So That Reminds Me: Reviewing the local ice cream scene

Mt. Tom’s Homemade Ice Cream’s mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis

It’s “the best summertime activity” that involves food, according to Executive Editor Chris Maza.

What is it, you might ask? The answer: eating ice cream.

As warm weather approaches, The Reminder Publishing news team decided to visit some local ice cream shops to indulge and share their scoop on the frozen concoctions.

On the June 6 episode of So That Reminds Me, Dennis Hackett, Tyler Garnet, Chris and myself, sat down to discuss the results.

For my review, I headed to Westview Farms Creamery in Monson. With more than 20-plus ice cream flavors to choose from, I ultimately decided on Almond Joy — a flavor I don’t typically choose, but was in the mood for that day.

My first thought after taking a bite was that I could tell it was homemade due to its fresh and creamy taste.

The Almond Joy flavoring was not too overwhelming, but instead, perfectly balanced with its vanilla base, whole almonds, big chocolate pieces and what seemed to be little coconut shavings or flavoring to taste like the candy bar came straight out of the wrapping.

After finishing the single scoop, I instantly wanted more. From the classic flavors to a specialty brownie sundae, Westview Farms Creamery has something for everyone, including those with allergy or dietary needs.

Dennis visited Rice Fruit Farm in Wilbraham, where he tried their peanut butter Oreo.

He thought that the Oreo chunks were a good complement to the peanut butter base of this “simple” creation.

He noted that the portion sizes were much bigger than expected, as he ordered a small and was given a “giant, three scoop cup of ice cream.”

All in all, Dennis said the ice cream was “life changing” and predicts he will be back weekly for this flavor and more.

Tyler went to Herrell’s Ice Cream’s Northampton location. Going with the classic cookie dough, he described it as “very delicious.”

“You can just tell that all the ingredients were [homemade] — it was very creamy, very rich, very sweet,” with the consistency of a milkshake, he explained.

While he did not want to readily admit it, Tyler shared that the ice cream was so good he ate it in “record time.”

Chris “did not go basic” for his ice cream review. As a self-proclaimed “peanut butter fan,” Chris visited JB’s Ice Cream Factory in East Longmeadow to try a sundae with their chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream — a chocolate base with peanut butter cups mixed in.

“If something works really well, why not double down on it,” Chris said, as he added hot fudge and Reese’s Pieces on top.

He noted that the mistake he made was forgetting how big their regular sized sundae is, as even that can be a challenge to finish. Nonetheless, Chris said it did not stop him from eating the whole thing.

“As delicious as it was, it certainly fulfilled my sugar quota for the month,” he joked.

While we summarized the rest of the staff’s reviews for the podcast, we have included their full reviews here:

Mt. Tom’s Homemade Ice Cream, Easthampton — Trent Levakis

When deciding on what hard ice cream flavor I was going to enjoy during my visit to Mt. Tom’s Homemade Ice Cream in Easthampton I took inspiration from the classic Dr. Suess book How The Grinch Stole Christmas and ordered mint chocolate chip. I know my brain is a beautifully working machine – green grinch, green ice cream.

The creation of Mount Crumpit and Whoville were supposedly inspired by Mt. Tom and Easthampton, so with said mountain in my sight while I enjoyed my ice cream in the sun, my heart began to grow three sizes bigger that day.

In all seriousness, mint chocolate chip can be a controversial flavor, and I am happy to say I am on the right side of history with appreciating its greatness. When people complain the flavor tastes too much like “toothpaste” I can only be led to believe the person making that comment doesn’t actually brush their teeth because, what?

That narrative could not be further from the truth. It tastes like mint flavoring in ice cream form with chocolate chips. Toothpaste comes in toothpaste form without chocolate chips, sometimes in a minty flavor. Simple as that.

To me it’s a crazy hill to die on and the only ammo the mint ice cream haters have to talk down the flavor. I brush my teeth often with mint toothpaste and when eating this most recent mint ice cream cone, I was able to easily differentiate the two and thoroughly enjoy my cone.

Mt. Tom’s mint chocolate chip delivers and then some, with its great tasting and homemade ice cream recipe the large dark chocolate chunks are a perfect complement with the treat. There is very little that compares to breaking down those chocolate chunks bite by bite as you enjoy the main flavor of the ice cream.

Mt Tom’s also provides homemade waffle cones which blew my expectations away as it was a great compliment with the ice cream and delicious on its own as you bite down to the ice cream sitting cozily inside the cone. The simple efforts of making their own waffle cones adds to the unique tastes of their homemade ice cream creating a unique ice cream experience.

With 28 different homemade flavors, as well as three hard scoop frozen yogurt flavors, Mt. Tom’s Homemade Ice Cream variety is expansive even for the mint haters out there who don’t enjoy the simple pleasures of the treat. Some other hard flavors I would recommend from this location are Deer tracks, a play on moose tracks, the dark chocolate almond sea salt, or the black cherry. Overall you really can’t go wrong with Tom’s Homemade Ice Cream and its reliable hub for homemade treats.

Moma Jaqs, Agawam — Ryan Feyre

Moma Jaqs incorporates a subtle nuance to the classic vanilla/chocolate twist with rainbow sprinkles. The quintessential summer dish is still as decadent and creamy as one would expect the blend to be, but the dessert stands out for its viscous, almost marshmallow-like, texture, allowing the ice cream to maintain its tantalizing flavors without melting so easily. Accentuated by the welcome crunch of sprinkles, Moma Jaqs’ rendition of the chocolate/vanilla twist is as timeless as a summer beach day or a s’more at a campfire.

Mama Jaqs is located at 701 Main St. in Agawam and includes a bevy of hard and soft serve ice cream choices, along with ube crinkle cookies, a bubble waffle sundae plus so much more.

Elsie’s Creamery at Randall’s Farm, Ludlow — Sarah Heinonen

As someone with digestive issues, I chose a vegan chocolate ice cream made with coconut milk. I was also able to order it in a gluten-free sugar cone.

The ice cream is slightly softer than your standard hard scoop and melted a little faster.

The taste instantly reminded me of a Fudgesicle brand fudge pop rather than a typical chocolate ice cream flavor, but I was not complaining. For those of us who miss having ice cream as a summer treat, this hit the spot.

A “single” size ice cream cone came with three scoops and, with an up-charge for the gluten-free cone and jimmies, cost $8.35.

Northside Creamery, Westfield — Amy Porter

Northside Creamery at 519 Southampton Road in Westfield advertises itself as the only homemade ice cream shop in Westfield for over 10 years.  Stopping in on a weeknight, the place had a continuous line filled with families with little kids, a little bit older kids with sports jerseys, and the older stragglers here and there looking for a sweet treat.  The menu changes seasonally, with featured flavors going quickly.  My third choice — the first two had sold out — was Rick’s Mix, vanilla ice cream with snickers and peanut butter cups.  The vanilla base was light, a nice change from dense store bought brands, and the pieces mixed in were on the small side, but altogether the flavors mixed well, and the small cone I ordered was a generous size for $4.50. Prices for cones and dishes range from $3.75 for kid-size to $6.00 for a large cone or dish. There are abundant extras and toppings, and they also make sundaes, shakes, floats and ice cream cookies. Northside Creamery ice cream is also available for purchase at Big E’s Supermarket, Kosinski Farms, Westfield State University and Hampton Ponds Market.

Batch, Longmeadow and South Hadley — Debbie Gardner

It’s my go-to ice cream place since I first encountered Batch through a work event — we at The Reminder love having the Batch ice Cream Truck visit our office!

Flavors on the truck can be more limited than at Batch’s two locations- in the Longmeadow Shops and on College Highway in South Hadley – where there’s a full menu of hard ice cream flavors, including two that are vegan and dairy-free, plus sundaes and shakes, but even a limited selection of this creamy, small-batch premium ice cream never disappoints.

Batch was one of the food trucks at a recent Free Friday Night music event at MGM Springfield, and my husband, son and I took advantage of the chance to indulge our ice cream cravings while enjoying the outdoor music.

My husband ordered his usually maple walnut in a dish, topped with a hand-made sugar cone — he likes to scoop the ice cream into the cone himself to get the right mix of crunchy cone and ice cream in each bite.

I sampled his flavor – and found the always-perfect combo of creamy — but not overpowering — maple flavor and crunchy walnuts.  

My son chose his favorite- cookies and cream- which was polished off before I could steal a sample. His comment- Mom- it’s always so good.

The truck didn’t have my favorite- mocha chip- so I opted for mint chocolate chip — a new flavor for me. I was pleasantly surprised – the mint was prominent but not overpowering and the chocolate chips- which sometimes are a hard, jarring intrusion in the midst of a creamy bite- were perfectly crunchy and just the right sweetness.  The combo reminded me of an Andes after-dinner mint, just the right balance of mint and chocolate. It won’t replace my mocha favorite on our next visit, but Batch’s Mint Chocolate Chip will be a fallback choice for me in the future.

Moolicious, Southwick — Cliff Clark

Now, let’s talk about Moolicious in Southwick. 

As some of you may remember, Moolicious Farm took home top honors at last year’s Big E as Best Sweet with its Cornbread Sundae. 

To capture the taste of Moolicious Farm, its owner Joe Deedy offered me seven flavors of the over 60 flavors the ice cream shop at 258 Feeding Hills Road. 

And boy is there a difference between his creamy confection that hit my tongue and what I’ve gotten from grocery stores, and that includes the top brands. 

Of the five, and Deedy said of all his ice creams, their prevailing feature was its creamy texture. 

It captured the flavors and allowed them to linger on your tongue and had an almost fatty texture. 

I asked Deedy why. He said all his ice creams are made with milk that has a butter fat content of 16%, way more that most ice creams that are typically between 5 and 10% 

I started with traditional strawberry. It was pink and while I expected chunks of strawberries. There weren’t any. Too icy for the cream, Deedy said, 

The taste was subtle, but fresh and with the butter fat, again it lingered on the tongue. 

The strawberry ice cream is made from strawberries grown just across from Moolicious at Calabrese Farm, so that’s about a fresh as you can get. 

Next up was Cookies N Cream. Large chunks of Oreos were mixed in with the vanilla ice cream. It was superb, again, with the butter fat making the difference. 

I then dug into Cookie Monster. With a chocolate ice cream base, Deedy said, it had all kinds of nuggets of chocolate. M&Ms, chocolate flakes, pieces of brownie. 

He said it had everything in it except the kitchen sink. 

Each bit had a different flavor and texture, with the crunch of the M&Ms to the glorious brownie chunk soaked with the chocolate ice cream, 

We went from there into the traditional vanilla and chocolate. Rich, creamy, with the butter fat hanging inside your mouth. Better than any store-bought brand I’ve ever tasted. 

Deedy said the shop only uses clean ingredients, which for ice cream are really just three ingredients, sugar, milk, and cream. 

Next up was Almond Joy, like the candy. Bits of chocolate flakes, coconut and almonds swirled around on my palate. I closed my eyes, and sure enough, it was like biting into the real thing. 

And then I tried the peach. 

It was remarkable. I closed my eyes and was transported back to my grandmother’s house on a warm spring day when the peaches were ripe and exploding with flavor, and me cranking the ice cream maker on her back porch. 

With chunks of peach, its orange color was not dye, Moolicious doesn’t use any food coloring. 

I asked Deedy, what’s the secret. He bakes the peaches to remove the pits and then throws the entire fruit into a blender, skin and all, to create the puree that is mixed into the vanilla base. 

Of the ice creams, this will be my go-to at Moolicious from now on. 

Moolicious recently began offering Ronnie Pops. Ronnie is Deedy’s son and they worked for months to get the flavor and texture just right. 

The chocolate in the fudge pop was intense and sticky. It had just the right texture so it wouldn’t melt away in minutes. To get that intense chocolate, Ronnie figured out that the pop worked best by using Dutch chocolate. 

And as for the award-winning Cornbread sundae, I didn’t give it a try, but it is available despite it not being listed as one of the shop’s sundaes.  

Deedy said customers request it nearly every day. It must be fantastic like the rest of the flavors. 

While the news staff was able to visit many local ice cream shops, this is not a comprehensive list. If you have your favorites, be sure to let us know by emailing news@thereminder.com.

To hear the full ice cream review, visit thereminder.com/our-podcast or search “So That Reminds Me” on your favorite podcasting platform.