I was excited to stumble upon Uncle John's Ice Creamery back in May - what a scoop (haha) for an ice cream blog, to find a place that hadn't even been open for two weeks yet, had neat ice cream and "new business energy." Well, things kind of got away from me and this article has been half-written for nearly three months. Fortunately, they're still thriving!

The original visit came about after stopping for lunch at Code 1 BBQ's new location - they'd just expanded from a two-table takeout spot into a huge former-Panera space across the street in the Wilmington Crossing strip mall. Great ribs and brisket and amazing sauces - but they serve "until they run out" so you might want to go for lunch, like I did. Not to turn this into a "yankee bbq" blog, but a Big Pile Of Meat is best followed by a walk around the neighborhood (hint to city planners: even if you can't get your act together and have useful sidewalks that go places, at least make sure any restaurant has at least a half mile of walkable loop that doesn't go past Dumpsters or swamps!) and there were a couple of generic-looking placeholder signs, next to covered windows, suggesting an ice cream place was coming soon:

Approaching the sign, it turned out the covered windows were the next space over and the sign was attached to a set of already-decorated ice cream shop windows - with slogans like "Every Batch Made From Scratch!" and "We Make Our Own Ice Cream!" - but peering in those windows, there was a vast mostly-empty space, with a half dozen tables, a dark counter and a couple of lit up menu screens:

There was even a powered up freezer... that sort of looked like it had things in it.... Huh, why would a not yet open ice cream shop be spending money on keeping a freezer running, and why does the menu look like it has actual flavors on it?

Remember that bit above about stopping for lunch? That's kind of a novel thing for me, but the gears slowly turned... and the bit on the door that said "store hours 2pm-8pm" finally sunk in - it was just after lunch and it wasn't 2pm yet, oops :-) (Note: as of August they're actually open until 9:30pm, their website says those are "Summer Hours" until Labor Day.)

(How can ice cream be turned into breakfast if you don't open until two pm?)

So, after applying some old fashioned time travel techniques - walked a couple of laps around the mall neighborhood until they opened, thus getting to the future at one hour per hour - Uncle John's was actually open.

Ok, that was A Story, but what about the Ice Cream?

I got a large Cinnamon Bun and Maple Walnut. Possibly a mistake on the photography side of things, since they both show up as entirely neutral white, and the crunchiness of Maple Walnut doesn't come through at all either. The flavors were quite convincing, the ice cream itself was a little on the lighter side of the creaminess typical of Massachusetts ice cream but that may have adjusted in the intervening months - then again that also makes a Large a little less overwhelming.

They started with around twenty flavors, clearly labelled for nut and gluten content, plus a few extra Dairy Free options. The usual three sizes and both waffle and sugar cones (the website says that they've added an Oreo Sugar Cone as well), a variety of sauces (Hot Fudge and Marshmallow if you want to Build Your Own s'mores ice cream) and toppings that range from Chopped Walnuts to Mini Gummy Bears. (Sprinkles "(Chocolate & Rainbow)" were listed under Additional Toppings, I don't know if anyone has explained to them about Jimmies but the website says the same thing.)

If you can't choose, they have both 4-flavor and 8-flavor flights, with a "paddle" as part of the props showing off the serving sizes (only about 10% of the places I've reviewed here even have something they call a "flight" so it's probably still a good idea to have a handy explanation.) The website actually says you can get flights To-Go, which is an interesting party option.

They also have Frappes, Sundaes, and Hand-Packed Pints, and the website shows a Molten Lava Cake (with two scoops of ice cream.)

New Venture Enthusiasm

After finishing the ice cream, the owner stopped by to ask what we thought, which was a great chance to get some questions answered. Turns out they'd only been open since Mother's Day, and they're closed Monday and Tuesday (confirmed that this is still true in August 2025) because they make ice cream on-site on those days. They also expect to vary flavors based on what's popular (since they can change things up every week!) so I've left out flavor details other than what I actually had back in May. They also have a loyalty card, so if you're actually in Wilmington it's probably worth picking one up.

Since last year's S'mores Day post I've continued to collect shops that have S'mores-related flavors. (Last year's article will do for details and historical references; of note for 2025 is that there was a google doodle - for Ecuador Independence Day (from Spain in 1809) which is celebrated with traditional meals, and not with S'mores.)

Sterling Ice Cream

Sterling Ice Cream has "Campfire S'mores".

Pizzi Farm

Pizzi Farm Ice Cream has "Campfire S'mores" - though they also have "Graham Central Station" which hits pretty close.

Mac's Dairy Farm

Mac's Dairy Farm has "Campfire S'moores" (consistent spelling between their on-site menus and their website, so I assume there's at least some intent behind it, though if they really want to commit to it they should add another "o" every year, and insist people order it as "Campfire S'mooooooooooores".)

Berlin Farms

Berlin Farms has "Campfire S'mores".

Trombetta's Farm

Trombetta's Farm has "S'mores" on their primary menu (they also have a fall seasonal menu.)

Great Brook Farm

Great Brook Farm Ice Cream has Campfire S'mores ice cream, but also a "Smores Sundae" with Campfire S'mores (or Graham Central Station when they have it?), Marshmallow Topping, Walnuts, Whipped Cream, Miniature Marshmallows, and a drizzle of Chocolate Sauce.

Cindy's Drive-in

Cindy's Drive-in does have a S'mores soft serve flavor (as well as regular Graham Central Station) but they also have a "Super Smores Sundae" - soft serve based, with hot fudge, marshmallow, and ground up graham crackers.

Cookie Monstah

Cookie Monstah lists a "Camp Fire Smores" flavor (but it's sold out as of Halloween 2024.) Also their Boston Magazine article described a "The Campfire" sandwich - 1 S'mores Cookie + 1 chocolate chunk cookie + milky way ice cream. Doesn't have it's own page but as of today it's pictured on the "visual menu" about half-way down their home page.

Scoop N Scootery

The Scoop N Scootery has a Campfire Smores ice cream flavor - but also a Smore Sundae which doesn't use it instead going with "Vanilla ice cream topped with mini marshmallows, chocolate chips and crushed graham crackers" which (except for the lack of fire, a key ingredient of S'mores!) is arguably more correct.

Wally's Wicked Good Ice Cream

Wally's Wicked Good Ice Cream has Campfire S'mores ice cream and Graham Central Station. At least around Halloween 2024, they also had a "S'moreo Frappe"¹ on their specials list.

Kay's Dairy Bar

Kay's Dairy Bar has S'mores ice cream and a "Super Charged Smores" Ice Cream Boat.

Mad Maggie's

Mad Maggie's didn't list anything S'mores-adjacent on their menu as of 1 November, but their website has S'Mores ice cream under Seasonals as vanilla with graham cracker chunks, chocolate chips, and marshmallow swirl; as is common, it lacks fire but it sounds like they've gotten the rest of it right.

Truly's

Truly's had ice cream in the scooping freezer labelled "S'mores", and a line on the sign that said "Campfire S'mores"; the latter is also on their website, as "graham cracker ice cream with mini marshmallows, chocolate chunks and graham crack swirl" (not a typo.) Their toppings menu also includes Marshmallow (Cold Sauce) and Graham Cracker Dust, if you wanted to enhance it a little.

Johnson's Restaurant and Dairy Bar

Johnson's Restaurant and Dairy Bar has a probably-seasonal (hand-written on tape, in early November) S'mores flavor on their ice cream menu.

Schoolhouse Ice Cream

Schoolhouse Ice Cream of Cape Cod has a Smores flavor on their normal menu; they also have Marshmallow on their Wet Toppings list. No graham crackers, though.

Moozy's

Moozy's Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt lists a "Becca7 (smores!)" flavor on their normal menu. They also have Graham Central Station, plus they have Marshmallow on their "Sundae Toppings" list.

Mad Willie's

Mad Willie's lists a "Campfire Smores" flavor, which would probably go well in a Hot Fudge or Caramel Sundae, but they don't list any Graham or Marshmallow flavors or toppings (at least as of mid-February.)

As part of July being declared National Ice Cream Month by President Reagan's Proclamation 5219, July 15 1984 was declared National Ice Cream Day. Tradition, though not law, has led to repeated celebrations on the third Sunday in July, which in 2025 falls on the 20th (today!)

The proclamation also declares that "Ice cream is a nutritious and wholesome food." So Say We All.

(This is "news about popular science communication", and not medical advice - especially since, as a reader of this blog, you're likely someone who will find glorious confirmation in the results...)

Via a thread on Bluesky I encountered an article from The Atlantic titled Nutrition Science’s Most Preposterous Result (alternate version) pointing to a 2018 Harvard doctoral dissertation¹ that suggests a counterintuitive reduction in heart health problems associated with a particular risk group consuming half a cup of ice cream a day. The article focuses more on the "how science is supposed to work" part of it, than actual mechanism - we're far over on the "more research would be interesting" side of the line, not the "change your diet/join our cult" side.²

The thread author writes about a personal experience with health and ice cream that aligned well with the article and has some interesting theories around stress, cortisol, and saturated fats. I think the sensible takeaway is probably just "no really, individual humans really can be more different from an ideal metabolism than we'd like to pretend they are."

And after all, you were going to go have some ice cream anyway, right?

Seen in Burlington: in between Osteria Nino and Wegman's, in the corner space where David's Tea used to be, there are now these huge signs that a new Holy Cow Ice Cream Café is opening in Spring of 2025!

This will be dangerously convenient, especially for their glorious Mintsanity or Corner Piece flavors...

Their Locations page doesn't yet mention it, though there's a 3rd Ave Burlington real estate/marketing page that suggests their hours will be noon to 10pm. Other sources give a target date of May. Ping me if you hear of an opening date!

Went out to the Hopkinton Winter Farmer's Market since it was an unusually nice day for February and I wanted to check out Edward's Coffee Company and Pure Pastry. As far as I can tell, every ice cream shop in Hopkinton proper is closed for the winter, but T. C. Scoops in the next town over was open.¹

There's no outdoor seating (just a dozen or so spaces of shared parking lot) but the interior space is huge - lots of spread out tables and a long serving counter. They have an unusual number of brightly colored ice cream flavors - some conventional, some you just have to ask about (like "Crazy Vanilla".)

T. C. Scoops serves Hershey Ice Cream, FoMu non-dairy (coconut-milk based) dessert, and an oat-milk-based option; they also have sorbet and "Incredible Ice".

Toppings are divided into wet (hot fudge, strawberries, whipped cream) and dry (oreo bits, heath bar bits, gummy bears), including Chocolate Jimmies and Rainbow Sprinkles. They also have "Crunchy Cotton Candy" and "Plantain Chips" which might be worth a try just for the novelty.

They have four serving sizes of ice cream, and corresponding sundae sizes, along with a top-it-yourself sundae bar. They also have specialty sundaes like banana split, brownie, and waffle cone.

They have frappes, floats, ice cream soda, smoothies, and raspberry lime rickie; they also list a decadent-sounding "frozen hot chocolate".

First Visit

I started with their "Extreme Chocolate" with Chocolate Jimmies (sort of redundant, but they're more for added texture anyway.) It was an almost black color with a strong (but not bitter) chocolate flavor; nothing mixed in. Not quite as creamy a base as I'm used to but the richness of the chocolate flavor made up for that.

A closeup of the Extreme Chocolate ice cream itself, without the layer of Jimmies hiding it.

The "Creamsicle" deserves the name - a bright orange with a "cream" swirl that reminds me exactly of the true Creamsicle® bars from my childhood. (It's not unusual to make a Creamsicle variant by swirling in vanilla ice cream - which is also a tasty treat and I'm not suggesting it's wrong, but it doesn't hit the exact nostalgic notes the way this version does.)

Another view showing the density of the cream swirl after getting halfway through the Creamsicle part.

Next Visit

Holliston is kind of small and out of the way (before this review, the town was entirely absent from my travel photography collection) so it isn't likely to become a regular haunt - but I'm likely to find an excuse to stop back at Gaetano's Bakery for their Florentine Cookies, so that would be a good chance to stop in and try some of their more unusual flavors like "Playdough" (colorful vanilla base with cookies mixed in), "Crazy Vanilla", or "Butter Brittle Crunch" - or maybe just get a Frozen Hot Chocolate (perhaps in the summer, just to compare with the classic Serendipity 3 version.)

I was out running errands and discovered that Mad Willie's was nearby and had winter hours. The storefront is right on that little chunk of Route 30 that splits off of Route 9 and then merges back; there's a relatively small parking lot shared with a couple of buildings, but on a Wednesday afternoon there wasn't much going on so there was plenty of available space. There are a few tables out front, which you wouldn't expect for early February, but it was very sunny and just above freezing, so it was actually a fine place to sit and at least start on some ice cream (fulfilling my role as a stereotypical ice-cream-obsessed New Englander.)

There's also indoor seating - a window bench and a couple of tables. There were a couple of people there, at what would otherwise be a completely dead time, which is encouraging as far as them having enough business to stay open.

They have a broad menu - aside from Proper Ice Cream, they have an extensive Frozen Yogurt list, Soft Serve (I didn't notice at the time but they have both Cinnamon and Ginger listed as Soft Serve flavors), Richie's Slush, Smoothies, Frappes, Floats, Milk Shakes and Sundaes. Toppings include Butter Finger and Heath Bar; I didn't see Sprinkles or Jimmies on the menu but they probably have them.

The large cup there is 4½" across (115mm) which is large even by New England standards! They also have a range of cones, and it looks like the Italian Ice servings follow the same set of scales.

First Visit

I started with Death By Chocolate - rich chocolate flavor, shading towards dark but not overwhelmingly so; had big chocolate chunks as well. Since it was so sunny out, I sat at the outdoor picnic bench and soaked up the sun (and the chocolate...)

I actually took the rest home and finished the Maple Walnut later in the afternoon. Big walnut chunks and a pronounced maple flavor in a creamy ice cream - exactly what Maple Walnut is supposed to be.

Next Visit

Green Monster, Butter Pecan, and German Chocolate Cake all stood out as future choices; they also have Maine Black Bear which I need to try one of these days. They also have about twice as many Frozen Yogurt flavors as ice cream flavors, including Grapenut and Cotton Candy Krunch.

I had to look up what a "Cry Baby Slush" was - turns out that's Sour Apple. Not for me, but an interesting novelty if you're into that...

Happy Solistice! After Thanksgiving I'd gotten out of the habit of doing regular ice cream shop explorations, but the days are getting longer and it seemed like a good time to visit the places that are staying open over the winter.

Today's shop is Moozy's, a corner shop in Belmont (right where Trapelo Road meets Belmont Street.) There are a bunch of outdoor tables and a half dozen indoor booths; the interior is dominated by a large ice cream counter, with a self-serve frozen yogurt bar tucked in one corner, and a burger and grill section on the far side.

Their ice cream menu includes Graham Central Station, Black Raspberry Chip, and Moose Tracks. Aside from the usual cups, cones, packed quarts and pints, they have Sundaes, Banana Splits, Frappes (including an Espresso Frappe), Floats, and Smoothies. For toppings they have a list of fresh fruit options, a range of Sundae toppings, and a "candy & crunchies" section including Real Chocolate "Jimmies"¹ and Heath Bar Pieces. They also have three sizes of Ice Cream Cake (custom orders need 48 hours notice, per their website.)

First Visit

I started with a sample of my friend's Eggnog (a christmas-season-only flavor.) Really strong, even a little bit tangy - very convincing eggnog ice cream with a rich base. Sufficiently strong that it overwhelmed my intended followup, the Peanut Butter Oreo - I made it about halfway through before the peanut butter taste actually stood up to the eggnog; though I don't think that would have been a problem by itself, maybe add the "creamy peanut butter" sundae topping if you want to go all in on peanut butter flavor.

The second half was their Extreme Chocolate, which earned the name - a rich chocolate base, chocolate chunks, and a dark chocolate sauce, delivering chocolate on multiple fronts. This was a much better flavor experience than the peanut butter oreo - no subtlety at all, and no need for it either.²

Meletharb Homemade Ice Cream¹ is in a little strip mall just inside I95, halfway between I93 and Route 1. It's in a mostly residential area, but it's only one exit away from the last Fuddruckers in the state.³ It has a two-station indoor serving counter and indoor tables and chairs.

The ice cream flavor list is fairly long - they also have soft serve, but only vanilla and chocolate. They have a toppings list (hot fudge, whipped cream, salty caramel, etc) and a separate "Crunchy & Squishy Toppings" list (including Heath Bar, Krunch Kote, and Gummi Sharks.) They are also the first place I've seen with "Real Chocolate Jimmies"⁴.

Ice cream servings are Kiddie, Small, Medium, and Large; they also have design-your-own Sundaes (plus a Brownie Sundae and a Banana Split.) They have frappes, freezes, slush⁵, ice cream sodas, and floats, as well as a freezer case full of ice cream cakes and ice cream cookie sandwiches. They also have a short frozen yogurt list, two non-dairy flavors, and Orange Sherbet.

First Visit

I started with "Peppermint Bark" - a vanilla base with bits of peppermint candy and chocolate. Nice strong mint and a lot of crunch, but the ice cream itself had a somewhat "stretchy" texture to it - not unpleasant, but I've never noticed it anywhere else, and it made taking spoonfuls one-handed⁶ a little tricky.

The other half was "Coffee Heath Bar" which didn't have the texture issues the Peppermint Bark did. It had a distinct but relatively mild coffee flavor, which weathered the mint quite well, while still being pretty far over on the Latte side of the coffee flavor scale. Heath Bar is a really good crunchy add-in (it's also available on their Crunchy Toppings list.)

Future Visits

The flavor list has some of the more interesting variations I've seen; next time I'm here (they do appear to be open all winter) the "Cinnamon French Toast", "Baklava", and "White Pistachio" are all tempting creative choices; if I'm instead leaning towards crunchy classics, they also have Maple Walnut and Grapenut. If I'm feeling more indulgent than usual, I'll construct a Sundae with strawberry and whipped cream, and about half of the Crunchy Toppings list on top...

For the 50th ice cream shop in this series, I went to Herrell's Ice Cream and Bakery which is sort of a nostalgia trip for me. I'll leave most of the history to Wikipedia but the bits I personally experienced include

• Steve's in Davis Square (the building was torn down years ago, the Italian restaurant Posto¹ is in what was the parking lot) two doors down from the Original Bertucci's²
• Steve's in Harvard Square (on Church Street) which is where I first encountered the labor-intensive "mix-ins" process (Herrell's now calls this "Smoosh-ins")
• Herrell's in Harvard Square (on Dunster Street, I think Mike's Pastry is there now) which is more well remembered as "The Place with the Bank Vault" (the vault had benches, mirrors, and undersea artwork decorating the inside, a surprisingly cozy spot)

It turns out that this one, in Northampton, was the original, after Steve Herrell sold Steve's (to the Bertucci's guy) and then waited out his noncompete agreement.

Herrell's in Northampton is tucked in to the bottom floor of the "Thornes Marketplace" multi-story mall, which leads to it having a street entrance and an indoor entrance (and 30ft ceilings.) No outdoor seating, but plenty of indoor booth space and a row of barstools along the Old South Street window. Parking is a little odd - there's a huge amount of street level parking downhill from the center of town, which is 100% full during business hours - but the E. J. Gare Parking garage (which is connected by a second-floor skybridge to Thornes) is free for the first hour (and only 75¢ for the next) so just go there directly, and follow the signs to the Old South Street exit, Herrell's is Right There (150ft away, up a slight hill.)

Ice cream serving sizes run from Kiddie to Large (and packed pints and quarts); toppings are divided into "Goodies", sauces, fruit, and whipped cream (plain or chocolate). Goodies are the ones that can be used as "Smoosh-ins" (medium or large servings only.) They also have sundaes, banana splits, and ice cream cakes; milkshakes, smoothies, floats, spritzers, ice cream soda, and New York Egg Cream. Since they're open year-round, they also have six flavors of hot chocolate. They also have a 4-scoop "sampler" (similar to the Tasting Flight we've seen a few other places.)

While they are very clearly an Ice Cream First sort of place, they do have multiple flavors of sorbet including Concord Grape, frozen yogurt, no sugar added, and oat-based No-moo® flavors.

First Visit (to this location)

I went with a double scoop (served side-by-side, which is unusual but convenient for comparative tasting) of "Mudpie" and Peanut Butter. Herrell's gets credit for documenting the mystery flavors (like "Cookie Combustion" and "Microchip") right on the menu; Mudpie is an espresso ice cream with cookies and fudge swirl. Definitely a "coffee ice cream for people who actually like coffee" and a strong dark chocolate flavor to the swirl - Herrell's has always been famous for their hot fudge sauce, which they sell in 10oz jars. The ice cream itself seemed a little bit icy, but they had just opened for the day - it might just not have been out of the deep freeze long enough. The flavors were still excellent.

The Peanut Butter was was also surprisingly rich - you usually need a peanut butter swirl to get that strong a flavor, but this was coming from the ice cream itself - which might make it a better base for your choice of "Smoosh-in".

Going back

Herrell's is more than an hour away for me, though I combined this trip with visits to the adjacent used book store and the Quabbin Reservoir high trail (eagles!) I'm not likely to return often, though I'm sure I'll find some excuse. I will definitely try some smoosh-ins (though I'll try to resist the temptation to just put walnuts in everything) and their "Real Chocolate Sprinkles" (and decide if I want to get a packet of them to go.) While I'll probably start with Chocolate Pudding and High Definition Vanilla, their Sweet Dreams (novelty flavor with chamomille tea, honey and lemon) might be worth a taste, along with their Concord Grape Sorbet.

I'll also have to remember to bring a proper spoon of some sort - they serve bamboo spoons, which aren't as bad as paper straws, but they're a little off in texture (specifically that they have a texture.) They also feel like they're going to break - though as the picture shows they were sturdy enough to finish a large without failing - so that might be a matter of getting used to them. I haven't seen them anywhere else, though - Northampton being a "college town" this might be an upcoming trend.