Hub Ice Cream Factory

The Hub restaurant has a broad menu that ranges from flash-crisped cheese curds with sriracha ketchup to ahi poke to four kinds of mac ‘n’ cheese to burgers and sandwiches and more than a dozen interesting beers on tap. I can’t tell you about any of that because I was busy across the street at the restaurant’s sister operation, the Hub Ice Cream Factory.

What I can tell you about is very, very good ice cream. There are 300 flavors in rotation, two dozen available any one day. You always can get vanilla bean and dark chocolate, and vegan chocolate sorbet never leaves the menu. Cookies and cream and bourbon almond brittle are regulars, too. Some of more interesting flavors that appear throughout the year include cornbread and honey, apple pie a la mode, and rose ice cream laced with chocolate. When I came by, there was one flavor on the day’s menu that I didn’t sample and forgot to ask about: drunken brunch. It was highlighted on the menu by a star, indicating it is made with alcohol.

The ice cream Hub makes is smooth and agreeably creamy, but it is not overwhelming. In other words, a large sundae or a double-scoop cup will not likely induce a gall bladder attack. Beyond ice cream in cups and cones, the Creamery offers sundaes topped with hot fudge, salted caramel sauce and … potato chips! There are floats and whoopee pies and choco tacos as well as house-made popsicles.

Of course, it’s nice to get a cone or cup and take it on a stroll along Congress Street (assuming the temperature is below 100), but Hub is a fun place to sit and spoon up a favorite flavor. The room tone is unremittingly happy. Of course it is, what’s not to be happy about a crowd of people eating ice cream!