Ice Cream Shop

Studies show that New Englanders eat as much ice cream in the winter as in the summer, but at The Ice Cream Shop in Newtown, it’s a warm-weather thing. Open from April into October, this old-fashioned drive-up stand has no indoor dining facilities at all. There are a few picnic tables outside, and on weekdays when it’s not too crowded, there is a bit of sheltered standing room inside around the order windows.

That small interior is a fun place to be, and one of the reasons we like the place. The walls are plastered with hundreds of snapshots that fans of The Ice Cream Shop have brought in over the last several decades, most of the pictures showing people enjoying their ice cream cones. It is a friendly decorative scrapbook that sets a good mood for enjoying ice cream.

The ice cream is nothing fancy, but good, honest stuff: perfect for sundaes and sodas and double-dip cones. In addition to hard ice cream, soft chocolate and vanilla are always available. And while we almost always order the same thing — basic chocolate cones — we very much appreciate the opportunities on the menu for countless varieties of float and shake and some two dozen toppings for sundaes.

Note: The Ice Cream Shop is especially convenient for travelers along I-84. It’s just a few hundred yards away from Exit 10.