Back in the summer of 2019, my friends, Santino, Bailey and I decided to go for ice cream one night. But to switch it up, we decided to try all of the ice cream stands we knew of in the Cicero – North Syracuse area in Upstate New York.
Prior to this challenge, we each had a favorite stand. Mine was Thee Diner since it was the closest to my house and my family went there all the time. But this adventure soon changed my mind once we closely compared all of the stands.
Inspired by Dave Portnoy from Barstool Sports with his pizza reviews, we stuck to the rules. “One bite, everyone knows the rules.”
Stop #1 :William’s Farm Stand
We started our adventure at William’s Farm Stand in Cicero, NY, which is a place where you can buy fresh produce and get great ice cream. To make the ratings fair and comparable, we decided to go with the classic twist. However, at some stands we decided to try other flavors.
This picture (and the rest featured in this blog post) are screenshots from my video reviews which is why most of them are very blurry! I apologize for the bad quality!
We gave the twist at William’s Farm stand a 6.5. Unfortunately in the video review for this ice cream, I didn’t give an explanation for why I rated it a 6.5 as I just introduced what my friends and I were doing. Because of this, my dad and I plan to redo this ice cream challenge and provide better feedback!
Stop #2: Big Don’s
My friends and I were shocked to give Big Don’s such a high rating for their ice cream! Big Don’s is known for their mini golf, and they don’t even come to mind when I think of ice cream in Cicero, NY. However, Santino or Bailey must’ve suggested we stop there and I’m glad we did. Their ice cream was super creamy and possibly one of the best twists I’d had. I probably could’ve given them a higher rating. But with that being said, we rated their twist a 7.7/10.
Stop #3: Thee Diner
At Thee Diner in Cicero, NY, we ordered the German Chocolate soft serve ice cream. We decided to stray away from the classic twist since they had an abundance of soft serve options! Thee Diner probably has the most soft serve options in all of Cicero-North Syracuse.
We were disappointed with the German Chocolate ice cream because it tasted like coconut. If I was expecting coconut I would’ve thought it was great!
Come to find out years later that German Chocolate is actually supposed to taste like coconut.
Not knowing that, we rated this ice cream at 2.0/10 because we were expecting chocolate.
Stop #4: Byrne Dairy
For those who don’t know, Byrne Dairy is a local chain out of Upstate, New York that is a gas station but specializes in fresh dairy products like milk, yogurt, cream, and ice cream. So even though it isn’t a stand alone ice cream stand, it was a no brainer that we had to stop here!
In my video review, I didn’t give an explanation as to why I gave them a 7.1/10. Looking back I feel like I was a tough scorer because I know they have great ice cream!
Stop #5: Scoops Ice Cream Shoppe
At Scoops Ice Cream Shoppe in Cicero, NY, we strayed away from the classic twist again and ordered their black raspberry soft serve frozen yogurt. The initial flavor was great but overall I wasn’t super happy with this choice as the yogurt left an after taste that reminded me of grape medicine. Because of the after taste, I gave this a score of 5.4/10.
Normally, I order Scoop’s hard ice cream and I am a big fan so don’t let this rating keep you from trying them out! They have a great atmosphere and often have local bands perform. I believe this ice cream was just a fluke and their other ice creams are great!
For example, this is the Cuse ’44 I got from Scoop’s on another occasion and I loved it! Don’t always let one impression of a place keep from from returning, because maybe it was a bad day for them!
Stop #6: Big Dip
At Big Dip in North Syracuse, NY, my favorite ice cream of theirs is their chocolate peanut butter soft serve twist! Chocolate and peanut butter are my favorite two flavors and they did a great job with this ice cream.
However, we decided to try their Key Lime Dole Whip. I really liked this flavor, it was very refreshing after all of the creamy ice creams we had just ate.
As Santino said in the video review, “Big Dip is a big hit!”
7.3/10
This is the chocolate peanut butter twist I got from Big Dip on another day!
Stop #7: Plank Road
Plank Road Ice Cream in North Syracuse, NY, never disappoints. They always have large serving sizes and great options!
We decided to go with their red and black raspberry twist so we could compare it to Scoop’s black raspberry soft serve frozen yogurt. The black raspberry didn’t have the medicine after taste like it did at Scoop’s so that was great. The flavors were on point and it was very refreshing.
We gave it an 8.1/10 and were very pleased with this choice!
Stop #8: Bliss at Hafner’s
Bliss Ice Cream Stand is located between Chuck Hafner’s Garden Center and Corelife Eatery in Clay, New York. I don’t normally visit here because there are closer options to where I live but I’m normally pleased with their ice cream.
We ordered the Two-Berry Twist to stay in theme with our orders from Scoop’s and Plank Road.
We didn’t find their Two-Berry Twist to be comparable to Plank Road’s. We found that the black raspberry had the medicine after taste, similar to Scoop’s. For that reason we rated this ice cream as a 5.4/10.
Stop #9: Kenny’s Corner Ice Cream
Our last stop of the night was at Kenny’s Corner Ice Cream in Liverpool, New York.
We ordered the coconut ice cream to compare it to the German Chocolate we had earlier at Big Dip. We felt it tasted exactly like the German Chocolate, but since we were expecting coconut we rated it higher than the German Chocolate. Personally I love coconut ice cream so I really liked this one. We rated it a 7.4/10. We probably could’ve rated it higher too!
Final Thoughts
Tasting all of the ice creams from Cicero to North Syracuse was a fun way to kill time. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Big Don’s ice cream since I normally think of them as a place to go mini golfing instead of getting ice cream. I normally don’t order fruity flavors, however I really enjoyed Plank Road’s red and black raspberry twist! The only place I wish we went to as well is Stewart’s. Like Byrne Dairy, they are also a gas station but in my opinion they have the best hard ice cream. It’s super soft and creamy, almost like you are having soft serve!
Since this ice cream run was two years ago and I believe I scored these places too harshly, I plan on doing this ice cream challenge again before I head back to school! I will keep you updated when that happens!
Scores
#1 – Plank Road, Red and Black Raspberry Twist, 8.1
#2 – Big Don’s, Classic Twist, 7.7
#3 – Kenny’s Corner, Coconut, 7.4
#4 – Big Dip, Key Lime DoleWhip, 7.3
#5 – Byrne Dairy, Classic Twist, 7.1
#6 – William’s Farm Stand, Classic Twist, 6.5
#7 – Bliss, Two-Berry Twist, 5.6
#8 – Scoop’s, Black Raspberry Frozen Yogurt, 5.4
#9 – Thee Diner, German Chocolate, 2.0
Do agree with my ratings? Where’s your favorite place to get ice cream? Let me know in the comments!
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