A week or so ago at work I saw an
article in USA Today about the best ice cream parlor in each state. I quickly skimmed down to the Wisconsin entry thinking it would be Cedar Crest. It wasn't! It was a place I'd never heard of, and I was even more surprised to read that it was located just outside Fond du Lac. That's in my neck of the woods, just a stone throw away! Well now I was intrigued. I jotted down the address and the website, and asked around work if anyone had ever heard of the place. No one had.
Kelley Country Creamery had instantly become my new Gotta Visit This Place place.
So yesterday hubby and I went to find this place. It's off a busy highway but out in the country so we weren't sure what to expect. Neither of us was prepared for the brand spanking new building and the number of people there! That place was jumping!
You can't tell from these pictures but there were cars parked all around the parking lot, cars constantly coming and going. There were people everywhere, lined up inside, strolling outside, sitting outside, sitting inside, always some leaving while others were arriving. We couldn't get over that. We heard some other people commenting on the same thing. Someone mentioned there is a large campground in the area and since it was a holiday weekend a lot of people might have been camping nearby. When we signed the guestbook we noticed various entries before ours from New York and Korea! (I wonder if last month's EAA Convention brought those visitors in?)
You can see in the pictures that there are white rocking chairs lining the front of the building. On one end there is a larger sitting area with more rocking chairs, some tables, and even more tables out in the sun. From that side porch you can enjoy your ice cream while viewing the countryside or even gazing upon the herd of dairy cows that selflessly gave their milk to make your creamy treat a reality. Yes, the Kelley's use their own milk (and other local ingredients) to make their ice cream.
We fell in love with this place. I had left my camera in the truck while we went inside but dang it, I wish I'd gotten some pics of the interior. It's super cute old time country. Tons of wood everywhere you look... hard wood floors, old wooden tables, wooden chairs, wood trim. There were fresh flowers in simple glass jars on each table. The artwork and things on the walls are old fashioned advertisements and things. Loved it!! Next time we go I will take my camera in!
They apparently have a gazillion flavors but I was confused about what was available. I couldn't find a flavor list anywhere. Of course there were big 'menu' boards listing cones and sundaes and things, sizes, prices. The 'Specialty Sundaes' section listed flavors, and I think the cones section had basic flavors, but where were all the wonderfully creative flavors I'd seen listed on the website? Because it was our first time there, because there were so many people, and because I hate looking like a dork, we just ordered two sundaes and sat down to eat. I tried looking around a bit more while eating but never did see where the flavors might have been listed. The website (I think) had said not all flavors were available at all times. Understandable, but it would have been handy to have something telling us what was available as we stood there. I really wanted to get some Cinnamon ice cream but was feeling too dorky to ask.
Oh well. Back to our sundaes. We each ordered what was called the Slow Moving Vehicle sundae... vanilla ice cream, fudge and caramel swirls, pecans, whipped cream and a cherry on top. They were big! Hubby was forcing the last of his down. I didn't even finish mine. (It was the nuts that turned me off. They were tasty at the beginning but then I just wanted ice cream.) It was good ice cream. I don't eat ice cream enough to be able to distinguish one from another, a good from a bad. Hubby insisted this stuff was GOOOOD.
(Last summer we had gone to a baseball game with my sister and her husband who were visiting from Iowa. They were happy to see Cedar Crest ice cream at the ballpark and had to have some. I overheard my brother-in-law say to my sister that while Cedar Crest was still as good as he remembered it wasn't as good as Whitey's (sp?), that it wasn't as creamy or something like that. Earlier this year hubby and I went to Iowa to visit them and they took us to their local favorite, Whitey's, to show us just how good that ice cream was. As mentioned, ice cream is ice cream to me. I almost felt bad that I couldn't tell any amazing difference. Cedar Crest is good. Whitey's was good. And now I think Kelley's is good. But could I ever tell the difference in a taste test? No. Ok, well, I think I can tell a cheap generic large retail store type ice cream because it seems icier, kinda hard or sharp on the tongue....if that makes any sense. Bleah. Rambling.)
Anyway, after we were back home I was Googling
Kelley Country Creamery and came across a blog post about the place. Apparently they *JUST* opened in June of this year?! Wow. They appear to be doing awesome already. Well one of the pictures included in that post showed a sign posted outside listing some of the flavors available on opening day. In that list was Chai Tea flavor. Chai Tea ice cream?! I raced back to the website and scrolled through the list of flavors and did not see it. So I emailed them asking if it would ever be available again, and did they still have Cinnamon flavor? A prompt reply told me they would have more of both flavors ready to go later this week. WOOT!!! I work this coming weekend but I'll have to send hubby back to get me some.
Oh, we had originally planned on buying some pints of different flavors to bring home. While we were eating our sundaes we realized we hadn't brought a cooler along and we had to stop somewhere else after Kelley's. Sadly, we were not able to buy any extra ice cream that day.
We will definitely go back though!
And Sheri, Kurth says "Now we have someplace to take Brad and Sheri for once!"
