Nelson's Drive In Dairy

Our final ice cream stop for the summer was Nelson's Drive In Dairy in Stillwater. Nelson's has been around forever and is known for giant scoops of ice cream and plenty of flavors to please everyone. We went to Nelson's on a hot Saturday in August. Unfortunately the heat brought out the bees and flies in swarms, so we literally enjoyed our ice cream on the run instead of being able to get the full feeling of Nelsons. But, as you drive up on Greely Street and approach Olive Street will will notice a small building with tables outside. You are able to form a line along the dairy case and then exit and enjoy your ice cream outside. It is just like I remember ice cream trips as a kid!

Nelson's does not make their own ice cream. They bring in it in from another creamery, but it is still fantastic. They have something like 30 flavor choices. A child's scoop is more ice cream than 2 of us could eat and it cost $3.00. So an ice cream lover could really be satisfied!

The kids chose Moose Tracks and Reindeer Tracks for our ice cream flavors. They thought the ice cream was fantastic and a great value. We were not able to even finish our two servings of the child cone between the five of us! They did not like the bees and flies at all and hated having to eat their ice cream in the car. It just wasn't the same. However the day was so hot that the ice cream began melting the second we stepped outside and made plenty of mess for the bees and flies to enjoy, so we had no option. Despite that, the kids enjoyed their ice cream enough to return.

Stillwater is a great day adventure for any summer day. Between parks to hike in and stores to shop in, it is a great stop for all types of people. We enjoyed the day in Stillwater doing a little shopping, eating, and watching the boats on the river. The kids want to return and buy more old fashion candy and take a tour of the caves! It was a great adventure to end the summer on and they can't wait to explore Stillwater more next summer.

Ring Mountain

Our next stop for ice cream found us in Eagan at Ring Mountain Creamery. Eagan does not seem like the place you would go for really good ice cream since there is no dairy, no cows, and no quaint downtown, but don't let that detour you! Ring Mountain Creamery has everything you could want in a good ice cream shop combined with everything you need in a suburban coffee shop atmosphere. With 24 flavors of ice cream AND 24 flavors of gelato, you are sure to find something to cure your sweet tooth. If you aren't in the mood for sweet, they also have a cafe menu complete with coffee drinks, sandwiches and salads. Once you have your menu choice, you can retire into a booth or comfortable chair and play a round of Jenga or Chinese Checkers. A full shelve full of games lines the wall for you to use during your visit. If you find yourself hosting a large group, there is a large table with a center turntable to make sharing easier!

The kids and I visited on a Friday afternoon in August. The shop was not busy on this cool, blustery afternoon, which suited us just fine. We brought Grandpa and Grandma along, who live nearby and are somewhat regulars at the place, to show us the ropes. The kids choose blue gelato, chocolate cake batter, and cake batter. I choose Butterfinger. Grandpa chose root beer float. Grandma chose dark chocolate chunk gelato. The kids all found the flavors sweet and pleasant. And I had to agree that this was some of the sweetest ice cream we have had all summer. But I was amazed at how well the flavor profiles resembled their namesake. Cake batter, both vanilla and chocolate, tasted just like a finger swipe from the bowl of freshly mixed cake batter. Root beer float really did have the complexity of root beer combined with vanilla ice cream. Butterfinger was pleasantly sweet with plenty of Butterfinger chunks. The dark chocolate chunk gelato was smooth vanilla flavor with wonderful dark chocolate chunks. The flavors were not as complex and well blended as, say Izzy's. But to my kids, that is actually a good thing.

The kids rated the ice cream adventure well. They thought the ice cream tasted good and was a good value. The staff was patient as we sampled all sorts of flavors to decide what to finally made it into our cups. They do have a kid's scoop option, a perfect amount for my three and me, which I always appreciate. The only problem they had was ice cream on a cold day can make you cold. Lesson learned!

Of course our adventures wouldn't be complete with a comment on what else the area holds. This shop unfortunately didn't hold much in the adventure category. It is smack dap in the middle of a retail strip mall near the movie theater and Target. However, it doesn't take much for my kids to be entertained. The small pond outside had ducks swimming. They were entertained for minutes, at least, watching the ducks. You could make an afternoon of movie viewing and ice cream for sure. Or just make the shop your destination and play a few board games. From the fun colored cups the ice cream is served in to the great tasting ice cream and gelato, Ring Mountain is well worth the trip!

Freeziac

Although we are trying to find the best local ice cream this summer, a chain or two will be thrown in for fun and comparison. Freeziac in Eden Prairie was a chain we had to try because we all love frozen yogurt so much. The concept is TCBY meets a self serve Cold Stone. You enter a coffee shop looking place to find two soft serve machines in the back of the store and a counter full of toppings. You pick one of 4 flavors, or a twist, and top with your choice of candies, fruit and sauces. You pay by the weight. My sister joined us and got two bowls for her kids and paid $2.50. My kids went a bit overboard and our total was more like $15! We had everything from cake batter with marshmallows and chocolate sauce to vanilla with berries and mango.

The kids thought this place was the bomb! Not only do they love soft serve frozen yogurt, but the fact that they could put whatever they wanted on top was more exciting than anything. I loved the fact that I could get fruit topped vanilla frozen yogurt just like I did at Dayton's Southdale in middle school. It wasn't an "experience" like many of the shops we have visited this summer, but it certainly hit the spot on a hot day!

The Pearl

Although our ice cream adventures have been focused on finding great ice cream near home, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get ice cream at our favorite place in LaCrosse, WI, the Pearl. We call the place Pearl Street Ice Cream shop since it is located on Pearl Street in downtown LaCrosse. If you haven't been to LaCrosse, it is a beautiful river town with a nicely restored historic downtown. The Pearl is an ice cream shop, old fashion candy shop, and now a coffee shop as well. It has been since 1993 and continues to have lines out the door on hot summer nights. The shop is placed in one of the historic old downtown buildings near the river, with a 1930s soda fountain counter on one side and a candy counter filled with an assortment of candies from Big League Chew to homemade chocolate fudge along the other side. At the back is a bit of seating, but the joy of this shop is to enjoy your ice cream at one of the outdoor tables and people watch!

My kids LOVE this ice cream place because it has the most horrific colored blue ice cream which tastes a lot like Fruit Loops and is appropriately named Blue Moon. They would eat this ice cream out of an old shoe they love it so much. Not to mention that while they wait in line they can dream of all the candy you might buy them if you were in a generous sort of mood. I like this place because the price is fantastic, at a $1.80 for a regular single scoop, and the adult friendly flavors are also very good. We had a large group and so we enjoyed sampling the Chocolate Peanut Butter (very good), Carmel Cashew (my favorite), Butter Pecan (good), and Coconut Chocolate (very good).

Another reason to love The Pearl is Oscar. Oscar is the 88 year old-time soda jerk who works the counter and makes the ice cream and candy. He decided that the Pearl needed to continue making homemade ice cream as the shop continued to grow and expand instead of getting ice cream from a wholesaler, so he attended classes at UW and began making the Pearls wonderful ice cream flavors. Seeing Oscar at the counter makes the Pearl have a real small town, old fashion feel and adds to the joy of each visit.

After you over-indulge in ice cream, you are just a short walk from Riverside Park where you can enjoy the river views, fountains, concerts, and community events. If you are really lucky, you may just get a view of the Riverboats as they come up and down the Mississippi. The kids love the park for its fountains, spacious lawns for running, and the "stage" where they love to put on their own impromptu concerts. Even some of our best photographs have come from lawns of Riverside Park! It is a wonderful place to visit winter, summer, spring or fall for it seems there is always something new to see and do.

Izzy's

We visited Izzy's on the 4th of July so that Todd could participate in our ice cream adventures. Izzy's is located on Marshall Ave in St. Paul, not far from the campus of St. Thomas. It opened in 2000, too late for me to enjoy as a Tommy freshman, and has won awards ever since. Driving up to the shop among another old street car corner business district, you could tell word has gotten out. Izzy's was doing a solid business in the middle of the Sunday afternoon, with a long line and full tables out front.

We entered the shop which is set up like most we have been to now. A long counter with ice cream freezers along one wall and the line of patrons along the other wall. Izzy's lists their ice creams by color dots on the wall, with everything from the basics to the exotic. There truly is a flavor for everyone. We ordered three kiddy cones which cost $2.70 without an Izzy scoop on top ($3.20 with an Izzy), one peppermint bon bon, one cotton candy, and one cookie dough. The kiddy cone was basically a single scoop of ice cream and an Izzy is a cookie scoop of ice cream. Mom and Dad split a single scoop, for $4.00 which includes an Izzy, of Bananas Foster and an Izzy of Midnight Snack. We were able to enjoy our ice cream at tables which line the sidewalk outside with all the other patrons.

Izzy's is truly a neighborhood ice cream shop. It had the cozy feeling of an established neighborhood shop as well as the regular patrons who order like experts. The kids were impressed they had a water fountain with cups for them to easily get water. A malted milk ball comes on the top of the kiddy cone if you want it, which of course mine did! These are the details my kids now appreciate in an ice cream shop. I appreciated the amount of tables outside as well as a few inside, in case of bad weather or winter enjoyment! Izzy's was definitely a good family stop.

The ice cream flavors were enjoyable, even on a hot day as the cones quickly became drip covered. The ice cream itself was creamy. The flavorings were well done. We had a few differences of opinion on what was good and what wasn't, but someone enjoyed each flavor. Even the cotton candy wasn't too sweet for a parent to enjoy when the child needed help cleaning up the drips. Even Todd with his background in Haggen Daz found the flavors enjoyable and clean. He is always quick to point out though that nothing compares to fresh ice cream right off the production line!

Izzy's was a success all around. It wasn't the kid's favorite stop so far, but it was enjoyable for everyone. It is located close enough to 94 that it could be a stop for any trip into our out of St. Paul. Visits to the Children's Museum, Science Museum, History Museum, or even a trip down Grand Ave could include a trip to Izzy's. We used it as part of a trip to Minnehaha Falls. Ice Cream on a hot day after running around outside in nature is always a perfect fit!

Grand Ole Creamery

With Ole in the name, you expect the Grand Ole Creamery, located at 750 Grand Ave in St. Paul, to exude the nostalgia of an old time ice cream shop. But, the sign in the window announces Grand Ole Creamery has been in business for only 26 years. It surprised me to know I was 10 when this classic hot spot opened. How can the shop feel so olden days and established and be younger than me? How can it be that I haven't been coming here my whole life? How can it be that my parents haven't been coming here their whole lives? But it is true, Grand Ole Creamery became a fixture in my life in 1986 when my parents separated and my Dad moved to Grand Avenue and although it felt like it has been there since the street car days, it had only been open 2 years.

From the minute we walked up to the red screen door and heard the squeak of the hinge, the smell of fresh waffle cones floods us. There is no turning back as the smell draws you inside. Bright red walls, a freezer case full of decadent treats, fresh waffle cones steaming on the griddle and a long ice cream case with plenty of choices awaited us as we entered. The wood floors creak under our flip flops and the screen door squeaks shut. It is just how I remember. The kids were instantly impressed and excited, without even tasting a thing. The flavors listed still included the classics like peppermint bon bon, sweet cream, Oreo and chocolate, as well as surprises like honey and green tea. Despite all the choices, the kids had no problem picking a flavor.

We ordered three kid sized cones. A peppermint bon bon, a birthday cake, and a bubble gum. The kid size cone costs $3.00 and is the same size as the single scoops we have gotten elsewhere. However, it comes with a malted milk ball surprised inside the cone and one on top for immediate enjoyment! Despite size and price being equivalent to everywhere we have gone, the kids thought this was an amazing value. I guess you can never underestimate the malted milk ball chaser! And never underestimate the marketing success of a label! Grand Ole Creamery does take ice cream appetites seriously with their sizes. The kids eyes got as big as saucers realizing that some day they would be old enough for a giant single scoop or maybe even a double scoop!

Everyone loved their flavor choice. Although Mom was less than thrilled with the mess caused by the saved pieces of bubble gum, but it is a classic kid flavor so how mad can you really get? The ice cream was very creamy and sweet. The flavors were all clean, meaning no chalky taste in the peppermint, and well done, meaning not too sweet or airy tasting. It has been a long time since I have visited the Grand Ole Creamery, but I did not leave disappointed. Even after 26 years, the Grand Ole Creamery is still making fantastic ice cream in a very family friendly setting. The kids won't fight me when I suggest a return visit!

To complete our day we spent time at other classic St. Paul spots. We had lunch at Cosetta's where the kids enjoyed giant pieces of pizza and soda in glass bottles. We picked out new books at the Red Balloon. It is no Wild Rumpus, they informed me since no chickens were running around and no mice live in the floor, but we did find books we would never have found at a big chain. The staff was so helpful and patient with the kids as they searched for something new that we will definitely be back. We walked the several blocks to Creative Kids Stuff to pick up a birthday present for Zach. These suburban kids learned how to negotiate city streets with traffic, by crossing in crosswalks and using gridded street and address numbers to determine how far we had yet to walk. We visited stores for Mom, like Ten Thousand Villages, where the kids were amazed to see all had been made from around the world using materials like newspaper, old pop cans and VCR tape. I ended up finding a great pair of jeans at the Hot Mama sale which were an extra 25% off, to me that is better than the perfect ice cream! Finally, we drove home using River Road and Minnehaha Parkway so the kids could see how the city all links together. With tired feet, we arrived home happy after a wonderful day of food and fun!

Pumphouse Creamery

Our third ice cream adventure brought us to 47th and Chicago and the Pumphouse Creamery. We had lived off 53rd and Chicago prior to having kids, but the neighborhood was revitalized shortly after we moved out to the suburbs. I hadn't been back to see the change or visit the Pumphouse Creamery. The old streetcar corner now hosts a Turtle Bread, Shop in the City among Pepitos and the old Parkway Theater. The Pumphouse Creamery is hard to notice next to Turtle Bread. If it wasn't for its pink door and award winning ice cream reputation, we would have missed it!

The Pumphouse Creamery is known for all natural ice cream using local ingredients. A picture of the farm where their cream comes from is hanging on the wall just inside the pink door. The place is small and simply decorated. The ice cream flavors included standards like vanilla, chocolate and mint chocolate chip, as well as fun flavors like vanilla malt malted milk ball and key lime with shortbread pieces. All scoops are served in a bowl or on a homemade waffle cone. As an aside, I thought the waffle cone was so good, I could have eaten a bowl of just cone! You can also get shakes and draft root beer if a scoop ice cream isn't your fancy.

The kids ordered two chocolate peanut butter and a vanilla malt malted milk ball cones. Overall they liked their ice cream, sort of liked the cone, and got mad at me because I chose to order them the kiddy size scoop. I was thrilled there was a kiddy size because a regular single scoop is often too much for the kids and Daddy wasn't along to lick up the extras! As typical children though, their eyes are bigger than their stomach and they wanted a full scoop for $3.15 instead of the kiddy scoop for $2.40. They did not like that the shop was so small and had nothing but ice cream and one little table. The day was hot and sitting outside on the cute black iron rod benches was not an option unless we wanted burned buns. There was also no water option for them except the warm bottle I had in my purse. By the time we left, everyone was sort of grumpy about the experience.

I, however, just adored the place. I thought it was quaint and had the neighborhood feel we lack near our house. I loved the flavor options and ordered a kiddy scoop of the key lime with shortbread pieces for myself because it was the perfect amount of ice cream and I was very curious. The flavor was light and refreshing on a hot day. It had a good creamy feeling with a slight tart key lime aftertaste. All the flavors we ordered were very cold and had very little ice crystals which means are more cream than air. My taste test of the kid's chocolate peanut butter had me sold on the place. The chocolate was not chalky and the peanut butter was creamy. The combination is often done but rarely so well. Combined with the nutty flavor in the cone, it was a little bit of heaven.

I left the store happy and the kids grumpy, so I guess it would be safe to say Pumphouse Creamery might become a date night stop instead of a family outing for us. In trying to salvage the day, I took the kids down to Minnehaha Parkway after driving by our old house. They were mesmerized by the bridges crisscrossing the creak. Somehow the magic of throwing a sick on one side of the bridge and watching it come out on the other side never gets old. Between that, finding bug cocoons, skipping rocks and climbing out on trees which reach over the water, the kids were able to have a nature adventure in the middle of the city. If it weren't for the planes every 5 minutes, we could have been in the middle of the Northwood as far as my kids were concerned. They kept asking if I had climbed on this tree or crossed this bridge or done these things when I was "young" and lived here. I didn't have the heart to tell them it was just 9 years ago I was "young" and living here.

If you ask the kids about the day, the creek would be their favorite part. But for me, the best part was the bite of chocolate peanut butter on the heavenly waffle cone. I can't wait to go back!

Edina Creamery

Our second stop for ice cream was one of our standard stops, Edina Creamery. Todd and I fell in love with the Butterfingers ice cream from there years ago and often make a stop in for some on our date nights. We finally took the kids earlier this year and they too liked the ice cream. The shop itself has an old fashion soda fountain feel and the menu reflects that as well. In addition to about 30 flavors of ice cream, they serve floats, sundaes and ice cream cakes. It has done a good job of replacing the 31 flavors that served the area when I was a kid.

We decided to use this stop to motivate us to get through eye appointments on a dreary Monday afternoon. Edina Creamery does not have much around it to make it a destination for us, so the shop itself became the destination. Edina Creamery is located in the 50th and France area of Edina. The corner between Edina and Minneapolis is known for cute boutiques, upscale resauarants, and the historic Edina movie theater. Despite the fact we all love a movie, the idea of spending an afternoon shopping ranks up there to my boys with eye appointments and shots from the pediatrician!

I have to be honest, I am not sure if the Edina Creamery has undergone a change in management or some cost savings due to the tough economy, but the ice cream has changed. Still charging $3.25 for one scoop, one bite into my bowl of Butterfingers and I knew something was not the same. The ice cream has more air and less cream, the sign of a cheaper ice cream formula. In my food science days we learned that a good ice cream will start with good cream, milk, sugar, and good quality ingredients. It will whip in very little air before freezing. It will leave a creamy feeling in the back of your throat. This bowl of Butterfingers did not leave a creamy feeling and felt a bit ice crystals, which is the sign of too much air. Plus, there was very little Butterfingers pieces in the ice cream itself. I was very disappointed.

Despite my disappointment, the boys loved their ice cream. The mint chocolate chip, although chalky to me, was delectable and perfect. The cookie dough actually had cookie dough pieces in it. I guess that is what happens when you finally order something new, surprises everywhere! However, for a little girl who wanted pink, sweet surprise ice cream, the strawberry left a little to be desired. She preferred the raspberry sorbet of her friend. The kids rated the experience well. They especially liked the old time soda fountain feel of the spinning stools at the counter! The also liked the self dispensing water fountain a little too much! It was a perfect stop for the kids, but Mom and Dad won't be back for date night anytime soon.

After, filling with mid-afternoon ice cream we did venture to Bone Adventure to buy a few treats for the dog in our life. The best part of this store is that you can belly up to the counter lined with individual dog treats for sale. You can get anything from peanut butter bites for 10 cents each or a tendon for $13. Each kid picked out a canine treat and surprised a very happy dog!

Sebastian Joe's in Linden Hills

Sebastian Joe's in Linden Hills was our first ice cream stop. It is one of our usual stops on a typical visit to Lake Harriet and Linden Hills. We had friends visiting from out of town for the weekend. We needed an Sunday activity that would entertain everyone from 15 months to 40 some years. Lake Harriet in the summertime always fits that bill. Of course a trip to Lake Harriet always implies a trip to Sebastian Joe's too!

What makes us love Lake Harriet is the old fashion playground which includes sand. Playgrounds today have all been turned into brightly colored plastic play places with a rubber mat or wood chips surrounding everything. This playground is the same one I played on as a child. The slide is metal and will burn your bottom in the middle of August! There are monkey bars in the shape of a rainbow. Everything creaks a metallic creak. The kids love it!

After the playground we took the short walk to the rose gardens. In all honesty my kids have no idea there are even roses in the rose garden, but they know all about the fountains. Splashing in a big bowl of water while being misted from turtles spitting water is appealing. After the water thrill wears off we head to a small grove of trees with an old pine that is perfect for climbing.

To make it a trifecta, there are the animals at the lake. Sunday we found a group of 5 babies Mallard and their mom just off the docks. Feeding them or just watching them is entertaining for at least 15 minutes! Then we noticed more than one dead fish which had the boys fascinated. And finally we came upon a group of greyhounds out for a social walk together. They were beautiful and very friendly to the kids. We spent 3 hours just wandering at the lake, spending no money. The kids experienced some of the simple joys of childhood. Then, we were off for ice cream which is the greatest joy of childhood!

Sebastian Joe's Too in located in Linden Hills on 44th and Upton. It is a small store with an attached patio, a portion of which is heated and covered, to allow for more seating. Sebastian Joe's hosts a dozen or so flavors of ice cream from a basic vanilla to Pavarotti (carmel, banana and chocolate chip), as well as bakery items, coffee drinks and smoothies. You can get your ice cream on a cone, in a dish or as a sundae starting at $3.30. They also have specialty ice cream sandwiches and treats. The outdoor patio area has small tables, a beautiful garden complete with fountain and a turtle statue. At night it is lite with multi-colored lights strung overhead. It has all the character of the Linden Hills neighborhood.

We sampled our usual favorites. Oreo, Chocolate, Pavarotti, and Raspberry Chocolate Chip. The ice cream is creamy, flavorful, and filling. The combination flavors rarely disappoint. The kids all rated the ice cream flavor well but were disappointed with their choice in flavors. They wanted something blue and crazy looking with sprinkles. Of course once they realized they weren't at Cold Stone, they each had no trouble picking something. There was very little more than a drop left from each of them when it came time to leave. They loved the outdoor patio because of the lights and the turtle, which became a chair for enjoying their ice cream in style.

Sebastian Joe's is definitely worth the drive for us for more reasons than just good ice cream. Trolley rides at Lake Harriet, visits to Creative Kids Stuff and Wild Rumpus, playing at the playground and climbing trees at the lake add to the adventure of the ice cream. I would have to agree with the kids that Sebastian Joe's ice cream may not be the best ice cream and more about the neighborhood and the quaint feel of the store. But, since it all goes together, we will definitely go back.

Getting Started

The question "what are you going to do on summer vacation" has puzzled us stay at home moms forever, I think. How do you keep your kids from getting the "I'm bored" attitude before August? Normally you sign them up for camps and take them to the pool to swim with their friends. But, I don't know how many summers I have left at home with my kids and I want to be able to say we did more than just go to camp and the pool. So, I decided our plan for this summer had to be something that got us out exploring. However, for some reason me saying "let's go explore the Twin Cities" is not exciting to my kids. So I have disguised that plan by telling them we are visiting the ice cream shops of the Twin Cities. When we do a little exploring along the way with a stomach full of the best Twin Cities ice cream, everything will seem a little more dreamy and a little less snoozy. The kids are fully on board with a plan that involves eating ice cream. Dreamy Creamy Summertime here we come!