We all know and love the famous Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, that you can, if you are lucky, buy in your local grocery store. But did you know that Ben and Jerry also has ice cream shops? I did not, and one day, when I was walking around Oakwood, a Dayton suburb, I discovered a dream place, called Ben and Jerry’s Dayton ice cream shop!
I guess this is how heaven looks like. In my country, you will not find Ben and Jerry’s ice cream shops. In most big cities, you can buy a Ben and Jerry ice cream in the supermarket, but it is just not the same. And the variety of flavors in ice cream shops is just so much bigger.
Tell me where is this place!
My new favourite ice cream shop is situated on Brown street, very close to the University of Dayton and just across the street you can find the post office. This is the only post office in Oakwood, so if you are figuring out the directions, just ask someone to tell you where the post office is. After all, and sadly, there is a bigger chance that people will know where is the post office, other than an ice cream shop.
A place that will help you find Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop is also a hair stylist salon, called Studio Blue, and it is situated on the left side of Ben and Jerry's.
For an easier orientation, this is what you need to look for. Basically, you just need to look for some silver chairs outside.
If Dayton is too far from you, I found another Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop while wandering around the New York city. More precisely, in the underground shopping area of the Rockefeller center. They offered same flavours as the Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop in Dayton, but the prices were a bit higher. Which is understandable, since, you know, nothing in the New York city is cheap.
How does the best ice cream shop in the world look like?
The ice cream shop is fairly big and has a big sitting area, both inside and outside, but I have noticed that most people just buy the ice cream and eat in on the go. The sitting area outside is nice, although it is situated just next to the road, which makes it a bit noisy.
This is not a problem if you are there by yourself, but if you are with someone and actually want to talk, it is better to sit inside, because this street has a lot of traffic. And I think nobody wants to shout while eating ice cream. The downside of sitting inside is air conditioning. Before coming to the States, I was told that people use air conditioning on uncomfortably cold levels, and it is true, especially in this place, but I guess I just need to go there more often and get used to it.
A closer look to the exterior of Ben and Jerry's. The banner looks extremely inviting, doesn't it?
The water basin and the freezer with flavors you can take home. Every time I decide to but ice cream there, I am having such a hard time deciding on the flavour, that I usually end up buying two or three different ones.
And another freezer. How to pick a flavour? Just close your eyes and take one.
What I like about the interior of this Ben and Jerry's is that the walls are full of posters that tell the story of how it all started. And, on the far side of the shop (next to the water fountain) they have a graveyard of flavours. This is basically a description of every flavour that they do not sell anymore. Some of them sounded good, some of them not, and I can understand why they are not selling them anymore.
What to order?
Once you enter the ice cream shop, you will immediately notice several boards on the wall, telling you what you can get.
As you can see, the ice cream shop was pretty crowded when I visited it. But the service is super fast - before I could decide which flavour I want, it was already my turn.
They have over thirty ice cream flavours! I can only hope I will be able to try them all while I am living here. To be honest, I am doing a great job so far – I have already tried chocolate chip cookie dough (which I already tried in Spain, but I wanted to make sure it tastes the same, and It indeed did, it was just more fabulous to eat it from a cone than from a cup), chocolate therapy (which is even more yummy than it sounds), NY Super Fudge Chunk (which consists of different kinds of chocolate - in chunks, hence the name super fudge chunk) and cotton candy (which was too sweet for my taste, but I still somehow liked it) .
Phish food (yes, Phish, like the band) is one of their newer flavours, and it is basically chocolate with chocolate fishes and marshmallow goo. Finger - licking - good! And a big bonus, also known as ‘get fat soon’, you can request whipped cream on the top of your ice cream free of charge. I have never done it, because I feel the ice cream is sweet enough by itself, but one day I will.
How can one possibly choose just one flavour?
All ice creams have three different portion sizes, small, medium and large, and you can also choose the cone that you like. There is an ordinary cone, a cup – shaped one, chocolate dipped cone and chocolate dipped cone with different toppings on it. It is almost as hard to choose a cone as it is to choose the ice cream flavor that you want.
My half eaten scoop. All those dark spots are big chunks of chocolate.
I think most of the people are coming to Ben and Jerry’s Dayton ice cream shop to get, believe it or not, ice cream, but they are also selling other things. You can get milkshakes, smoothies and sundaes, a strawberry lemonade (which is very refreshing, but a little bit too sweet), cakes and brownies, and you can also buy ice cream and take it home. They are selling it in those containers that we all know, but they are much bigger here – you can get your favourite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream in a container as big as 500 ml!
See all those sugar cones? Yummy!
You can also buy chocolate covered bananas, cookies and brownies. I am ashamed to say that I have not tried them yet, and I live only a few blocks away from this place!
Prices
You are probably wondering how expensive this place is, since it sounds really good. Let me tell you that it is amazingly cheap! You can get a chocolate dipped cone and a big portion of ice cream for a cheaper price than you would pay in Europe for the same amount of ice cream in a cup.
Ben and Jerry's free cone day
Everybody loves free food. Especially if that food is ice cream. Well, your dream just came true, because once a year, usually in April, all Ben and Jerry's ice cream shops host an event, called the Free cone day.
So what exactly is a Free cone day? You go to your favourite Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop (you might have to wait in line since other people love free ice cream as well), tell them the flavour you want, and thank them for being so awesome because you just scored a free ice cream!
The only three rules that apply on a Free cone day, are the following: you are only allowed one free ice cream on that day, although I am pretty sure they would not remember you if you go there twice. Or, even better, if there is more than one Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop in your city, you can go to more than one on the Free cone day.
The second rule is that you can get one scoop of ice cream only, but their scoops are very generous, and you can pick any flavour that you want. And last but not least, you can only choose between a regular sugar cone or a cup. If you would like one of their signature, chocolate dipped cones, you will have to pay extra.
Once you get your ice cream, you can donate some money into a special box - they will donate everything to charity, and the organization is different every year. And before you leave the best ice cream shop on the planet, take some pictures with the funny frames or ice cream moustaches (made out of cardboard).
The staff members will gladly assist you with taking pictures. After all, once you post that picture online, that means free publicity to them, which means more customers.
A short conclusion
What I like the most about Ben and Jerry’s Dayton ice cream shop, is the variety of flavours, low prices, and very friendly staff. Every time I go there, there is usually only one staff member behind the counter, but he is very quick and efficient, and he is not pushy or rude even if it takes you some time to choose the flavor you want.
Also, there is a water basin in the corner of the shop, where you can refill your water bottle, or wash all that chocolate off your face. It is okay to bring your own drinks with you, but since you can buy water there, I see no reason why.
P.S. Do not forget to tip at the end, it is not very polite here if you forget to do so. It took me a while to get used to tipping when I moved to the United states, because in Europe, the tip is more an exception than the rule.
P.P.S. You can also order cakes there. Who wouldn’t want to eat a special, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream infused cake for his or her birthday? Heck, I would even order it for no special occasion!
