Scoop Deck

Ice cream is a big deal throughout New England. For the precious months of summer the many roadside ice cream parlors along the Maine Coast stay very busy.  As you drive up to Scoop Deck, you’ll notice a huge billboard of flavors. If you include the yogurts, sorbets and sherbets, there are over seventy options. It has been open every summer since 1983.

Scoop deck doesn’t make its own ice cream; most flavors come from Blake’s Ice Cream of Manchester, New Hampshire. Excellent waffle cones are made here.

Even if it sounds a bit condescending, you should order the kiddie size here. It is big enough for a normal appetite. Even hardened sundae slayers might want limit themselves to an adult’s small.

Classic New England flavors like maple-walnut are available, as well as more general American favorites like moose tracks and Mississippi mud. We went for Grape Nuts, which has the musty flavor of the bran rich cereal, but also a creamy sweetness from the vanilla base. Grape Nuts ice cream is a North Atlantic tradition that pre-dates current cereal flavored ice cream fads by a full century.

Being in Maine, we also felt compelled to try the blueberry crumble. This is made with real blueberries, and contains a  blueberry swirl as well. It tastes like the blueberry crumb pies that you see around the state. It is the perfect flavor for a summer afternoon.

Needing a jolt for the drive ahead, we also got a scoop of dirty water, which is a Colombian coffee ice cream base with chocolate cookie swirl and chocolate chips. It has big chunks and rich flavors of coffee and chocolate, and features golden waffle cones. 

One word of caution: don’t come too long after dark if you’re in a hurry. Lines get pretty serious on summer nights. Once you have your ice cream, take a minute to relax and enjoy the lovely garden.