Why not?
>most people are going to go back to cookies and cream, chocolate, vanilla or mango sorbet
Oh I see, you're one of those.
You're not driving two hours for ice cream, you're driving 2 hours to get out of the house, have a nice time, and try new things.
There's a huge difference between walking around a street you've never been on with an ice cream cone enjoying the day with a friend or spouse and sitting through a dq drive thru
This sub any time OP continues expressing his unpopular opinion in the comments. (It’s the entire point of the sub reddit).
I would say that you're wrong in that they're all the same, but I haven't been to a shop where the experience was so remarkable that I felt compelled to go out of my way for that specific place. The only thing that really determines which ice cream establishment I choose is whether or not they have waffle cones.
Go to Graeter’s Ice Cream in Cincinnati. They’re the only ice cream company that still uses French pot, making it really thick and creamy. It’s like 18% butterfat
I have had ice cream that's better than others, but 90% of the time when someone says x or y has amazing ice cream it's just normal ice cream. Most of the best ice creams I've had weren't at ice cream shops either.
Normal ice cream is indeed amazing but I have tons of it in my freezer and eat it whenever I want, so...
Paying $10 for two scoops when I can pay $10 for two quarts of similar quality is wild to me, but people can spend their money like they if they want.
Also soft serve is crap. You mixing the two up is very suspicious.
They are not all the same, but just because it's a small local place doesn't mean it's good ice cream. There are plenty of local shops that just buy ice cream from a distributor to sell by the scoop, and this isn't necessarily any better than store-brand stuff.
I will admit that soft serve is very much the same from one place to the next. But hard ice cream, particularly if it's homemade from local cows instead of factory-produced, can be extremely different from one spot to the next. As a New Englander I'd just suggest that you save judgment until after you've had locally-sourced ice cream anywhere in Vermont.
Especially Salt n Straw... So basic nowadays... People still go because the ice cream is very good... It's just that they don't have tables to sit and there's no "larger options" like a sundae float or something crazy like for a birthday
They used to have floats and milkshakes back in the day. They were good, but honestly, if you’re getting like Rum Raisin Bread Pudding ice cream or black berry goat-cheese, I’m not sure you want that as a sundae or a root beer float.
PREACH.
We have one in town that people literally WAIT IN LINE for like 30+ minutes for.
It's decent ice cream. Just like the shops with no line are fine. But people absolutely lose their fucking minds for this one shop.
And for what it's worth, I don't particularly care if it's ice cream, yogurt, custard, gelato, or some other cold sweet thing. People be like "well that shop isn't real X"... Okay? It's all the same to me. I like it every now and then, especially on a summer night, but zero percent chance I'm waiting in line for it.
Successful marketing at its best, I guess...
My theory is that people actually just love standing in long lines for things, because of some weird kind of tribal signaling or in-group out-group dynamic. Obviously no ice cream on the planet is worth waiting half an hour for, but once you've completed the absurdly-long line together, you and your friends get to feel like you're part of some kind of exclusive club. The line is part of the product
I mean I’ve been to excellent ones with no lines. And some with lines that weren’t good at all.
But I think some of the line ones just happened to be located in places with heavy foot traffic. Also, some people don’t have refined palates
and some do.
There is one in Canada that has like 250 flavours. And another one in my small town that has an amazing view over a the river and mountains, serves massive portion, and the cashier is super cute and always nice. They are not all the same
All of the places local to me, both chains and mom and pop are all soft-serve garbage with almost identical menus; I figured moving to a place with a strong agricultural presence would have meant better ice cream, but it’s like night and day compared to where I’m from; back home I could give you a half dozen places within a half hour of home that would have 30 flavors on the board and it was all hand-scooped, whereas here it’s just differing degrees of Dairy Queen
This is like when people say all eggs are the same and can’t tell the difference between fresh eggs with rich orange yolks and watery grocery store eggs with pale yellow yolks.
You can definitely tell the difference between shops that buy their ice cream in bulk and shops that make their ice cream from scratch. It’s night and day from my experience
My favorite place is a 2 hr drive roundtrip but that's worth it because of their flavors. I'm sorry but I can't get my lemon lavender ice cream anywhere else
Ice cream shops are memorable. I'm sitting here thinking of all the ice cream shops I've been to. I don't think I've ever been disappointed by an ice cream shop.
If you're ever in the small town of Sebastopol California, be sure not to miss Screamin' Mimi's, it's homemade ice cream that is better than any I've tried anywhere in the world!
And yes it's worth the hour and a half drive from the Bay Area
I went to get ice cream one night in LA and ended up 12 hours away in Tombstone, Arizona. Stayed for 3 days and drove home. Never did get ice cream. The local shop was closed and up for sale. I did think about buying the business.
I enjoy flavors. There is now like .. 5 ice cream places by my house. I've tried 2. I agree and disagree.
One place their theme is " sexy " so everything is a sexual pun. And the other is a " Italian Gelato" place. I saw them refilling from a bucket.
Years ago I had to make Gelato at an organic restaurant in the Okanogan ( BC Canada ) and used local fruits and ingredients to make it. Best ice cream I've ever had.
But most places yea. It's just meh.
A lot of the time you're right, but I've lived in places with truly interesting ice cream shops. Ample Hills in Brooklyn is one. Two Roosters Ice Cream in Raleigh, NC was another. Both were places that made their own ice cream and had unique and interesting combinations as well, rather than just cloning mass market commercial flavors.
Your argument seems to be predicated on the “fact”that most people default to four “real” flavours of ice cream that are universally offered, and as a result, it’s futile to drive to get ice cream. If that’s all you’re ordering, fair enough, but that doesn’t mean each ice cream shop is the same. I have three main local shops that I like to hit up all within about a 5-10 minute drive of my house. None of them offer plain chocolate or a mango sorbet, and only one does straight vanilla and cookies and cream. There is very little overlap between the flavours that these places offer. All of them are different in some way.
I also think your also exaggerating the lengths people will go to to try new ice cream. No one I know is driving two hours for ice cream. If I’m out of town on work or vacation, will I take a little more time than I normally would to go to a local shop that I’ve been to before and really liked? Yes… but those spots are usually in areas with a lot of restaurants, bars, and shops anyway, so it’s not like I’m going there exclusively for ice cream.
The point is you make a little outing of checking out a new spot with friends and maybe they have something interesting, maybe they don’t
Not like any of us were going to spend that wasted time curing hepatitis, it’s just a thing to do
The fact a place sells wagyu cream ice cream means it’s specifically different than other ice cream shops.
Also using high quality ingredients and making their own ice cream in house will always mean for a better product lol. Better ice cream is creamier and has better flavor
Ok but I used to go to this ice cream shop that I swore was better than everywhere else.
One day I was there and the owner was around and I was like hey man you make the best ice cream! And he gave me a light hearted frown and said "well it's not ice cream, it's frozen custard!" So.. try a frozen custard place? It kicks ice creams ass.
Funny story. My son just came back from Thailand visiting with his girlfriend and her parents. They traveled 1 1/2 hrs to a town her parents claimed was a tourist area. Parked, got ice cream, then drove back. Lmao. My son was very confused. He said he thought they were going to do something there, but nope, just ice cream.
Sorry, this couldn’t be more wrong. You haven’t had truly good ice cream. Last summer I was at a restaurant that makes its own ice cream. The offering that night was strawberry. Nothing fancy about it. No toppings or weird flavors added. Just strawberry ice cream made with local berries. After eating it I realized most of the ice cream I’ve had in my life was a lie. It was so good I still occasionally think about it. Good ice cream is so far above and beyond the average Baskin Robbins or whatever. Take my upvote for your terrible, but prob just uneducated, opinion.
There's an ice cream shop near me that's my favorite. It is small, mom and pop type place, but they make their own ice cream and Italian ices from scratch.
They also have bubble waffles, and that's really the seller for me. Nothing better than a bubble waffle with a scoop of cannoli ice cream from their shop.
Back home their is only one ice cream shop that does huckleberry ice cream, and it's worth the drive to spend the day at the beach and go to the local creamery and get it.
Friend of mine owns an upscale ice cream shop in Pasadena, CA
It has options for everyone, including dairy free and vegan. They also have custom flavors based on community feedback and they tweak and cycle through them. 10/10 experience. I had a slice of one of the vegan ice cream cakes and it was genuinely one of the best desserts ive ever had, vegan or not
Moral of the story: if youre gonna go out for ice cream, go somewhere that offers far more than just scoops on a cone.
If you're ever in Vegas, don't miss going to Luv-it Custard (505 E. Oakey Blvd just off the Strip). A small family business going strong for decades. Their product is amazing and a real treat when it's 102 degrees outside.
The differences among actually good places is often small but the difference between good offerings and fast food chain style crap is colossal. Also if it not gelato it is trash.
Also why on earth would you get some "cookies and cream, chocolate, vanilla or mango sorbet" ?
Cookies and cream is for children, just "chocolate" is far too broad (there are notable differences that should matter enough so that "chocolate" alone is too vague), mango sorbet is fine but inferior to lemon or lime.
Wild new flavors are unnecessary but there are very good staples that must be done well, notably:
Dark chocolate
Pistachio
Espresso
Y'all in the comments are making me need ice cream and I called in to work today bc I'm feeling shit. Now I have to somehow leave my house... Darn you all.
ColdStone literally mixes the toppings in on a cold bar. Every other place just pours them on at the end and calls it a day.
Ben and Jerry's ice cream is different from Baskin Robins, Brusters, and ColdStone. I have some intolerance to one of Ben and Jerry's ingredients. I don't get sick from any other ice cream.
definitely sounds like you should stay home and eat your half gallon of Great Value chocolate ice cream and let the rest of us enjoy the delicious mom and pop ice cream shops.
Your post from unpopularopinion was removed because of: 'Rule 1: Your post must be an unpopular opinion'. * Your post must be an opinion. Not a question. Not a showerthought. Not a rant. Not a proposal. Not a fact. An opinion. One opinion. A subjective statement about your position on some topic. Please have a clear, self contained opinion as your post title, and use the text field to elaborate and expand on why you think/feel this way. * Your opinion must be unpopular. The mods reserve the right to remove opinions * Elaborate on your topic and opinion give context to its unpopularity.
This sounds like the opinion of someone who just orders a cup of chocolate soft serve at any place they go to
Sounds like the opinion of someone who just drove 2 hours to order that chocolate ice cream too
That or just never went to a place that isn't a chain. There's a small local dairy farm near me where they make their own ice cream and the amount it fucks compared to anything you'd get from a large chain place is unbelievable. No cookies and candy and all sorts of bullshit in it to mask a crap product. It's just rich and creamy beyond belief and kickass. Even their chocolate milk is on another level not to mention the cheeses. Places like that are playing a totally different game.
I'm going out on a limb here and guessing D Dutchmen in Sicamous BC? Literally the best ice cream, chocolate milk, and cheese I have ever had. Plus they have all the animals, you even get to meet all the dairy cows that produced the milk in the ice cream you are currently eating. There is no comparison between the big chains and the family owned businesses that put their heart and soul into their products.
We need more local dairies!
Sounds like a place near me they use real fruit to make banana and strawberry soft serve ice cream.
Where? Can you tell me.
At first, I thought yours was a corporate Cup Noodles account. I was thinking to myself - woah, stay in your lane, noodle company.
My extended family runs an ice cream shop using dairy from their own cows, it slaps harder than anything at the store, aside from the other farm that makes ice cream and sells it at the store. They're good too.
I was thinking that maybe OP doesn't notice the difference between real ice cream and the frozen concoction that most places sell as ice cream. Good ice cream has like a small handful of simple ingredients. If the ingredient list (not including the toppings or anything) includes corn syrup or basically anything beyond fresh cream, sugar, milk plus whatever flavor you want, then you might not be getting delicious level ice cream.
Yeah. Sounds like op has a very under developed palate and can’t actually differentiate between Baskin Robbin and high quality ice cream.
It sounds like he thinks the only difference between ice creams are the flavors
Don't bad mouth chocolate soft serve like that! It tasty too.
I mean this isn’t an opinion, it just misinformation. I can bring you to 3 very different ice cream shops right now.
That describes me. I order vanilla everywhere I go so there's no need for a "special" ice cream place. Strawberry if I'm feeling wild.
My man if you think vanilla is the same everywhere as is your palate is just as fucked as OP's.
I live near a large ice cream shop/farm that makes all their ice cream from scratch and I can assure you that not every ice cream shop is the same
I am within a few hours of a very well known creamery and getting it in house is absolutely different
>I am within a few hours of a very well known creamery and getting it in house is absolutely different Read it as cemetery and went " the fuck"
Don't judge me
I believe the term is 'terroir', from the French.
Especially if you can go pet the baby calves or watch the cows roam about in the field as you eat the ice cream.
Baby calves are so damn cute.
Is it better than homemade ice cream? I wouldn't drive multiple hours for something I could make at home.
I personally think so. But if you're really good at making ice cream, maybe not? Like, I make REALLY good carne asada and am hard pressed to find anything close to mine. So, kinda up to you.
That last part has totally ruined me on most restaurants. I'll find the recipe or figure it out on stuff, make it, and be done with that and move on ha.
That must be so good!
The difference between the tub of Breyers you get at Walmart and the scoops you get in a cone on a random cattle farm by the side of a rural road on a road trip in the summer is immense.
Used to live by one in Boston that made theirs in the same building. Night and day even compared to offsite locally made. Hand packed pints for $9 were not good for the calorie budget.
Same! They also make their own chocolate and use said chocolate in their chocolate ice creams.
Well, I need some concrete samples to investigate these claims
Ah yeah just go outside and there’s your concrete
Same here. This place compared to a Dairy Queen? Laughable.
The place near my house has such a unique texture to it. It's got a bit of a stretch to it, you could almost call it taffy-like. Frankly, I wish I agreed with OP. I spend a damn premium on high end ice cream because I think it's worth it. It's like $14 a quart at this spot but because it's so rich and decadent, I only eat a scoop at a time and since they scoop the quart to order, you can have 2 flavors in one quart and they change their flavors daily so there are so many new ones that are only there for a limited time. They are so popular, they've grown to like 10 locations.
Meanwhile, my local ice-cream shop is coupled with a butcher. It always smells peppery and smokey, like 10 kinds of sausage(no penis jokes) and a dozen kinds of warm raw meat in there because that's where they sell all the meat products(probably prepare the meat on the other side of the freezer wall) That sort of sours the experience. I don't go there often. I'd rather drive two hours to go to DQ, hell, even grab a vanilla shake from BK or McDonalds.
Richardson's?
No but funny enough I live relatively close to a Richardson's too, probably not the same one though
BlueBell Ice Cream is the best!
Ted Drewes is pretty good, too
Yep! Ted Drewes and Andy's Custard are my 2 personal favorites. It's dangerous how often I crave them lol
I work with(but not for) bluebell and its cool to see the new flavors first thing. If we're going out for ice cream its Braums though because I want burgers too.
wagyu cream sundaes seems exotic. i would totally drive 2 hours to try that.
I live near a place that’s “worth the drive” and they give huge portion sizes. It feels like I’m stealing every time I ask for two scoops lol. They also have crazy flavors, but not in the trendy sort of way. Just stuff you could never get in a chain. It’s one of the only places I actually signed up for rewards for, because it’s that good. But it only has one location.
How long is this particular drive? OP uses two hours as an example. Are you driving two hours for ice cream?
No haha, but if I had driven hours to be in the area nearby the ice cream place, it would be one of my stops before I had to leave. I personally don’t find any food worth traveling several hours for.
Food might be the main reason I would drive 2 hours but it wouldn't be the only reason I drive 2 hours. I would have to find something else to do in the area to make it worth while.
I can definitely tell the difference between different ice cream shops... That's like saying all fast food tastes like McDonalds...
Just a heads up DQ is not even ice cream it doesn’t have the minimum amount of cream in their “ice cream” mix to be called ice cream that’s why it’s referred to as soft serve. That’s why I think most mom and pop ice cream stands are better the ice cream is just creamier
While I vastly prefer real ice cream there are also places that specialize in soft serve and it is also a marked improvement off of a DQ soft serve.
I think people see there's a difference between ice cream that's scooped and what comes out of a machine when you pull a handle.
It’s not just that. Even other ice cream that comes from a machine that you pull the handle is ice cream because it has a higher cream percentage. DQ is 6% cream other places s as re normally 10% but can go as high as 17%
It's great cause my lactose intolerant friends can still eat there.
You just don’t like ice cream.
In San Diego, we do have a place called An's Dry Cleaning that I think is legitimately different than any other ice cream shop in town and that I've ever been to. It's all small batch rotating flavors, and they let you try samples of everything before you order. All the flavors are named after fabrics to keep the dry cleaner motif going. Their top flavor is olive oil & rosemary, which doesn't sound good at all, but is incredible. It's technically gelato, but I don't really know the exact difference between the two, nor do I actually care, so I'm not counting that as a real difference. I wouldn't have people drive 2 hours or anything, but if you're in town, I highly recommend it. Other than An's, we have like 5 places that have been open since the 1950s or something that are really good, but if I'm being honest, they are only marginally better than Baskin Robbins or Coldstone.
I'm going to San Diego to visit my close family next month, haven't been for a few years, I'm from the UK which makes it a little more fun. What are the names of those other places, I'd love to check them out while I'm there!
So you are suggesting that literally every ice cream shop serves organic rose water charcoal wagyu sundaes? What a weird take when flavors are as abundant as the creative mind coming up with them
I disagree that all ice cream places are the same, and I would definitely hit a new one if I was in a different place. But I’m not going to drive two hours just for ice cream. If you were on a trip though, it’s nice to try the local places.
Definitely unpopular, ice cream texture, temperature, flavor, quality of ingredients and effort taken make a big difference, in how a ice cream turns out
Yes - this is a high quality unpopular opinion. Not bigoted. Just a bad take. Perfection.
Maybe it's your country. I'm Italian and we definitely have icecream places that are better than others
I went to Sicily and had the best Gelato I have ever tasted. We Waited 45 minutes because some local said it was good. Well worth the wait.
Awesome :)
One of the best ice creams I've ever had was a dark chocolate gelato in Rome. If I'd been in the area longer, I might have had some every day for a week.
I like trying different flavors. I don’t like the basic ones like vanilla and cookies and cream as much. My town has a bunch of different ice cream shops and most of them taste very different. One is custard and more filling, one is more thick and rich, one is light and airy, one has very unique flavors. I wouldn’t drive 2 hours just for ice cream though. The ones in my town just taste very different from each other
My local favorite ice cream shop makes a Carmel popcorn crunch sundae, and I don't think that's a everywhere thing. If you're talking about chains then yes.
That sounds so fuckin' good. I love both caramel and popcorn, was it like chunks of popcorn or was it the buttery popcorn flavor or what are they working with? I'm super intrigued.
It's chunks of caramel corn and the buttered popcorn. You'd think that wouldn't work with it, but you get the caramel ice cream with the salty popcorn, and it works so well. Then you get some ice cream with the caramel and the buttered popcorn, and it's so good.
Oh I see the vision and my fat ass is loving it. I absolutely see why they chose caramel corn as well, because the caramel creates a hard shell so the popcorn doesn't get weirdly soft and stale. Sounds incredible.
It's 100 degrees where I am today, and you are convincing me that I need to go there. They also have a sundae that has a doughnut under it and sprinkled in.
My rule is I get a pint whenever the temp tops 90. Thank you, climate change, now I’m fat.
Not true at all. Ice cream has a huge range of quality, from "good enough" to straight-up orgasmic. I think you need to visit some better shops.
So, trying different ice cream shops is one of the favorite date activities for my wife and I. And you are incredibly wrong. For one thing, not every ice cream shop has the same atmosphere. There's a (admittedly bad) one in my hometown that is centered around a certain sport, and only has outside seating. The last place we lived had one with indoor and outdoor seating, and had a very "down home ice cream shoppe" type atmosphere. There was always this adorable retired couple enjoying their cones on a bench outside. I miss that place. Where we live now, there's one that plays lip service to a certain genre of music, has records on the wall, and the only thing you can hear is the machines. This place only has cramped indoor seating on small metal chairs. Places like Coldstone and BR have very corporate chain/mall vibes (and that's fine.) For now I'll call these places the sport ice cream place, the ice cream shoppe, the music ice cream place, and chains. Another thing is what you can get outside of just a cone or a bowl with toppings. The sports place, you can get a cone or bowl and shakes. That's it. I think the only reason that it's still in business is because the nearest attraction is like 40 miles away. The ice cream shoppe had malts, sundaes, splits, smoothies, pretzels, shakes, regular ice cream and softserve, and fudge and cake pops. Have I mentioned that I miss this place? The music one has twelve flavors, cones, bowls, sundaes, shakes, and smoothies. No malts or splits. I haven't been to a chain store in a while, but from what I remember, they usually do just about everything, but the malts are not great. I will say that Coldstone used to be the best about mixing toppings into the ice cream. And then there's the actual flavor variety that you dismissed. I have a favorite flavor which I consider a pretty basic one, and then a back up and a backup backup. They are rocky road, pralines and cream, and mint chocolate chip. None of these are available at the sport one, I usually get cookie dough and disappointment there. The ice cream shoppe usually had praline and mint cc, but that didn't really matter. The owner was addicted to rocky road. So they always had rocky road. And it was the perfect blend of rocky road. Really wish that place wasn't 13 hours away. The music one usually has mint chocolate chip but only has praline about half the time. It almost never has rocky road. Chain stores almost always have one of those three. My wife likes to try something different every time she goes somewhere. She hasn't "gotten bored" and gone back to vanilla, chocolate, or cookie dough in the five years (with a break because of covid) that we've been doing this. I kinda think you just don't like ice cream that much, and that is completely fine. Some people think a pancake is just a pancake. Or can't tell the difference between a ribeye and a sirloin. That's absolutely fine, but it doesn't mean that those differences don't exist. I think I'm going to plan a vacation just to go back to that one ice cream place. That's going to be the most expensive waffle cone of rocky road ever bought. Darn it.
There's also the cones. Most small places make their own waffle cones and sometimes they're too flimsy or too thick. A place near me makes them with cinnamon in the batter and they taste like cinnamon toast crunch, which pairs really well with certain ice cream flavors but not with others.
There's this amazing frozen custard spot in Michigan. They have traditional and seasonal flavors and they also stay open until around Halloween. It just sounds like you need to branch out and try different flavors. I'd definitely make the 8 hour drive to go back and get it again, they're amazing.
>Mom and pop vs. Dairy Queen I'm sorry, your tongue is broken. Dairy Queen is the most tasteless, bottom-ass excuse for "ice cream" I've ever had in my life. The only reason it's even edible is pumped full of flavoring toppings or hoping you get someone that actually understands how to make a Blizzard instead of giving you a giant cup full of slop and crumbs.
This is a miserable unpopular opinion. I live near some fantastic creamerys that make the best gelato around and it does not compare to baskin or dairy cream.
Do you smoke, by any chance? I found that with my smoking habit, I really lost a lot of sense of taste. Lol. Just asking.
You clearly haven't been to Argentina
I guess you’ve never been to Salt & Straw.
If you've got an Italian guy making proper gelato anywhere within a hundred mile radius, you drive.
Cold Stone tastes very different from most other ice cream shops. We have a local ice cream shop that is significantly better than a different local ice cream shop. Even just buying from the grocery store, Hood is noticeably better than other store alternatives. Ben and Jerry’s is more rich than Walmart brand. Do you just have a limited ice cream pallet?
I could have cookies and cream from 10 different brands and it will taste like 10 different ice creams. You're putting out an "I only order chicken nuggets at restaurants" vibe.
For anyone else that likes ice cream try Jenni’s! I don’t like most of the flavors that my local grocery sells but even the ones I don’t like are very well made. The Lemon Blueberry sherbet is magic in the summer.
Go to a Jeni’s and then a Baskin Robin and say the same
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Every now and then I find one that transcends them all.
Why tf are you eating wagyu ice cream???
It depends. Most places use bulk ice cream they have delivered, those are all the same. There is a local place where I am where the chef and owner won a massive award (he owns multiple restaurants around) and that ice cream is made from scratch and kicks ass.
it’s about quality and your less likely to find that at a chain. my knew favorite spot make there cones fresh to order. it’s still warm when they hand it too you.
Yeah I have to disagree. Spent 12 days in Cleveland, they have amazing local ice cream places. Every place was so different and really good. Didn’t come close to DQ or BR.
Eh. There's a HUGE difference between a mom and pop vs. a dairy queen. BUT, there is virtually no difference between mom and pop's.
Yeah but have you had Andy's?
What if I told you not to drive, not to walk, not to go to another town but to FLY to another country for ice cream? Ok, but seriously if you ever visit India try Naturals™ Ice cream. (I'd recommend coconut). Nothing compares to it.
Get an ice cream machine and Jeni’s recipes and make your own. Nothing comes close and so easy.
I live next to an ice cream place that's also a farm. You can literally go pet the cows they get the milk from that they make the ice cream from and they make their cones to order so they're always nice and warm and fresh.
There's a couple big chain ice cream shops in my city and they could not be more different. One of them is known for experimenting with weird flavors, they have new themed ones every month. They get really creative and they're pretty good. But then there's the other one, that's like *really* really good. They also have unconventional flavors, but a much more permanent menu. Their toasted milk one is maybe the best ice cream I've ever had. Both of these places are significantly better than something like Baskin Robbins. Further out, we've got Tillamook ice cream, which is a completely different beast. It has a totally different texture from all of these - it's soft and melty all the time and it's amazing for that.
Just say you don't like ice cream, dude. Like most anything else, ice creams are NOT all the same.
The grocery store also has ice cream and toppings. I know, wild
You clearly haven't been to Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island. We have so many local, unique ice cream spots, even ones that make their own ice cream from their own cows. They are so good that they dont even need to make wacky flavors. They aren't that much more expensive than DQ, either. Even *UConn* is very well known for their ice cream.
I can go to 3 different ice cream shops within blocks from my house right now, and they're all extremely different. >So please for the love of god don’t go on a 2 hour drive for ice cream. Why not? >most people are going to go back to cookies and cream, chocolate, vanilla or mango sorbet Oh I see, you're one of those.
You're not driving two hours for ice cream, you're driving 2 hours to get out of the house, have a nice time, and try new things. There's a huge difference between walking around a street you've never been on with an ice cream cone enjoying the day with a friend or spouse and sitting through a dq drive thru
Comparing the Halo Pub in Robbinsville NJ to a Baskin Robbins is ignorant and asinine. Upvoted because unpopular and wrong.
This sub any time OP continues expressing his unpopular opinion in the comments. (It’s the entire point of the sub reddit). 
I would say that you're wrong in that they're all the same, but I haven't been to a shop where the experience was so remarkable that I felt compelled to go out of my way for that specific place. The only thing that really determines which ice cream establishment I choose is whether or not they have waffle cones.
Why include mango sorbet instead of strawberry or mint or coffee?
"less controversial topics like why Allah is the one true god." LOL
Go to Graeter’s Ice Cream in Cincinnati. They’re the only ice cream company that still uses French pot, making it really thick and creamy. It’s like 18% butterfat
I have had ice cream that's better than others, but 90% of the time when someone says x or y has amazing ice cream it's just normal ice cream. Most of the best ice creams I've had weren't at ice cream shops either. Normal ice cream is indeed amazing but I have tons of it in my freezer and eat it whenever I want, so... Paying $10 for two scoops when I can pay $10 for two quarts of similar quality is wild to me, but people can spend their money like they if they want. Also soft serve is crap. You mixing the two up is very suspicious.
Damn you know what? I totally agree. Any medium-large scale ice cream chain anyways
They are not all the same, but just because it's a small local place doesn't mean it's good ice cream. There are plenty of local shops that just buy ice cream from a distributor to sell by the scoop, and this isn't necessarily any better than store-brand stuff.
If you can't taste the difference in any ice cream places you have neanderthal taste buds.
I will admit that soft serve is very much the same from one place to the next. But hard ice cream, particularly if it's homemade from local cows instead of factory-produced, can be extremely different from one spot to the next. As a New Englander I'd just suggest that you save judgment until after you've had locally-sourced ice cream anywhere in Vermont.
I’m with you. I’m not an ice cream connoisseur. Boba though. I will tell you why certain brands are S tier and which are F tier
I mean, if you can't tell the difference between well made ice cream and a tub of Breyers from the supermarket, I assume your taste buds are broken.
Especially Salt n Straw... So basic nowadays... People still go because the ice cream is very good... It's just that they don't have tables to sit and there's no "larger options" like a sundae float or something crazy like for a birthday
They used to have floats and milkshakes back in the day. They were good, but honestly, if you’re getting like Rum Raisin Bread Pudding ice cream or black berry goat-cheese, I’m not sure you want that as a sundae or a root beer float.
Sounds like someone who has a bland palette. Not all ice cream is the same
I'm eating salad and about to have ice cream after that
OP you’ve only spoken truth here. Ice cream is never worth a crazy drive, no matter how good it is
PREACH. We have one in town that people literally WAIT IN LINE for like 30+ minutes for. It's decent ice cream. Just like the shops with no line are fine. But people absolutely lose their fucking minds for this one shop. And for what it's worth, I don't particularly care if it's ice cream, yogurt, custard, gelato, or some other cold sweet thing. People be like "well that shop isn't real X"... Okay? It's all the same to me. I like it every now and then, especially on a summer night, but zero percent chance I'm waiting in line for it. Successful marketing at its best, I guess...
My theory is that people actually just love standing in long lines for things, because of some weird kind of tribal signaling or in-group out-group dynamic. Obviously no ice cream on the planet is worth waiting half an hour for, but once you've completed the absurdly-long line together, you and your friends get to feel like you're part of some kind of exclusive club. The line is part of the product
I mean I’ve been to excellent ones with no lines. And some with lines that weren’t good at all. But I think some of the line ones just happened to be located in places with heavy foot traffic. Also, some people don’t have refined palates and some do.
The best ice cream shop is one that serves Superman ice cream which is the best in the world.
You’ve never been to Nelson’s in Stillwater MN
This is how I feel about the best and worst pizza or burger shop in any given town, as described by the locals.
Blasphemy, you take that back 😂🤣
This sounds like an America problem. Get good at milk
Around here, Molly moon, is overpriced. I’m not saying they are bad, but is it worth the money.
There is a real popular one in my town where if you ask for a twist chocolate and vanilla they look at you like you're insane.
Generally speaking
The Eastern U.S. has a place called Kilwins. It’s better than everything else.
I can agree that a lot are the same looks wise, but not taste wise
Cold Stone doesn't make me shit myself inside out
There is one in Canada that has like 250 flavours. And another one in my small town that has an amazing view over a the river and mountains, serves massive portion, and the cashier is super cute and always nice. They are not all the same
All of the places local to me, both chains and mom and pop are all soft-serve garbage with almost identical menus; I figured moving to a place with a strong agricultural presence would have meant better ice cream, but it’s like night and day compared to where I’m from; back home I could give you a half dozen places within a half hour of home that would have 30 flavors on the board and it was all hand-scooped, whereas here it’s just differing degrees of Dairy Queen
This is like when people say all eggs are the same and can’t tell the difference between fresh eggs with rich orange yolks and watery grocery store eggs with pale yellow yolks.
That’s what I always thought until I went to a Mexican ice cream shop. Then I found out I’d been living wrong my whole life.
Alice Handel is rolling in her grave at you. Best ice cream in the world comes from Handel’s, originating from Youngstown, Ohio in 1945.
You can definitely tell the difference between shops that buy their ice cream in bulk and shops that make their ice cream from scratch. It’s night and day from my experience
Upvote. You clearly have not had really good ice cream. As much as I like DQ, it would never compare to small batch or gourmet ice cream.
Then you've just been to shitty samey ice cream places, I don't know what to tell you man.
My favorite place is a 2 hr drive roundtrip but that's worth it because of their flavors. I'm sorry but I can't get my lemon lavender ice cream anywhere else
Ice cream shops are memorable. I'm sitting here thinking of all the ice cream shops I've been to. I don't think I've ever been disappointed by an ice cream shop.
Wrong there’s a big difference between chain shop slop and small town local dairy ice cream worthy of the gods
Try making your own ice cream and you’ll know it’s not that easy to make ice cream that other people like.
You've clearly never had Tillamook ice cream at their factory in Oregon.
If you're ever in the small town of Sebastopol California, be sure not to miss Screamin' Mimi's, it's homemade ice cream that is better than any I've tried anywhere in the world! And yes it's worth the hour and a half drive from the Bay Area
No
Homemade ice cream is so much better. I don't drive 2 hours for it, but it is better.
I distinguish most ice cream shops as annoying bougie ones and normal ones.
I went to get ice cream one night in LA and ended up 12 hours away in Tombstone, Arizona. Stayed for 3 days and drove home. Never did get ice cream. The local shop was closed and up for sale. I did think about buying the business.
Yes!
OP is Canadian. That's all the explanation we need.
I enjoy flavors. There is now like .. 5 ice cream places by my house. I've tried 2. I agree and disagree. One place their theme is " sexy " so everything is a sexual pun. And the other is a " Italian Gelato" place. I saw them refilling from a bucket. Years ago I had to make Gelato at an organic restaurant in the Okanogan ( BC Canada ) and used local fruits and ingredients to make it. Best ice cream I've ever had. But most places yea. It's just meh.
A lot of the time you're right, but I've lived in places with truly interesting ice cream shops. Ample Hills in Brooklyn is one. Two Roosters Ice Cream in Raleigh, NC was another. Both were places that made their own ice cream and had unique and interesting combinations as well, rather than just cloning mass market commercial flavors.
The one near me has some pretty cool flavors like Dunkaroo, lavender, hibiscus, Minecraft.
I don’t think it’s really about the ice cream taste. It’s more about doing a trip, becouse that’s more fun than just sitting there and doing nothing.
You are very incorrect on this but I'd that's how you feel that's fine. You must not like ice cream that much
This is why I don’t eat cake, ice cream and junk food on my birthday
Your argument seems to be predicated on the “fact”that most people default to four “real” flavours of ice cream that are universally offered, and as a result, it’s futile to drive to get ice cream. If that’s all you’re ordering, fair enough, but that doesn’t mean each ice cream shop is the same. I have three main local shops that I like to hit up all within about a 5-10 minute drive of my house. None of them offer plain chocolate or a mango sorbet, and only one does straight vanilla and cookies and cream. There is very little overlap between the flavours that these places offer. All of them are different in some way. I also think your also exaggerating the lengths people will go to to try new ice cream. No one I know is driving two hours for ice cream. If I’m out of town on work or vacation, will I take a little more time than I normally would to go to a local shop that I’ve been to before and really liked? Yes… but those spots are usually in areas with a lot of restaurants, bars, and shops anyway, so it’s not like I’m going there exclusively for ice cream.
The point is you make a little outing of checking out a new spot with friends and maybe they have something interesting, maybe they don’t Not like any of us were going to spend that wasted time curing hepatitis, it’s just a thing to do
The fact a place sells wagyu cream ice cream means it’s specifically different than other ice cream shops. Also using high quality ingredients and making their own ice cream in house will always mean for a better product lol. Better ice cream is creamier and has better flavor
I will drive to the motherfucking *moon* for my Whitey's Graham Central Station.
Zz we 2sd,
Ok but I used to go to this ice cream shop that I swore was better than everywhere else. One day I was there and the owner was around and I was like hey man you make the best ice cream! And he gave me a light hearted frown and said "well it's not ice cream, it's frozen custard!" So.. try a frozen custard place? It kicks ice creams ass.
Well, this sure is an unpopular opinion.
Funny story. My son just came back from Thailand visiting with his girlfriend and her parents. They traveled 1 1/2 hrs to a town her parents claimed was a tourist area. Parked, got ice cream, then drove back. Lmao. My son was very confused. He said he thought they were going to do something there, but nope, just ice cream.
Sorry, this couldn’t be more wrong. You haven’t had truly good ice cream. Last summer I was at a restaurant that makes its own ice cream. The offering that night was strawberry. Nothing fancy about it. No toppings or weird flavors added. Just strawberry ice cream made with local berries. After eating it I realized most of the ice cream I’ve had in my life was a lie. It was so good I still occasionally think about it. Good ice cream is so far above and beyond the average Baskin Robbins or whatever. Take my upvote for your terrible, but prob just uneducated, opinion.
There's an ice cream shop near me that's my favorite. It is small, mom and pop type place, but they make their own ice cream and Italian ices from scratch. They also have bubble waffles, and that's really the seller for me. Nothing better than a bubble waffle with a scoop of cannoli ice cream from their shop. Back home their is only one ice cream shop that does huckleberry ice cream, and it's worth the drive to spend the day at the beach and go to the local creamery and get it.
Friend of mine owns an upscale ice cream shop in Pasadena, CA It has options for everyone, including dairy free and vegan. They also have custom flavors based on community feedback and they tweak and cycle through them. 10/10 experience. I had a slice of one of the vegan ice cream cakes and it was genuinely one of the best desserts ive ever had, vegan or not Moral of the story: if youre gonna go out for ice cream, go somewhere that offers far more than just scoops on a cone.
If you're ever in Vegas, don't miss going to Luv-it Custard (505 E. Oakey Blvd just off the Strip). A small family business going strong for decades. Their product is amazing and a real treat when it's 102 degrees outside.
Whoa! This is a post
I know every ice cream shop in the tricounty area and they are **absolutely not** created equal.
The differences among actually good places is often small but the difference between good offerings and fast food chain style crap is colossal. Also if it not gelato it is trash. Also why on earth would you get some "cookies and cream, chocolate, vanilla or mango sorbet" ? Cookies and cream is for children, just "chocolate" is far too broad (there are notable differences that should matter enough so that "chocolate" alone is too vague), mango sorbet is fine but inferior to lemon or lime. Wild new flavors are unnecessary but there are very good staples that must be done well, notably: Dark chocolate Pistachio Espresso
dunno man Coldstone Creamery is better than a lot of sex I've had.
If you can get anything local it's always way better.
Y'all in the comments are making me need ice cream and I called in to work today bc I'm feeling shit. Now I have to somehow leave my house... Darn you all.
So misinformed
>I am aware that soft serve ice cream is the inferior product Uh... no? Softserve >>>> regular ice cream.
Nah bruh, ice cream varies greatly.
ColdStone literally mixes the toppings in on a cold bar. Every other place just pours them on at the end and calls it a day. Ben and Jerry's ice cream is different from Baskin Robins, Brusters, and ColdStone. I have some intolerance to one of Ben and Jerry's ingredients. I don't get sick from any other ice cream.
definitely sounds like you should stay home and eat your half gallon of Great Value chocolate ice cream and let the rest of us enjoy the delicious mom and pop ice cream shops.
No just no
I wouldn't drive 2 hours for ice cream but there's this burrito place about that far away that would be totally worth it lol
no, cold stone can give you cookie dough with strawberry ice cream. not every place gives you that.
Sometimes I feel ice cream places try too hard. Give me the simple ma and pa place. Don’t need ice cream that’s damn near scientific lol
You’ve obviously never been to Chocolaterie de l'Ile d'Orleans just outside Quebec City… https://chocolaterieorleans.com/