Rehoboth Beach, Delaware – Its really not the kind of neighborhood that you would suspect of selling Crack in an ice cream shop, but the crew at The Ice Cream Store has a different spin on ice cream in general.

It’s one of 21 flavors that will make their debuts at the Rehoboth Avenue shop this season, and it features the shop’s Brown Shugah Vanilla ice cream with pasteurized egg yolk, butter and sea salt. Store manager Lisa Young described it as “the ultimate French vanilla.”

“It’s an addictive dessert that will make you come back for more,” she said.  And that’s not the new flavor that you’ll need to sign a waiver first in order to try.

That flavor is the new ghost pepper ice cream, which is based on the store’s Scorpion Sting ice cream, with three ghost pepper hot sauces added to it. And yes, customers will have to sign a waiver before eating it.

For more on the store and story - click HERE

Oakland Califiornia – Ever wanted a cold, refreshing shake you could make yourself at home without a blender?

Seemed like an impossibility up till now, however the brianiacs at Skinny Cow have come up with a shake solution that is all that.  Just add skim milk, wait one minute then stir for a delicious, refreshing low-fat frozen shake. Best of all, the shakes are created in an all-inclusive cup – no blender needed! Each single-serve container prepares 11 fluid ounces of deliciousness.

“When is the last time you’ve had a milkshake? If you are anything like our SKINNY COW fans, it’s probably been longer than you would like,” said Jessica Vasisht, SKINNY COW brand manager. “Our new SKINNY COW SLIMITED EDITIONS SHAKE-STIRS are the best way to enjoy a rich and creamy milkshake again! Just add milk to the self-serve cup and stir. They come in two decadent flavors, White Mint Cookie and Double Chocolate Crumble, but we’re always shaking things up on the SKINNY COW brand, so these milkshakes will only be available this year!”

For more info click  Here

Redmond California – Whole Foods have teamed up with a Texas based tech company to “alledgedly” make your trip to the grocery store a little easier.

It seems that the “future of ice cream’s” own future is in doubt if they don’t find a willing party to supply them a 2 million dollar loan to help the company out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

If you have a spare 2M you can enjoy your own slice of the company that tauts to be the ice cream of the future. DD says it needs the money to keep is factory pumping out the frozen goodness.

After a four-year battle with its biggest lender, Dippin’ Dots Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November.  The 170-worker company has struggled for the past four years with debt burdens.

It has about 140 Dippin’ Dots retail locations, which are mostly controlled by franchisees, and agreements with 9,952 small vendors who sell the ice cream at fairs, festivals and sports games. It isn’t sold in grocery stores because of its extreme cooling requirements.

For more on the story – read Here

Salinas California – Local kids are getting more than just ice cream treats from the local ice cream van – They are loading up on toy guns, and the local Elementary school principle is not happy about it.

The truck that frequently stops by El Gabilan Elementary is also selling fake guns to students, and the principal says it is causing a problem.  “It is very disturbing to us and it is our job to take care of it right away,” said Rosie Alvarez, principal of the school. The fake gun is one of the first things kids see when they walk up to the truck.

Principal Alvarez said she spends a lot of time teaching her students about staying away from guns and gangs.

She’s frustrated someone would sell fake guns so close to her school. “What they’re doing is empowering the child to bring weapons and they don’t realize that,” she said.

Alvarez said she hopes parents keep a close eye on their kids to make sure they don’t have fake guns in their backpacks. “We all have to work together as a team to help remedy the situation because it’s our children’s future,” she said.  If students are caught with a fake gun on campus, they will be suspended and school officials will notify police.

More on the story HERE

Boston MA.  Ben and Jerry’s scoop shops in Boston felt the need to apologize over the ingredients used in their new limited release ice cream flavor to honor Harvard Graduate and New York Knix sensation Jeremy Lin.

Many felt the ingredients of Lychees and fortune cookie peices alluded to racial stereotyping, so feeling the pressure, B & J tweeted the folling apology.

“On behalf of Ben & Jerry’s Boston Scoop Shops we offer a heartfelt apology if anyone was offended by our handmade Linsanity flavor that we offered at our Harvard Square location,”

The fortune cookie peices were substituted for waffle cone peices, but it really didnt offend too many people. The flavor has since sold out its limited run.  More on the store here

Sun Valley Idaho – Those dang Idahoans love their ice cream. 

In fact, folks in Sun Valley have achieved a three fold ice cream mission.  Make some great ice cream, giving the proceeds to charity and furthermore, now their ice cream shop runs on solar power.  Previously, Leroys, the cute little ice-cream shack that donates all its profits to local schools (since 2006, more than $47,000 and counting), was just that, an uninsulated shed only able to serve up scoops for schools when the sun shone in the summer

Sagebrush Solar played an integral role in getting the solar thermal panel donated and then spent of lot of their time installing the system. Anderson Insulation donated time and material, Elias Construction provided much of the manpower and Jon Nasvik at Cliff Hangers worked on the concrete at a huge discount.”

The system saves money on hot water, although not a huge amount is used. The real benefit is what the system allows. Without it, Leroy’s simply could not operate in cold temperatures. In other words, it’s not so much about what we are saving, but what the community is gaining.

For more info on the story click HERE

Bay of Islands New Zealand – A 10 year old kiwi boys trip to the ice cream shop took a strange detour when he got his ice cream money caught in his throught.

The Tauranga boy, his brother and sister were on their way to their local shop to buy an icecream about 4pm on Sunday.

The boy’s father, radio identity Grayson Ottaway, said his son could not remember what happened next, other than the moment of swallowing the $2 coin.

“It was a bit traumatic for him. We seem to think he was playing around and had it sitting in the side of his mouth, maybe he was tying his shoes laces or something,” Mr Ottaway said.  The boy was taken to Tauranga Hospital where an X-ray revealed the golden culprit sitting wedged in his oesophagus.

“They looked at the X-ray and saw where it was and said there’s no way he’s going to be able to cough that up.” 
Transfer plans were made to take Mr Ottaway’s son to Waikato Hospital, where he could be operated on and the coin safely removed. Mr Ottaway said the incident left his son too weak to stand that day but he was grateful it was not in his windpipe.

The boy was given a general anaesthetic about midnight and taken into theatre, where doctors used long medical tongs to retrieve the coin.  “It literally took 15 minutes, if that,” Mr Ottaway said

Like I’ve always said to my kids, “Dont run around with ice cream money in your mouth!”  For the more on this story click HERE

Plano Texas – Henry Gentry is a good friend of The Ice Cream Bloke.  We only catch up once or twice a year, but his slogan “Ice Cream Makes You Pretty” certainly has worked for me.

Henry recently claimed top honors in the National Ice Cream Retailers Associations awards and even the Plano local news is excited.  For more info on Henrys shop – visit http://www.henryshomemadeicecream.com/

Husdonville Michigan – The Hudsonville Ice Cream Company is inviting the world to help them develop a flavor that reflects the great things about Michigan.  Whats in it for you?  Ice Cream royalty….and well… a thousand bucks.

The public is invited to share ideas about “what flavor best captures the many naturally great things that Michigan offers,” according to a news release.  

Throughout the campaign, Hudsonville Ice Cream will distribute the winning flavor — touted as the official ice cream of Michigan state parks and Pure Michigan — to retail outlets and ice cream parlors throughout the state and Midwest, as well as at stops along the summer ice cream tour.  The contest runs through Jan. 29. The grand prize for the person who submits the winning flavor includes free Hudsonville ice cream for a year, a one-week stay in a Michigan state park or harbor of the winner’s choosing, a $1,000 Meijer gift card, and Pure Michigan merchandise.

Winners will be judged by a panel of kids and celebrity judges.  To enter or receive more information about the competition, click HERE