Hey there- hope y’all had a great Monday! Did anyone play the song “Ice Cream Freeze” from Hannah Montana in your head as you read this title? I couldn’t resist this Hannah Montana reference in a post that pays tribute to my favorite food. Also, I’m definitely not embarrassed to be that adult who still watches Hannah Montana re-runs. My bestie and I saw Hannah Montana: The Movie in theaters and it was totally us and a group of six year olds. No shame at all! Anyways, since yesterday was National Ice Cream Day 2018, I wanted to pop and share a few of my favorite places to get ice cream. Let’s be honest, every day is National Ice Cream Day for me!
The Parlour (Durham, NC)
(Photo by Amelia Cassar Photography)
To start off, I want to give a shoutout to one of my favorite local ice cream places. The Parlour is located in the heart of downtown Durham, and has the most delicious old-fashioned homemade ice cream. You can read this post for more details about why I love The Parlour-both the ice cream and the atmosphere. But in honor of National Ice Cream Day, I wanted to give another shoutout! I got Cookies & Cream last time I went to The Parlour, and can’t wait to try more flavors!
(Photo by Amelia Cassar Photography)
Dairy Queen
Although it’s a chain, Dairy Queen (aka DQ) is one of my all-time favorite places to enjoy some ice cream. I typically only get DQ when I’m at the beach, since there’s not one super convenient to me when I’m at home. I have the best memories of savoring some Dairy Queen deliciousness on summer nights at the beach. Occasionally I get the classic soft serve, but I almost always get a Blizzard. I have a few flavors I rotate among, including m&m, Oreo, and Chocolate Xtreme. When I’m leaving the beach, I often stop at Dairy Queen on the way out and order an ample-sized Blizzard for my lunch or dinner. It definitely takes some of the sting out of having to leave the beach! Most recently, I had an m&m Blizzard when I left the beach after my 4th of July vacation. Yum!
Disney World
A Nestle Mickey Premium Bar is another one of my favorite forms of ice cream. Unfortunately, these are only available at Disney Parks, so I’m not able to enjoy one as often as I would like. But I sure loved digging into a Mickey Bar poolside on my most recent Disney World trip. I really wish Nestle would start selling Mickey Bars in grocery stores. I bet they would make quite a profit from people who need their Mickey Bar fix but can’t make it to Disney World. When I was a kid, Good Humor sold a different but still delicious form of Mickey ice cream bars in grocery stores, called Mickey Parade Ice Cream Bars. Instead of the entire bar being vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate coating, the ears were the only part dipped in chocolate coating. The ear portion was also chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla. However, the face was uncoated vanilla ice cream with some small dabs of chocolate ice cream for the eyes and mouth. They were so good! So much so that I once got in trouble as I kid for trying to sneak an additional Mickey Parade ice cream bar after dinner.
Chick-fil-a
Okay, so I know Chick-fil-a is famous for their chicken sandwich, but goodness their soft-serve vanilla Ice Dream is so good! I definitely get excited when the deal of the month on my Cow Calendar card is Ice Dream! Although you can get vanilla soft-serve ice cream at multiple places, there’s just something special about the taste and consistency of Chick-fil-a Ice Dream!
Maple View Farm
Last but certainly not least, Maple View Farm in Hillsborough, NC is one of my favorite places for ice cream. Not only is the ice cream delicious, but the atmosphere is unbeatable. I highly recommend going at sunset! You can check out this post from my recent shoot at Maple View for more pictures of the amazing ambiance.
My bestie and I enjoying some Maple View ice cream last summer. Can’t wait to do it again this year.
(Photo by Emily Gardiner Photo)
Few things beat enjoying Maple View ice cream at one of their adorable picnic tables on a summer evening.
I hope your day yesterday included a delicious frozen treat of some sort! (And Halo Top doesn’t count. I currently have a poll going on my Instagram right now, and many people agree with me. PS. Come hang out with me on Insta if you aren’t already!)
Where is your favorite place to get ice cream, and what is your favorite flavor? Let me know in the comments! And whatever it is, “do the ice cream freeze, strike a pose” and go enjoy your favorite frozen treat (even if it’s Halo Top haha)!
-xoxo Liz
