On a hot summer’s day, few things beat delicious ice cream. Madison, Wis., boasts many great ice cream parlors; here are some of the best.
Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream
From humble beginnings in 1962, the Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company now has four stores and a manufacturing plant in Madison, and supplies over 400 small businesses nationwide. The ice cream is made from the milk of Wisconsin cows and the company uses real ingredients for the flavors.
The Chocolate Shoppe offers more than 70 flavors of ice cream, some sporting names like Exhausted Parent (with Bourbon-spiked espresso); Fat Elvis, featuring banana ice cream with peanut butter ripple; and “This $&@! Just Got Serious” (with salted caramel ice cream, sea salt fudge, and salted cashews). It also sells frozen yogurt and no-added-sugar and vegan options.
Babcock Hall Dairy Store
The Babcock Hall Dairy Store is located on Linden Drive and attached to the dairy plant so the ice cream is always fresh. As well as standard flavors, this on-campus store has feature flavors that may be made only once, seasonally, or for special events. It also serves a variety of ice cream pies, sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, and malts and shakes.
You could try Berry Proud Parent with vanilla ice cream, raspberries, and chocolate chips; Pomegranate Greek frozen yogurt; Blue Moon (yes, it’s blue!); Mocha Macchiato; or Grapefruit Mango sherbet. The store also has a second-floor observation deck overlooking the dairy plant.
La Michoacana
For ice cream with a taste of Mexico, La Michoacana has two eateries in Madison on Odana Road and East Washington Ave. The ice cream and other frozen products are made in house using only fresh fruit and local ingredients. The high fruit content means less sugar and fewer additives are used.
Some of the unusual ice cream flavors offered include coconut, cajeta made from caramelized goats’ milk, queso (yes, cheese!), and tequila, which tastes just like a margarita. Mangonada is the house specialty and is mango ice cream with chamoy, a pickled fruit sauce. Also popular here are paletas, which are popsicles made with pieces of fresh fruit frozen in juice.
Kilwins
In this quaint store on State Street, you’ll feel like a kid in a candy store. There are so many choices, you won’t know where to start. Kilwins might be a chain, but all the goodies are made in the store. You’ll find candy apples, chocolate treats, creamy fudge, and of course, ice cream.
Kilwins offers more than 40 flavors with large scoops served in fresh-made waffle cones. Alongside the old favorites, they offer flavors such as Cake Batter, Turtle Cheesecake, Raspberry Greek Yogurt, and Key Lime Pie. Seasonal offerings include Pumpkin Pie and The Perfect Apple Pie. If you’re not sure what to try, you can get a free tasting sample.
One of these Madison ice cream stores is bound to become your new favorite.
“Blueberry ice cream cone” via Flickr by m01229. Used with permission via CC BY 2.0 / cropped from original
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