Izzie's Ice Cream (first visit)
Went up Wachusett Mountain to watch for raptors and figured I was far enough west to find a new-to-me ice cream shop. My first stop was the King Phillip Dairy Bar which was already closed for the season; expanding the search led to Izzie's Ice Cream in Templeton.
Izzie's is a parked trailer along Route 101/2A just north of Route 2. It has a gravel parking lot, and plenty of outdoor seating - tables and chairs near the trailer, picnic benches and Adirondack chairs across the lot.
Note that the last day they're open for the 2025 season is Sunday, October 5th; they're celebrating the end of season with breakfast sandwiches on Sunday morning, "winter tubs" (previously seen at Meadowlands Homemade Ice Cream - you get to stock up on your favorites, they get to clear out end-of-season inventory), and a Coffee Standup from local (Westminster-based) Victoria Coffee.
Izzie's serves ice cream from Leiby's Dairy in Tamaqua, Pennysylvania - which means that they have an entirely different range of combination flavors that most other Massachusetts ice cream shops. (It also means they have different names, so it's worth asking about them - especially as a bunch of them aren't on the Leiby's web site either; Dirty Water® turns out to be a coffee icecream with chocolate cookie bits and chocolate cookie bits, which I'll definitely consider for next time.)
They have a range of sundaes, including a Maple Walnut sundae (maple walnut ice cream, maple syrup and chopped walnuts!) and a Banana Split. Toppings include Gummy Bears along with the more usual butterscotch and walnuts; they dodged the sprinkles/jimmies debate by not listing them but they definitely had rainbow sprinkles based on some spillage from a previous customer :-)
For novelty servings, they do have a 4-flavor "flight" - I didn't see how big it was, but it's priced a little more than their large (which was huge) - and "Ice Cream Nachos".
They have frappes, floats, and two very summery options: Citrus Splash (lemonade over orange sherbert) and Orange Creamsicle (orange soda over vanilla ice cream.) The creamsicle drink is on my short list for next year!
They also have a "Montana Sundae" (dog sundae - vanilla, peanut butter, milk bone.)
First Visit
As usual, I got a large - they didn't have "Peanut Butter 180" so "Peanut Butter Cake" on top, and "Chocolate Cookie Monster" on the bottom. The ice cream was itself peanut butter flavored (not just vanilla with a swirl) along with cake (or soft cookie?) bits. The ice cream itself was creamy but just a little less dense than Tosci's or the like. (Not a criticism, just a description.)
Chocolate cookie monster was a very rich chocolate ice cream base, with a chocolate swirl and chocolate cookie bits - satisfyingly chocolate and a nice crunchy texture. If you're craving something Very Chocolate, start here.
It's probably not clear from the pictures, but the large was an enormous amount of ice cream - that cup is five inches across. I may need to start keeping a scale in the car to compare sizes - Massachusetts "large" is usually at least "generous" and "plenty of both flavors" (at some places, large is simply three scoops and they encourage you to pick three different flavors, possibly a predecessor to ice cream "flights") but this goes well beyond "a lot of ice cream" into "you're probably skipping dinner". (This is the first place I've been where I might actually get something smaller next time I visit!)
Next Visit
Depending on what time of year I go back, I'm either getting the Maple Walnut sundae or the Orange Creamsicle drink - though I've spent enough of my life in Somerville that I need to shout out the "Fluffernutter" flavor. If I don't get a sundae, I'll probably try Dirty Water® - and if I'm hoping to eat anything else that day, maybe not get a large...