My family and I visited Ben and Jerry's on a local day trip to a town called Davidson, North Carolina. After touring the campus of Davidson College, a picnic in the sweltering heat, and walking down main street to visit the various shops, you can imagine what an oasis Ben and Jerry's looked like!

Ben and Jerry's, a History

I particularly love stories involving little people and the American Dream, and this appears to be one such story. Ben and Jerry (real people!) started their homemade ice cream business with only the freshest ingredients, in an old gas station and with only $12,000. Between the quality and freshness of their ingredients, and the brilliance of the flavor combinations, these two everyday Joe's have made themselves millionaires. They didn't forget their roots either. They still dedicate themselves to their workers as well as their company. They also support various social causes.

Some of their most interesting flavor combinations (Cherries Garcia, Chubby Hubby and Chunky Monkey among them) were suggested by their fans. If you have an idea for a new and exciting flavor, Ben and Jerry's would love to hear from you! Simply go to www.benjerry.com to find out more information.

Atmosphere

When we walked inside we were met with a cool burst of air. That was almost as good as the ice cream cone! The walls and tables were colorful, as was the menu board. There was so much to choose from that it was overwhelming, but the staff was patient and considerate. While my husband stood in line, Ty and I went to the bathroom. It was as clean as a button, and the walls were pink...even the bathroom was charming! We sat down at one of the tables inside, and were happily surprised to find a board game of checkers/chess to occupy us while we waited on our ice cream.

The Ice Cream

I will admit that I am not a connoisseur of ice cream, but this was good! My son got World's Best Chocolate and it was very rich. I got the Triple Caramel Chunk and it was vanilla ice cream with caramel swirled in it and tiny Rollo candies in it. Yum! Dustin got the Southern Peach and it was wonderful as well! They had so many flavors it was hard as heck to choose, but here are some of the more clever names:

* Bovinity Divinity: Chocolate and Vanilla ice cream with white chocolate and fudge cows.
* Chubby Hubby: Chocolate covered peanut butter filled pretzels in vanilla malt ice cream with fudge and peanut butter swirl.
* Chunky Monkey: Banana ice cream with walnuts and chocolate chunks.
* Southern Pecan Pie: Brown sugar ice cream with roasted pecans, chunks of pecan pie pieces and a pecan caramel swirl.

Some flavors have bitten the proverbial dust. They now reside at Ben and Jerry's official Flavor Graveyard. Some of the flavors included here that may be recognized (and mourned) are as follows:


Bovinity Divinity™
Chocolate Caramel Chunk
Economic Crunch
French Vanilla
Hunka Burnin' Fudge
Jerry's Jubilee™
Monkey Wrench™
Oh Pear
Raspberry Cheesecake
Southern Peach
The Full VerMonty™
Triple Caramel Chunk™
Vanilla Chocolate Chunk
Wavy Gravy™
World's BestŪ Chocolate

Now, this is interesting, but there is also a reason I've included this information. The careful reader will realize that the three flavors my family sampled on our picnic have now been declared dead. And they were all awesome. So this leaves me with one conclusion: They have something even better awaiting my next visit!

In addition to the regular ice cream, they have Low Fat ice cream, No Fat Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Low Fat Frozen Yogurt. In addition to the cones (size small, regular and large) they have waffle cones, chocolate dipped or plain, Sundaes, Shakes, Smoothies, and Latte's. There is absolutely something there for everyone.

Prices

The prices for the ice cream are a little high, especially when you consider that my 3 year old can't tell the difference between "The World's Greatest Chocolate" and the stuff I buy in the gas station with the wooden spoons. But, for my husband and I, the flavor of the ice cream is superior and so is the ambiance (does a gas station have ambiance?). Over all, I think if you stay away from purchasing the cute T-shirts hanging on the wall for $17 a pop, you'll come out OK!

Website

They have a great website, colorful and informative! There are quite a few things for you to do as well. They have recipes, E-cards, paper crafts (cut and color), online games, and calendars and wallpapers to download for your computer!

If this review looks familiar, then you have a good memory! I wrote the original almost 3 years ago! I decided it was time to update and repost. Hope you enjoy the newer and more improved version.








Recommended: Yes