Research update

Beth here.

I’ve been working hard to meet my ice cream quota despite the cold weather and have a few things to relate. First off, store-bought ice-cream is usually a last resort, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Secondly, if you’re going to go store-bought, the little containers are usually your best bet. These ratings are based on a scale of store-bought ice cream–if we were comparing this stuff to gelato (say, Il Grand Duca in Florence being a five), none of these would rate over a two…

Test #1: Dove ice cream.
Rating: Three stars.
The best part is that there’s a layer of solid chocolate over the top of the ice cream that you have to hack through with a spoon. Now this could be seen as a detriment if you’re really desperate to get to the ice cream… but the chocolate (particularly the dark chocolate, in my opinion… but we all know I’m biased) is quite good. The ice cream is not bad either, for store bought. I tried the raspberry chocolate flavor and was pretty happy while it lasted.

Test #2: Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
Rating: Four stars.
The best store-bought ice cream I’ve found so far. Not quite as good as the ice cream you’ll get made fresh at a Ben & Jerry’s store, but close. Very creamy, awesome flavors. In the past two weeks I’ve had a pint of Phish Food (always a favorite… VERY chocolatey, and excellent for putting you in a better mood) and the Dublin Mudslide (Irish Cream flavored with swirls of fudge–also quite nice). More to follow…

Test #3: Homemade Ice Cream
Rating: Three stars
Despite the oxymoronic name, pretty good ice cream. The mint chocolate chip is among the best (for that flavor) of any store-bought brands, and I just finished a carton of the Turtle Sundae… I don’t know if it was a mixing error in my carton, or what, but ALL of the caramel was at the very top, so you kind of had to dig through it to get to the ice cream… which was actually kind of awesome–made it more like a sundae.

I’m gonna go out and get some Hagen Daas (though from previous experience I know it’s decent but nowhere near as good as when you get it fresh from an ice cream stand in Germany…) and do some more research. Anybody have suggestions for other brands I should try?

 

Bruster’s

Beth here.

Whatever.  It’s never too cold for ice cream.  You just have to crank the heat up and eat it indoors–preferably while sitting around in your underwear.  And maybe with a mug of hot chocolate.

However, I did manage to take advantage of one of the last warm-ish days of autumn last weekend and took a trip with a trusty, like-minded (read:  ice cream-obsessed) friend to Bruster’s.  It’s a small ice cream store chain that’s scattered randomly around the States–you may or my not have one in your area, but you can find all their store locations at http://www.brusters.com.  Highly recommended.  They make all their ice cream fresh in the store and it’s about the best I’ve been able to find in the States–certainly the best in a chain-type store.  Add to that the fact that they have lots of nifty seasonal flavors (I had pumpkin pie ripple and caramel apple crunch since it was such a lovely crisp fall day…) and fun promotional ideas (like show-up-in-your-pajamas-and-get-a-free-cone-day, or a standard policy that if it’s raining or snowing at the time of purchase you get a second scoop free), and you’ve got a really world-class operation.  The #1 flavor so far:  Chocolate raspberry truffle.  I’m drooling just thinking about it.

Anyone else experienced the glory that is Bruster’s?  Or do you challenge my assertion that it’s the best ice cream chain in the States?  Because if so, I’m going to have to go into the trenches and research the competition, which would be really awful.

Hoping for some dissent,

-Beth