Dairy Delite in Lakeville, photographed on a frigid Saturday afternoon in January.
IF I WAS TO CONDUCT a survey on Minnesotans’ consumption of ice cream, I expect the numbers would plummet in months like January and soar during the hot days of July. Makes sense considering the temperature.
My desire for ice cream drops considerably in winter. I’m cold enough without feeding more cold into my body. But not always.
Just the other night I craved not ice cream, but fro yo. I remember when my eldest daughter first mentioned fro yo probably five-plus years ago. The frozen treat was just trending in southern Minnesota. I had no idea what she was talking about. Eventually fro yo reached Faribault with the opening of Berry Blast in 2013. The business recently closed. I never got there.
In Faribault, Dairy Queen reigns with two shops within a short distance of one another. I like Dairy Queen. But if I get a treat there once a year, that’s about it. And then it’s only if I have a coupon to discount the high prices.
I’ve never been a chain restaurant fan. I much prefer locally-grown businesses with character, uniqueness and charm. Like the Dairy Delite, recently photographed in Lakeville. It’s closed for the season, has been since October, and will reopen in April.
I wish we had a quaint stand-alone nostalgic ice cream place like Dairy Delite in Faribault. Visitors look for such signature sites to purchase treats in the heat of a humid summer day. Locals appreciate these mom-and-pop ice cream shops, too. Here’s a thought—combine an ice cream place with promotion of the Tilt-A-Whirl, an Americana amusement ride which originated in Faribault. Just dreamin’ here in the midst of winter…
Tell me about your favorite original ice cream shop.
© Copyright 2016 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Such a lovely old American tradition – these little ice cream shops.
I do love them. I mean, who can resist ice cream on a humid summer day?
I am a huge fan of the local unique shops as well. My favorite is whatever establishment I am closest to when the urge arises. I do favor DQ’s Crunch Cone. If recent years this delightful treat has become more sparse for whatever reason; not ever store offers it. It usually isn’t on the menu and you have to ask for it specifically. I think last year was met with a 50% success rate over all the visits to DQ’s on my travels.
Hmmm, that’s interesting. Anyone out there have an explanation for Dan as to the scarcity of the DQ Crunch Cone?
I think it has something to do with rolling the cone in the crunch mix. I think it is due to leaving ice cream behind in the mix in that not being a good thing or something. At one location I received a cone and a container of crunch coat that I had to apply myself.
That reminds me of the time I ordered a root beer float at a restaurant and was given a cup of ice cream and a can of root beer.
Crunch coat is also my favorite at DQ, Rochester has it! It’s not on the menu, so you have to ask for it.
There you go, Dan, road trip to Rochester.
I’m a huge fan of the Dairy Queen’s caramel Moo-Latte
That sounds tasty.
Growing up in my hometown in Iowa we loved to go to Danes Dairy. A small red store (shack really) with wonderful soft serve ice cream flavors made from local dairy. The shop is still open (seasonally of course) and I love to bring my children there when we return for visits in the summer. Now they feature fro yo and and yummy candy mix-in creations, but I still love a simple ice cream cone.
Thanks for sharing your story about your favorite Iowa ice cream shop. Where is Danes Dairy located in Iowa?
Dane’s is in Iowa City, I remember stopping there when I was a grad student at the University of Iowa.
Thank you, Amy.
Surprisingly Alaska has the highest consumption of ice cream. Year round hot or cold people eat it. Perhaps it has something to do with more indoor time spent in front of a heat source! One of my families favorite ice cream shop is called Hot Licks and they sell a staggering amount of home made ice cream.
Who would have thought? Alaska tops the list. And I do love the name of your favorite local ice cream shop.
I dislike milk – but I LOVE ice cream!! Growing up, we had a Dairy Queen in our little town of Utica, NE, 600 population. It was way on the other side of the tracks near the highway and every chance we kids got to peddle our bicycles across town, we hit the Dairy Queen for a 25 cent cone. That was the BIG cone. The little cones were 10 cents back then!
Oh, I well remember those prices. Occasionally, when we “went to town,” Dad would stop at Dari King (a mom-and-pop place) for cones, ten-cent ones for us. What a treat that was.
My first job (besides BB sitting) was at a good ole’ fashion drive inn. Five miles south of Rochester in the country where I grew up. It’s name was … “the rootbeer stand”, It is where I had my first taste of soft serve ice cream.
What a great story. Does “the rootbeer stand” still exist?
It does not, wish it did so I could take my kids and grandkids there.
Rats.
Can’t wait for SPING, Sun, Flowers, & Ice Cream!!! xxx
Cheers to all of those things.
Dairyland in Fergus Falls remains our favorite, even though we live in San Jose now and can only visit every couple of years. Although closed in the winter months, the drive-in served both as a social gathering in High School days (it has been open for 60 years!) and a destination for meals while working nights in early days of college.
I’m familiar with Dairyland. Here’s my 2013 blog post about it: https://mnprairieroots.com/2013/06/13/dairyland-an-old-fashioned-drive-in-in-fergus-falls/
I’m not a chain restaurant fan either; like you, I much prefer supporting unique and local businesses. The shop you’ve photographed has a lot of charm. I don’t like to eat ice cream too much in the cold but at the moment it’s as hot as Hades and I’m finding ice cream so refreshing. I’ve heard your part of the world has become really cold and a lot of snow is falling; good luck! xx
The super cold snap here in Minnesota has ended, but it’s still cold. The East Coast is getting all of the snow. Not Minnesota. Stay cool.
I keep a list on my Facebook page of ice cream shops in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Currently 85 different places that I’ve visited, with 140+ on my to-do list.
Oh, wow, you go love home-grown ice cream shops. This could be a book. Are you a photographer or writer?
My friends say that I should start an ice cream blog, but I don’t think I have the writing or photography skills to make it worthwhile. So it’s just my big list with an occasional photo posted on Facebook. And I’m delighted to offer suggestions to friends planning road trips — my book club’s future outing to the Laura Ingalls Wilder birthplace in Pepin, WI, will likely include a stop at Flat Pennies in Bay City or Nelson Creamery in Nelson.
Your friends are right. If you don’t have writing and photography skills, starting a blog about your ice cream adventures would not be a good idea.
I’ve been to the Nelson Creamery. If you love BBQ, dine at J & J BBQ in Nelson. The food is outstanding and in a fun atmosphere. Here’s a blog post I wrote about this BBQ place: https://mnprairieroots.com/2014/09/02/bbq-at-its-best-in-nelson-wisconsin/
The Creamory, Nelson Wi. Lou
You are the second reader to mention The Creamery in Nelson. Good ice cream in a unique atmosphere.