Ben & Jerry’s – Sevierville, TN

1 10 2009
  • 1635 Parkway #1290
  • Sevierville, TN 37862
  • (865) 908-7778
  • Website
  • Menu
Ben & Jerrys Homemade Ice Cream on The Parkway in Sevierville, TN

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream on The Parkway in Sevierville, TN

After BBQ, J and I needed dessert. We were going to go check out the Parkway and see what we could find, but we stumbled across an outlet mall….and wouldn’t you know it, it’s a Tanger. J’s got some big changes coming up at work (more later….in another post) and needs to get some new clothes. I noticed there was an Under Armour Outlet and I wanted to look for Cold Weather Gloves. 

As we were weaving our way through, we saw a Ben & Jerry’s. It’s another one of those places that neither of us had ever been to and I’ve never even had Ben & Jerry’s from the grocery store, so why not. 

Ben & Jerry’s is in the Tanger Outlets in Sevierville on the Parkway. It’s a corner building with not a lot of space, but it’s designed to keep people moving. Pick up some ice cream then get back to shopping. I think there was only one or two tables in the whole store.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : Ice Cream, Sevierville, Tennessee

Dairy Queen – Clifton, IL

14 09 2009
  • 1 Bradie Drive
  • Clifton, IL 60927
  • (815) 694-3202
  • Website
  • Menu
The Dairy Queen in (and only fast food option anywhere near) Clifton, IL

The Dairy Queen in (and only fast food option anywhere near) Clifton, IL

For those of you that didn’t grow up in a small town, you will have no idea what I’m talking about.  Imagine growing up in a town without a McDonald’s, a Walmart, or a Blockbuster.  In fact, imagine that the closest location of any of those three was a half hour away.  That’s how things were when I was growing up.  We only had two options when it came to eating out.  There was the local family run restaurant and a Dairy Queen.

Things haven’t really changed much in the town where I grew up (and my parents still live).  Well, actually they have.  The Dairy Queen is gone.  It moved five miles north.  That actually happened when I was in high school, so it wasn’t a big deal.  I had my driver’s license by then so I could still get the Blizzard’s that I craved.  

While I moved away from home, my brother stayed pretty close.  He moved to that town five miles to the north which is still in the same school district and for all intents and purposes, is still considered part of the same community.  We didn’t really go by towns where I’m from.  We go by school districts.  Yes, my high school was sixteen miles from my house in the middle of a cornfield.  Literally.  It’s in a corn field.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Clifton, Ice Cream, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews

Screams Ice Cream From Hell

30 08 2009
  • 4045 Patterson Lake Road
  • Pinckney, MI 48169
  • (734) 878-2233
  • Website (not working)
  • No Online Menu
Screams Ice Cream From Hell on Patterson Lake Road in Hell, Michigan.

Screams Ice Cream From Hell on Patterson Lake Road in Hell, Michigan.

Our trip to Hell had to include some sort of souvenir….and if we could get some ice cream while we were at it, why not?  The original plan when we left Lansing was to stop at the Hell Country Store because I knew they had some sort of collectible that we could add to our shelf as a memento of our visit to Hell, but when we got there, we found the store closed.  As we were eating lunch, we overheard a waitress telling another couple that the ice cream store had souvenirs.

Screams Ice Cream From Hell is one of three businesses along Patterson Lake Road in an unicorporated part of Livingston County known as Hell.  The building has multiple uses.  It’s an ice cream shop.  It’s a souvenir stand and it’s a putt-putt golf course. 

There are signs on the side of the building that work pretty well for picture taking.  The big “Welcome to Hell” sign on the side was a pretty popular stop for the bikers who were in the area.  Of course, J and I did the same.  There’s also some of those wooden pictures with a hole cut out for the head where you can stick yours through.  All of them say “I’m a L’il Devil From Hell.”  Yup, we did that too.  The putt-putt course is behind the building.  It’s nothing super special, but something else to do if you just don’t want to leave.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Hell, Ice Cream, Michigan, Pinckney, Restaurant, Reviews

Martha’s Sweet Shop

27 07 2009
  • 7395 Main
  • Mackinac Island, MI 49757
  • (906) 847-3700
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Marthas Sweet Shop in downtown Mackinac Island.

Martha's Sweet Shop in downtown Mackinac Island.

It’s not hard to find sweets on Mackinac Island.  If you’re like me, the hard thing is choosing which one to try.  Everything looks good.  My biggest fear was that I would pick the wrong one.  Since we were only spending one day on the Island, I wanted to make sure everything we did would be a good experience.

After walking around for a few hours, J wanted to get something to cool down.  It was hotter than we expected and the sun was out while we were expecting rain.  We may have over dressed a little which made us a little warm.

We walked down Main Street a few times and nothing jumped out right away.  I finally suggested we cross the street and right away, we ran into a little mall that had air conditioning.  The first store in that mall area was an ice cream shop.  Since we were there, I pushed J towards the door so we could sit down and enjoy something cold.

Martha’s Sweet Shop is on Main on Mackinac Island.  It’s in the downtown area even though Google maps is showing it out by the airport.  There are two entrances.  One is off the road.  The other is off the little mall area that connects to a few other shops.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ice Cream, Mackinac Island, Michigan

South Side Soda Shop and Diner – Goshen, IN

20 06 2009
  • 1122 S. Main Street
  • Goshen, IN 46526
  • (574) 534-3790
  • Website
  • Menu
The South Side Soda Shop & Diner on South Main in Goshen, IN

The South Side Soda Shop & Diner on South Main in Goshen, IN

A couple years back, J and I were watching Diner’s, Drive-In’s, and Dives and we saw a segment on an old soda shop in Goshen, IN.  When we moved to Lansing, we pulled out a map to see where in Indiana Goshen is.  The map showed it just being outside of Elkhart.  It also showed the town as being pretty close to the Indiana Toll Road.  We figured it would take us about a half hour out of our way to make a stop on our way home from Chicago one weekend. 

So, one weekend, we made the detour and stopped.  Problem was, stupid me forgot to see if they were open on Sunday.  They’re not so we made the trip for nothing.  J wasn’t very happy with me. 

On our most recent trip home, we headed back towards Lansing on Friday.  As we were sitting in traffic on I-94 near Portage, IN, J asked if we missed the exit to get to South Bend.  We had, but I had her turn the GPS on because I knew there was a road from Michigan City to South Bend that we hadn’t missed yet.  As we waited to get through traffic, we made the decision to try again.  This time, J called to make sure they’d be open…and they were.

The South Side Soda Shop and Diner is on South Main Street just south of Downtown Goshen.  It’s sits on the corner an the only parking is in the neighborhood on the streets.  We pulled up near dinner time on Friday night, so there was already quite a crowd of people packing the small diner.  We parked a few blocks down and walked back. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Diner, Goshen, Ice Cream, Indiana, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Hershey’s Ice Cream – Bradley, IL

20 06 2009
  • 1600 N. State Route 50
  • Bradley, IL 60914
  • (815) 929-1123
  • Website
  • Menu
Hersheys Ice Cream in Northfield Square Mall

Hershey's Ice Cream in Northfield Square Mall

J and I wrapped up our week of wedding planning in Illinois by picking out the tuxedo’s.  I wanted to go to a regional chain in Bradley, IL at Northfield Square Mall because all of the guys in the wedding live pretty close to one of the locations.  As we entered the mall, the first thing J noticed was an ice cream store.  When I was growing up, that location was a Baskin Robbins.  Not anymore.

Did you know Hershey’s made ice cream?  Me neither.  Fact is, they don’t.  Until I made my way to Hersheysicecream.com, I would have assumed they were affiliated with the famous candy company, but, in small print, on the bottom of the website are the words “not affiliated with Hershey’s Chocolate.”  They had me fooled.

Like I already mentioned, this Hershey’s Ice Cream location is in Northfield Square Mall in Bradley near JC Penny and the Ruby Tuesday.  It’s a small corner shop with entrances on both sides.  There was only one girl working when we were in there, but it was the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday.  There were two people in front of us, so we had a few minutes to look over the flavors.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bradley, Ice Cream, Illinois, Reviews

Press Release – Free Ice Cream

5 06 2009

From a Melting Moments press release..

Please join us as we celebrate “A Quarter Century of Good Taste!”.
Come on out to East Lansing’s Patriarche Park on Sunday, June 7 from 3 to 6 pm.

We’ll have games and fun for the kids and of course, FREE Melting Moments ice cream for everyone. You’ve enjoyed our ice cream for 25 years, and it’s time for us to thank you.


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Categories : East Lansing, Ice Cream, Michigan, Press Releases

Press Release – Melting Moments Celebrates 25 Years

22 05 2009

From a press release….

Melting Moments Celebrates a “Quarter Century of Good Taste” 

Mark Geovjian, creator and proprietor of Melting Moments finds it hard to believe that it has been 25 years since he served his first homemade ice cream in Downtown East Lansing. “Amazing how time really does fly,” he remarked.

The 25 year milestone presents an opportunity for reflection. “We’ve always remained true to our steadfast commitment to quality. We have continually searched out the finest of ingredients for our ice creams. We still make everything by hand, as we did with the very first tub in 1984,” said Geovjian. “We are proud to be a part of the East Lansing Community, supporting a variety of causes including our own ‘Melting Moments Giving Fund’ with the Capital Area Regional Foundation and the ‘Melting Moments Children’s Fund’ at the Haven House. It’s also surprising to calculate over those 25 years how many students we’ve employed who have used this job to work their way through college. It has to be well over a thousand kids.”

The recently renovated retail store is still downtown in the original location at 313 E. Grand River Ave. In 2007 they moved the kitchen production facilities and offices to a building in Lansing where all of their tasty concoctions are created and produced. The addition of handmade Italian Gelato offers the area’s only large variety of the European treat.

When asked about new directions for the next 25 years, the discussion leads to the many “Ice Cream on the Move” events in which the company is involved, including the upcoming E. Lansing Arts Festival, Folk Festival, Jazz and Blues Festivals and a variety of Air Shows. They are also expanding their involvement in a vast number of off-site events with their fully outfitted ice cream concession trailer and fleet of ice cream carts.

Most importantly, the 25th anniversary marks a time for Melting Moments to show appreciation to all of their loyal customers. “We actually have children of folks that grew up eating cookie sandwiches at MSU events coming into our store,” said Geovjian.

Mark would like to invite the entire community to the “Quarter Century of Good Taste” celebration at Patriarch Park June 7th from 3-6pm. There will be fun and games for the whole family but most importantly free ice cream for all!

 

“Life is good…there’s ice cream.”


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Categories : East Lansing, Michigan, Press Releases

Dairy Queen – South Cedar

9 05 2009
  • 3906 S. Cedar Street
  • Lansing, MI 48910
  • (517) 882-0611
  • Website 
  • Menu
Dairy Queen on South Cedar in Lansing.

Dairy Queen on South Cedar in Lansing.

Usually when J and I discuss dinner plans, she doesn’t say anything that catches me off guard.  When I asked her what she wanted tonight, she answered “ice cream!”  OK, I like ice cream, but I haven’t actually wanted ice cream for dinner in twenty years.  I compromised…sorta.  Since we eventually decided to get a pizza from Marcos for dinner, I suggested we just pick it up then go to DQ and grab something for dessert.

I grew up with Dairy Queen.  Soft serve ice cream was actually invented in Kankakee, IL about twenty minutes from where my parents live.  The technology was then sold to two guys who opened the first Dairy Queen store in Joliet, IL where I went to college, so there’s always been a Dairy Queen close.  Just to give you an idea of how small of a town I grew up, the Dairy Queen near the Interstate was the only “fast food” restaurant within 20 miles, so we ate there often as kids.  They had the best crappy burgers and most of my friends had jobs there.  My mom even worked there part time after my brother and I were both old enough to go to school.  The saddest thing that happened to my town was when the DQ closed and moved five miles north to the next town over.  We couldn’t ride our bikes to get Blizzards anymore (good thing I had just turned 16 and got my license).

There are only two DQ in the City of Lansing.  There’s a DQ/Orange Julius at the Lansing Mall and there’s the ice cream stand on South Cedar Street.  The DQ’s I grew up with are now called Brazzier’s and they have a full menu.  The South Lansing location is a seasonal store that only sells DQ’s famous and often imitated soft serve ice cream. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Michigan

MSU Dairy Store – Revisited

3 04 2009
The MSU Dairy Store in Anthony Hall.

The MSU Dairy Store in Anthony Hall.

The MSU Dairy Store is one of the best finds we’ve made in the Lansing area.  It was part of the Be a Tourist In Your Own Town event that is put on by the Greater Lansing CVB (which is coming up May 30, btw).  Since then, we’ve gone out of our way several times to get some of the yummiest ice cream in Mid-Michigan. 

A few days ago, I saw a story in the Lansing State-Journal about a special flavor being rolled out for the Final Four.  The great thing about the article, as pointed out by another blogger, is that the LSJ used a press release from four years ago to write the story.  Anyway, the flavor sounded good, so J and I made a post dinner trip to pick some up.

The MSU Dairy Store is in Anthony Hall off of Farm Lane in East Lansing.  It seems we weren’t the only ones who were after the special flavor.  There were half a dozen groups of people chowing down.  The flavor we were after was called Final Four Fudge Dribble.  It is vanilla ice cream with a fudge swirl and chocolate covered malted milk balls.  I got two scoops of the flavor in a cup.  It was really good.  I could have done with the malted milk balls, but otherwise, the ice cream was delicious.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : East Lansing, Ice Cream, Michigan, Reviews

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