This post was originally published in July 2020
Look, we all did some crazy things in quarantine. Some completed the Heinz Ketchup puzzle. Some binged Tiger King. Some home-schooled their kids, which wasn’t actually crazy but drove them crazy (🙋♀️).
For our family, as soon as the ice cream stands were open we implemented a weekly ice cream dinner treat, which was really a “Mom isn’t used to cooking this much, please let’s get dinner at the ice cream stand and we can pretend it is a well-rounded, nutritious dinner”.
The apparel in this photo (and those quarantine buzz cuts!) shows how early the weekly “Ice Cream for Dinner” began for the Wilkin family
The good news is, I didn’t have to cook (please see the alternative name of ice cream for dinner night). The bad news is that it started causing major disagreements about where to go. So, we went to all of them…many times. And, the good news, they’re all really, really good.
So to save you the calories (or to encourage you to eat at more of them) our family presents a collective opinion on the ice cream stands of Findlay and Hancock County:
Archie’s
Ah, Archie’s. A classic. It feels like warm weather is around the corner when I see the drive-thru full of cars waiting for a treat. It is worth the hype and the long line of the drive thru.
You know its Ice Cream for Dinner season when Archie’s is open!
Ice Cream: I have 2 weird ice cream orders (S’mores flurry or a hot fudge milkshake – both with chocolate ice cream if I feel like living on the edge!) and Archie’s knocks them both out of the park.
Food: Did you even go to Archie’s if you didn’t get the classic shredded chicken sandwich? It is an absolute must, but Archie’s has a long menu of great items that will give you non-ice cream options to eat!
Corner Dairy Bar
I truly love the village of Mt. Blanchard. The people there are some of the nicest I’ve ever met and they love their town, it is a quintessential Midwestern small town, they have awesome events, and are so welcoming. So, of course we had to go to the Corner Dairy Bar and try it out for the first time.
Ice Cream: The kids went rogue and got slushies, cutting my taste testers in half (although they would recommend the slushies!), so my husband and I picked up the slack. I got one of the specialty sundaes and Jake got a ginormous milkshake which made us both very, very full and very happy.
Food: The food is so good! My husband had a Falcon burger, I had a walking taco, our kids had hot dogs (keep reading, this is a theme) and we split a selection of fried sides.
Jolly Dipper
Our house is a divided one – I am a believer in rich ice cream, the more chocolate the better! My husband is on the hunt for fruity concoctions. Jolly Dipper makes both of us happy.
Dole Whip flavors rotate at The Jolly Dipper, where you can also pick up a concoction like this!
Ice Cream: Not only does Jolly Dipper have regular ice cream, they also have a rotating variety of different Dole Whip flavors. For someone like my husband this is the promiseland of Ice Cream Stands.
Food: You must order the Big T! It is so good that my husband went to pick up ice cream for dinner last week and realized when he got home with the Big Ts that he forgot the ice cream.
Mr. Twister’s Ice Cream
We’ve been Mr. Twister’s customers for years – it is within walking distance of our house, which makes Mr. Twister’s a healthy option because it has exercise with it. For those avoiding dairy try their Almond Swirl choices that change weekly!
How cute are Mr. Twisters faces? Pictured here with the famous-in-our-house Unicorn Dreams!
Ice Cream: The soft serve is great, and they get their hard dip from Toft’s with names that make eating it more fun (our kids were on a Unicorn Dreams kick for a while!) The ice cream experience is even more fun with the faces they put on the ice cream by request – mustaches included!
Food: While I always default to the pulled pork nachos, my sons and husband are eating their way through Mr. Twisters long list of hot dogs. My youngest prefers the plain hot dog, my oldest likes the foot long with different toppings, and my husband still has a few kinds to try, with the Spanish Dog in first place.
Shady Grove
Have you ever been talking to someone and mention having to drive ALL the way across town and what a hassle it is? This is me with Shady Grove. But one day it was time to face that long, long, 10 minute drive all the way across town and give see what all they hype was about. I can confirm, it is worth it.
Work up an appetite with a round of Putt Putt before ice cream at Shady Grove!
Ice Cream: Delicious! And it tasted even better after a round of putt-putt! We will try it again after a round of foot golf and see if we yield the same tastiness level…for science.
Food: I don’t know why, but ordering food at Shady Grove made me feel like I was at summer camp for all the best reasons. The food is good and nostalgic and it is fun to sit in the shaded picnic tables and gobble it all up!
We hope you implement ice cream for dinner too – whether to create memories or just take the easy option to feed your family! Wherever you choose, you can’t go wrong!
This blog post is written by Visit Findlay Community Relations and Development Manager Danielle Wilkin. Danielle is a reality TV aficionado, frequent Downtown diner, and a busy mom! That isn’t much, is it? See more about Danielle and read more from her here!
This post was originally published in July 2020