Ever since the creation of ice cream credited to a Parisian café named Tortoni in the late 18th century, and the origin of the cone at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, it's a spoon fed fact that each American consumes a yearly average of 23.2 quarts of ice cream, ice milk, sherbet, ices, and other frozen dairy products. Legally, the stuff must conform to the following standards by having: 10 % butter fat, 20 % milk solids, 0.5 % stabilizers, 2 % emulsifiers, and adding air can only double the volume. The amount of butter fat and air determines its quality. Super premium contain 16 % butter fat, adhering to the rule, "the heavier, the better it will be" as less air is added. Having gotten the scoop on quality, cone worthy institutions in Rhode Island worth braking for heading north-south along the milky way include:
Ice Cream Machine Co. (4288 Diamond Hill Rd., Cumberland): offering old fashioned ice cream since 1977, this establishment is notorious for customers waiting in long lines-- a testimony in itself to their quality dairy products. You know you're on the milky way when you see the black and white cow and calf sign on Rte. 114 opposite Diamond Hill just before Rte. 121.
Powder Mill Creamery (777 Putnam Pike, Greenville): Established in 1995, you can enjoy one of 60 dreamy creamy flavors seasonally at a picnic table overlooking Waterman Lake...Banana Me Crazy!
Three Sisters (1074 Hope St., Providence): constantly striving to make their menu more fair trade, organic, and from local products, their mix, delivered fresh from SB Winser Dairy in Johnston, does not contain gluten, nor do they put nut products in their machine. Three Sisters is the recipient of RI Monthly's "Best of Rhode Island." Their slogan is "homemade with the help of local cows."
The Inside Scoop (1105 Scituate Ave., Cranston; 30 Ten Rod Rd., North Kingstown; Oak Harbor Village, 576 South County Trail, Exeter): established in 2001 by the Bucci family, their products are made fresh every day. This establishment was recognized by RI Monthly Magazineas one of the top ten ice cream shops in the state, Editor's Choice for Rhode Island by Yankee Travel Magazine, and won a national award for Promotion of the Year by the New England Ice Cream Restaurant Association for our "Movie Night Under the Stars." In 2007 they added a mobile cart to bring the ultimate experience to any outdoor or indoor event where their large cart can hold up to sixteen 3 gallon tubs of ice cream, allowing them to serve up to 500 guests. That's nothing to "Snick-a-Ripple" about-just one of many scoops served inside.
Krueger's Homemade Ice Cream (7510 Post Rd., North Kingstown): Their ice cream is so dense and so creamy as to resemble gelato.
The Daily Scoop(230 County Rd., Barrington; 446B Thames Street, Bristol): having earned the reputation throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts for making the best ice cream, The Daily Scoop received the "Best of Rhode Island" accolade from RI Monthly Magazine. Pints of their ice cream are sold in supermarkets across Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Each scoop contains 16 % butter fat, the purest vanillas and extracts, fresh fruit from local suppliers, and no food coloring. They boast a host of flavors not found anywhere else. One intriguing flavor on the menu is "Apple Pie"-- spiced apples in a light cinnamon ice cream with pie crust pieces.
Gray's Ice Cream (16 East Rd.,Tiverton):named among the top 12 places in the US, Gray's has been serving for eighty years. In the July 2002 issue of Gourmet Magazine, "Roadfood" authors Jane and Michael Stern noted that "Gray's makes many flavors--one that must be sampled is coffee-- a flavor that is Rhode Island's passion, robust and just-right sweet, like the cup that might have been served at the lunch counter in heaven."
Susanna's Ice Cream & Sorbet at Sweet Berry Farm (915 Mitchell's Lane, Middletown): products are handmade at the Sweet Berry Farm, using local ingredients whenever possible. No stabilizers, preservatives, artificial colorings or flavors, corn syrup or artificial sweeteners are used. Seasonal concoctions such as summer's "Cantaloupe Ginger" and "Strawberry-Rhubarb" grace their menu.
Brickley's Homemade Ice Cream and Cakes (322 Main St., South Kingstown; 921 Boston Neck Rd., Narragansett): Recipient of such awards as-"Best Homemade in all Rhode Island," 2009 - Yankee Magazine; "Reader's Choice Award for Best in South County" - RI Monthly, 1995-2008; voted Best in South County by the readers of Narragansett Times - 2006, 2007, 2008. One of their many intriguing flavors is "Malted Milk Ball."
Sweet Spot (256 Great Island Rd., Narragansett): Whether you fancy mud pie, chocolate chip, or cookie dough-you can take your lickin' outside on the deck which overlooks Point Judith Harbor, enjoying an ocean view while fishing vessels come in and out of the harbor.
Should you hop aboard a ferry to Block Island, stop at Aldo's Bakery & Ice Cream (130 Weldons Way, Block Island) for the only homemade on the island which gets higher ratings than the food served there.
Native Rhode Islanders and out-of-towners alike will enjoy detouring off the beaten path during one of those Sunday drives along the north-south milky way. Since it takes approximately 50 licks to polish off a single scoop from your cone, it's an idyllic pastime to appreciate one's immediate surroundings.
