Pinn Chirathivat/The Choate News
Arethusa Farm Dairy
Located on tree-lined Chapel street, in New Haven, Arethusa Farm Dairy offers ice cream made fresh from the farm’s 300 cows. Even on an overcast Saturday, Arethusa is packed with customers eagerly awaiting favorites or seasonal flavors.
Arethusa’s ice cream offerings range from classics, like vanilla and chocolate, to more unusual flavors, like almond-toasted coconut and coconut with dark chocolate chunks. Seasonal options, including raspberry and maple walnut, are rotated throughout the year.
Though it provides fewer ice cream options than many of its competitors, what Arethusa lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. The milk with which the ice cream is made, sourced from Arethusa’s idyllic Litchfield farm, gives the ice cream an incredibly fresh and creamy quality, and various mix-ins enhance its flavor and texture. The almond-toasted coconut couples a floral, nutty flavor with heaps of coconut, and the pale pink raspberry is satisfyingly tart.
Arethusa Farm Dairy also sells several kinds of milk in the refrigerated shelving of its New Haven store, as well as yogurt and cheeses such as Arethusa Diva and Arethusa Blue. The menu, a large chalkboard complete with hand drawn flowers and decorative lettering, also features grilled cheese and coffee.
Arethusa’s New Haven location has a clean and bright aesthetic with a hint of classic ice cream parlor. White beadboard and black granite countertops, paired with the monochrome checkers on the store’s floor keep the location’s color scheme in line with that of the Holstein’s displayed in the framed photographs on the walls. The ice cream parlor is a little bit cow crazy, with cows emblazoned on everything from its sign to the labels on its cheese, but rightly so. Arethusa Farm in Litchfield is home to hundreds of Jerseys, Holsteins, and Brown Swiss, and their website features images of square-nosed calves romping in verdant pastures.
With rich ice cream, large portion sizes, and efficient service, there’s nothing not to love at Arethusa Farm Dairy.
Ashley’s Ice Cream
Named after the famous Ashley Whippet, a dog who infiltrated a Dodger Stadium to perform a few tricks with his owner and gained national recognition, Ashley’s Ice Cream’s devotion to canines is obvious in its York Street location’s quirky decor. Framed images of dogs enjoying Ashley’s ice cream cover a significant portion of the wall, and photographs of Ashley hang near the line. According to the Ashley’s Ice Cream website, the famous dog once visited the New Haven shop.
Ashley’s offers a huge variety of ice cream flavors and toppings. Flavors range from heath bar to lemon pie. The ice cream is smooth and rich, the cookie batter with generous gobs of cookie dough, and the chocolate chocolate chip maintaining a perfect balance of chips to ice cream. Seasonal flavors, including red white and blueberry, which contains blueberries, cherries, and white chocolate chips, give Ashley’s Ice Cream’s already large number of options even more variation. Customers have the option of enjoying ice cream in checkered cups or wavy-edged waffle bowls. Ashley’s also sells other ice cream based treats, like ice cream cake and pie, and gives customers the option of purchasing hand-packed pints or quarts of their favorite flavors.
Ashley’s Ice Cream has locations throughout Connecticut, including in Hamden, Branford, Guilford, and Madison. The York Street parlor is nestled between other favorite eateries, like Donut Crazy and Blue State Coffee.
Ashley’s New Haven adheres to a red, white, and black color scheme. Counters and elevated tables provide seating beneath the ice cream shop’s many awards, advertising their nearly 30-year winning streak for Best Ice Cream in New Haven Advocate’s Readers Poll. Ashley’s is relatively small and can fill up quickly when busy.
With award-winning ice cream, an enormous selection of flavors, and a fascinating backstory, Ashley’s Ice Cream is a celebrated New Haven favorite.
Mr. D’s
Located in downtown Wallingford, Mr. D’s bakery serves a wide variety of custom-made ice creams, ice cream cakes, cupcakes, and assortments of candy. Known for its wide selection of ice cream flavors, Mr. D’s mission is to serve its customers with fresh and homemade products. The ice cream menu consists of numerous flavors, including swiss chocolate almond, banana, beez neez, with swirls of graham cracker, coffee, and maple walnut. The store’s most popular flavors are cookie dough, the brownie chip, and Reese’s nightmare, comprised of chocolate ice cream and peanut butter cups. Some flavors tend to be more popular during different seasons. With summer just around the corner, the bakery’s suggested flavors are refreshing banana, strawberry and sorbet.
Mr. D’s offers its wide selection of ice creams in a choice of a cup, or one of their five different types of cones. Several different types of toppings are also offered. Customers have the option of choosing from sprinkles, crushed cookies, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, nutella, gummy bears, cherries, and more. In addition to toppings, Mr. D’s also offers a selection of sauces including caramel, chocolate sauce, marshmallow sauce, and peanut butter sauce.
Aside from its ice cream, Mr. D’s is also known for homemade cupcakes. These confections are prepared in the bakery and sold at a reasonable price. Some popular cupcake flavors include red velvet, oreo, and coconut.
Sweet Cream’s
Located on 565 Center Street in Wallingford, Sweet Cream’s Ice Cream offers a wide selection of homemade ice cream. Sweet Cream’s has been in business for about three years. Their mission is to provide their customers with fresh and delicious ice cream that can be enjoyed in a friendly and clean environment.
“Our main goal is to make our customers happy by offering them their favorite ice cream flavors,” remarked Mr. Raul Hernandez, the shop’s owner. “We realize that everyone likes different types, so that is why we try to offer a wide selection of choices for our customers to choose from.” Some of the flavors Sweet Cream’s offers are cookie dough, mango sorbet, peanut butter cookie, classic vanilla, classic chocolate, and strawberry. Sweet Cream’s has found that their top selling flavor is the peanut butter cookie, a delicious blend of Oreo cookie and peanut butter. For those with peanut allergies, Sweet Cream’s also recommends their Nutella twirl, another top hit, or the mango sorbet, which is especially refreshing in warm weather.
To accompany their various flavors of ice cream, Sweet Cream’s offers a wide selection of topping, including chocolate and rainbow sprinkles, crushed cookies, cherries, homemade whipped cream, and coconut. Like most ice cream shops, Sweet Cream’s also provides its customers with the option of either a cone or a cup.
Ultimately, Sweet Cream’s Ice Cream’s main goal is to satisfy Wallingford’s sweet tooth.
