February means ice cream openings just around the corner.

February!  Valentines day!  The great ice cream for this year would be strawberry, chocolate truffle raspberry swirl, or anything that includes cherries, or raspberries.

But it also means that ice cream lovers could count the days now on when the ice cream stands would open.

As far as the great 5 ice cream stands are, Bedford Farms, Richardsons, and Jay Gees are open year round, with the origional Methuin location reopening up on February 22nd (Maybe if Salem NH sells well, they could move the ice cream location to the Family Fun Center and have ice cream and arcades all year round.

Anyways, Rota Springs is opening in just four weeks and Kimball Farms will open shortly afterword.  I've allready made up my mind on what I'm going to have.

At Rota Springs, it's Maple Walnut (Maybe Bacon if they have any) and Indian Pudding (if they still have some), as well as a meatball sub there.

At Kimball Farms, it's a Kimball Special consisting of Maple Walnut (or Bacon), Pistachio, and Irish Coffee, with Hot Fudge and Peanut Butter.

But it's still has a feeling that before you know it, we would be serving Peach ice cream as well as sorbet and then, pumpkin, gingersnap, indian pudding, and before you know it, off season again.

Well, happy last days of the dark days of ice cream!


ICE CREAM SCHEDUAL:

Kimball Farms:
Late March through Columbus Day (leftovers for sale afterword at Westford only)

Rota Springs:
March 2nd through November 3rd

Jay Gee's Ice Cream:
Year Round (Salem, NH), February 22nd through October (Methuin MA)

Bedford Farms:
Open Year Round

Richardson's Ice Cream:
Open Year Round

The Boom of Fro-yo, and what would it mean for Ice Cream

Lots of ice cream stands that are seasonal may be going the way of the blockbuster corner or the bowling ally.  Sure, Kimballs, Richardsons, and other more highly reconized stands may stay and may be like the modern bowling ally today, but that small ice cream stand, maybe even a Dairy Queen ice cream stand may start posting signs saying: "We are closing forever after this season.  Thanks for XX years of service".

:( I will miss you, ice cream stand.

 

Let's face it.  Frozen yogurt is healthier than ice cream.  And with the boom of self serve frozen yogurts, you have more flexibility then the ice cream stand counterpart.  As for ice cream stands, you only have a choice of a fixed size and a few toppings to choose from.

 

However, does it mean that the ice cream days are over?  Not quite.  Ice cream will be here to stay, but certain catagory of ice cream stands, especially seasonal corner stands, may be the ones to worry.

 

If you are a typical ice cream stand today, serving ice cream April through October, you could be facing a so-called "frozen treat" competitor nearby that may be open year round serving healthier frozen yogurt that people can customize themselves.  However, bigger chain ice cream places like Dairy Queen may still be here, but confined to malls and food courts.

 

But ice cream fanatics don't despair.  Not all ice cream stands will be going down and out.

 

Small ice cream stands like Uhlman's and Erikson's ice cream may be facing a rocky future, especially on though who rely on another place for ice cream...

...but Kimball Farms, Richardsons, and other high profile places may be here to stay.

 

So, while minor season April-though-October ice cream stands may face a bleak future, the ice cream as a product will still be around.  It's just that the stands left standing will be the ones that has other things like mini-golf and other foods as well.  It's just that frozen yogurt will replace to some extent ice cream as a regular sweet splurger, while I may still go out sometimes to have some ice cream.

 

Now, I do like frozen yogurt.  It's just that the new concept of self serve fro-yo may finally re-shape the frozen treat industry.

 

Return Engagement - Putnam Pantry - The Battle of Bunker Hill

A Week later, I gave a challenge of the Battle of Bunker Hill sundae at the Putnam Pantry.  Now, I got this, so you can have an idea of what this is.  It's basically a 17-scoop sundae, and with the toppings that I can add from the smorgasboard, this is comparable to the Vermonster.

Oh, yea.  Let's say this again.  Yo!  Behold!  The Ziggy Pig..Ahem...The Battle of Bunker Hill.  The Greatest Ice Cream Specticle known to man kind.  "Eat the pig.  Eat the pig.  Ziggy Ziggy Ziggy Pig." (High Five!)

And Yo and Behold, This Sundae is gimornous!  I can't really tell the flavers, but what you see here is practically the ENTIRE flavers that the Putnam Pantry on the list.  Not to mention that this Sundae will cost you 19 dollars.

Needless to say, I couldn't finish this sundae.  Not even half the sundae.  Now if I compare to the size of the Kimball Special, I say, this is Kimball Special times 3!

Shot Cakes - Burlington Mall - Burlington MA

Cupcakes shot with Ice Cream.  Well, Maybe some people will get the new stuff here, but if you are a true ice cream fan, then you may know that you can order a small ice cream with the cupcake, mix it up, and get something better.

Please note that this image is directly from Shot-Cakes.com website, as there's no cameras allowed in the mall, and I used my iPod Touch to take a pic of my shotcake, which was a chocolate fudge cupcake filled with vanilla ice cream.

You go up to the counter, order a cupcake, and then shoot yourself a choice of chocolate or vanilla ice cream into the cupcake, and there's your dessert.  Seems great, but did I had cake and ice cream before?  Certainly.  The Phantom Gormet may make it look good, but in reality, it ends up as something that I had before, where I know that I can have something better like going to Crumbs and ordering a cupcake, then going to an ice cream place, order a small ice cream, mix it up, and get something many times better then this.

But while we've seen this "somewhat before", it does demonstrate that bakeries and ice cream parlors can go together well.  Maybe I can go to Kimball Farms, order a cupcake from the country store, then go to the ice cream stand and order myself a kiddie or a small ice cream, and have something just as good.

My final thoughts of shot-cakes: Is it good?  Yea, it's not a bad place.  But is it overrated?  Yes.  For ice cream lovers who go across New England, a true ice cream experience may be instead Richardson's ice cream, Kimballs, or Putnam Pantry.  Now if only they added a bakery section, then you can make your own cupcake sundae.

Shot-Cakes - Burlington.
Open Year Round

See Burlington Mall hours.

Website: www.shot-cakes.com

Happy Holidays. Dieting after New Years.

Well, the holidays are about an escape from the harsh lifestyles.  Missing out on the treats and goodies and going to work.

New Years Day is Tuesday, Jan 1st.  Wednesday is the real Labor Day.  Back to work, back on a diet, and doing taxes.

The new years resolution: Yup, of course to go back to where I was during the summer.  Well, that's what I usually do.  Lose in the spring, gain in the fall.  But also is to support local business.  Am I crazy about big chain parlors?  No.  There are planty of ice cream places that are open year round.  Bedford farms and Jay Gee's is one of the few that are open during the year.  Not that I'm going to go there every day, as I am going to eat a low carb diet with nuts, veggies, and fish.

But that's here it goes.  Work and diet in the spring (well, don't forget valentines day), go to Kimballs just for a kimball special late march, depending on when they are open (Can't believe that Kimball's dont even sell ice coffee during the winter, which is kind of bazarre), maybe enjoy an ocassional lobster roll on a few weekends during april or may, then the summer flys through, before you know it, Kimball's and Rota Springs sells apple crisp starting late August through october (November 3rd in Rota), and before you know it, fall and winter vacation...again.

This year is Kimball's 75th season by the way.  But I will still enjoy an occasional ice cream at Jay Gee's or Richardsons.  The key is: diet during the weekdays, and every other weekend, enjoy a nice sundae.

But yup.  January is the worst month of the year.

Well, just think about these Kimball specials before Kimballs opens up perhaps March 30th.

Putnam Pantry - Danvers MA

Located at the route 1, 62 intersection in the cloverleaf, this place may be known for the candies (I did purchase a few for the holiday break, I also went in for the ice cream, which was visited by the Phantom Gormet.

As soon as I entered the house, I can hear the floor creek as soon as I walked in.  It's been here since the 1700s, making this an oldest chocolate place in New England, as far as I know.  It's got some Christmas related chocolates, as well as other stuff like chocolate covered Coconut clusters, peanut butter cups, and fudges.

But the ice cream is a first.  24 flavers of ice cream (Well, I didn't ask where the ice cream came from).  The question is, did I order the battle of bunker hill?  No.  Maybe I will challenge it one day.  Instead, I ordered a banana split consisting of cookies and cream, moose tracks, and Dino crunch.  They just put the ice cream and bananas on the plate (Yup, that's right, they give you a dish for your ice cream to put on).  That's where the fun begins.

Right after you pay, you go to the toppings bar, which is called the Smorgasboard there.  Well, not as much as Hebert Candy Mansion, this thing has a few liquid toppings including marshmelows, butterscotch, and chocolate, and several other dry toppings.

Now, another unique experience is, you leave your trash on the table.  Wow.  I wander if someone is paid extra for being maid for these customers, but that's some unique service.  Meanwhile, after my ice cream, I did purchase a few chocolate items before I left, including a few peanut butter santas, fudge, and a few other chocolate pieces.

Again, sorry if the photo was bad, but anyways, it's what consumer's capabilities of creating a banana bliss out of a banana split.  The problem?  It's located right at the cloverleaf, so I had to miander my way around to finally get in the place.

Putnam Pantry - Danverse MA

Open Year Round
Hours: Unknown.

Hebert Candy Mansion - Shrewsbury, MA

Well, it's more of a chocolate shop then an ice cream parlor, but this place does sell ice cream, along with chocolates, ranging from truffles to chocolate santas to seasonal stuff.  Because it's near Christmas, they had chocolate sculptures.  Of course I didn't buy them, but I did bought a couple of chocolate peanut butter cups from that place.

With Christmas lights around, it's sure is a nice place to go during December.  Anyways, as far as Ice Cream is concerned, they have about 15 to 20 flavers from Bliss Bros. Dairy in Attlborough, right near Rhode Island.  You can't miss it up, if you are going on Route 20 west going off route 9 westbound.

The Toppings bar consists of several dry toppings like M&Ms, oreo, and other stuff, along with several different types of chocolate toppings, peanut butter, marshmellow, and caramel.  The toppings bar could very well set the bar on other ice cream places around to try out.  It's the old saying: "If you set up for consumers to make, consumers sure have creativity powers when it comes to ice cream.

However, wanna banana split?  Sorry.  They only have one, two, or three scoops of ice cream in a cup.  Maybe they have cones, but I just ordered a cup of three scoops of ice cream, and then slap on some peanut butter and chocolate based toppings for my sundae.

Yup, It makes me a new idea of my own ice cream shop.  Perhaps maybe I could find a self serve ice cream parlor and I could create myself a Sundae bliss.

HEBERT CANDY MANSION- Shrewsbury MA

Open year round.

Monday through Thursday: 10am-7pm
Friday, Saturday: 10am-8pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm