Cuisine: Ice Cream

German Chocolate Ice Cream at Chaps

Chaps German Chocolate Ice CreamIt’s currently 92 degrees out with the usual June humidity adding an extra level of discomfort. And yet I’m choosing to sit outside on the downtown mall, withering more in the sun with every passing moment. Why subject myself to this Virginia heat? Because soon it will make a cone of Chaps ice cream even more delicious and appreciated.

Chaps isn’t about espresso chile sorbet or ginger passionfruit gelato or mini mochi toppings or anything else fancy. It’s about ice cream, pure and simple. The ice cream is handmade, the flavors are classic, and the setting looks like the Peach Pit grew up and went through some rough times. Chaps is… Read More

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Food Find: Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt at Arch’s

Arch's Pumpkin Frozen YogurtPumpkin flavored stuff rules. Especially in the harvest season, on a dramatic autumn night, with the moon shining bright and dry leaf carcasses clacking about.

I’ve already talked about the pumpkin pancakes to be had on Emmet Street. But did you know about the pumpkin frozen yogurt a few doors down?

Take cinnamony pumpkin sweetness, freeze it, pipe it into a 5 oz. cup, sprinkle with graham crackers, smear with Arch’s famous gooey brownies, repeat. Delicious!

Note: This was at the Emmet St. Arch’s. There are different flavors from day to day and from location to location, so be sure to call the flavor hotline before going to see what they… Read More

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Food Find: Chandler’s Ice Cream Grandy’s Delight

dairy bar - 4Nothing says summer like gooey ice cream in a tractor store parking lot, and nothing says gooey ice cream like a loaded up soft serve sundae. If you agree with these statements, get yourself to Chandler’s Ice Cream for a Grandy’s Delight. Chandler’s, or more often simply known as “the dairy bar,” is a find in itself. Just past 250 on River Road, the ice cream stand is tucked amongst the trees and a few picnic benches in the Tractor Supply parking lot. They have all the classic favorites from your childhood days of ice cream, before things got all wacky with exotic flavors and marble tops, but Grandy’s is the shining star… Read More

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Arch’s Frozen Yogurt 

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I remember when frozen yogurt first arrived. For me this was at a deli in Dayton, Ohio called “The Upper Crust.” At the end of the counter there was a huge metal machine that looked like something out of a 50′s science-fiction movie. You pulled the handle and out came pale pink strawberry goodness similar to ice cream but fluffier, and good for you too!
Fast-forward a few years and several hundred miles to Charlottesville in the mid-90’s. I’m at UVA with a really bad haircut… Read More

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Food Find: Splendora’s Cucumber Mint Gelato

cucumber mint gelatoSplendora is hit-or-miss for me, but in the summertime this cucumber mint gelato hits the spot. It was lacking on the mint side of the equation but the cucumber flavor was strong and fresh, with almost too much real cucumber pulp throughout. Regardless, a refreshing and not unhealthy — if you order the bambino size — treat on a hot day. Read More

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