Big Dipper Ice Cream Factory

Two words to the wise: toasted almond. That’s the signature flavor of the Big Dipper Ice Cream Factory, and they sell nearly as much of it as vanilla or chocolate. Although it was originally inspired by the Good Humor Toasted Almond bar, it far surpasses its inspiration in creaminess (laced with delightfully sandy streaks of almond crunch) and vivid nut taste.

If this particular flavor is not your idea of heaven on earth, don’t worry. The Big Dipper has a few dozen others, ranging from silly (cotton candy) to swank (café Vienna, which is coffee and cinnamon) to serious (espresso). All are rich in butterfat (16%), but not so rich that they cloy. These are ice creams we can easily eat double and triple dips of, several times a week. The repertoire changes daily, but you always can count on toasted almond.

We would recommend this place if it was ugly and the staff was mean and nasty, but in fact it is an extraordinarily happy ice cream parlor, and driving to it along Route 69 is a summertime ritual for ice cream lovers from miles around. Once inside, you are served by a staff of local girls who frequently keep coming back to work at Big Dipper for many years, through high school and even into college, on vacations. They seem to love doing what they do. And why not? Ice cream – or at least the good feeling it generates among those who make, serve, and eat it – has got to be America’s greatest health tonic.