11 Hot Spots to enjoy cool treats on the South Shore
by Gabrielle Martin
Dairy Twist
Known for their generous servings, great prices, and wide selection of hard and soft-serve flavors, this Pembroke staple was voted “Best of the South Shore” this year, by readers of South Shore Home, Life & Style! Dairy Twist has been family run since 2002. The menu offers an assortment of sundaes, frappes, floats, and creative combinations, such as their Ice Cream Nachos (made with any available flavor of soft serve ice cream, garnished with a sundae topping and waffle cone chips for dipping). Their soft serve flavor-of-the-week rotates between black raspberry, pistachio and strawberry.
580 Washington St., Pembroke, 781-826-5955
Photo by Derrick Zellmann
B’s Ice Cream
B’s Ice Cream, located in the Webster Square Shopping Center in Marshfield, is the brainchild of owner Brooke Costa. B’s was launched in 2019 with the goal of providing premium homemade ice cream to the South Shore. All of their ice cream is made onsite using fresh ingredients and Costa is committed to using local products and produce whenever possible. The menu features a few traditional favorites as well as a rotating list of unique flavors, such as Honey Lavender or Cereal Milk Toffee. Some of the shop’s most popular scoops include Cookie Butter Crunch, made with Speculoos Cookie Butter, or their rich and decadent Chocolate. In addition to offering sundaes, frappes and fun just-for-kids menu items (such as their Unicorn and Dirt Sundae), B’s also offers ice cream pies. 57 Snow Road, Marshfield, 781-922-4062, Bhomemade.com
Cream
The Abington-based ice cream shop Cream is the creation of husband-and-wife duo Craig Perry and Lenora Cushing, who pride themselves on providing top-notch ice cream, sauces and toppings for their customers in plentiful portions. Cushing says, “We have tried to make Cream a destination ice cream shop, bringing delicious ice cream combinations from places we have visited and memories from our childhoods.” They make an extra effort to source products and ingredients locally, including Richardson’s Ice Cream, from Middleton, Thatcher Milk Farm, a fifth-generation dairy delivery service in Milton and Mama B’s Tasty Treats in Rockland. They’ve also partnered with a talented pastry chef Phillip Caramello from Plymouth, who provides Cream with their Belgian Dark Couverture Chocolate Cakes that form the basis of their specialty sundae “Peanut Butter After Dark.” Caramello also supplies the shop with frozen cookie dough, which customers can buy to bake at home. 1209 Bedford St., Abington, 781-982-9400, creamabington.com
Farfar’s Danish Ice Cream Shop
Nestled between a gas station and a bakery in downtown Duxbury, the gray-shingled storefront of Farfar’s Danish Ice Cream Shop stands out from beneath a covering of lush green leaves. Named after owner Andra Carleton’s first-generation Danish-American immigrant father, Walter Simonsen (the word “farfar” is actually Danish for “grandfather”), the shop opened its doors on June 16, 1979. Ice cream continues to be made fresh every day using family recipes. You can never go wrong with a scoop (or two) of one of their three most popular flavors: Oreo, chocolate chip cookie dough, or velvety, vanilla Danish Sweet Cream. 272 St. George St., Duxbury, 781-934-5152, farfarsicecream.com
JJ’s Dairy Hut
facebook.com/jjsdairyhutSince 1956, JJ’s Dairy Hut has been a popular roadside attraction perfect for the on-the-go ice cream lover. JJ’s offers an array of hard-scooped flavors from Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream. However, the real draw at JJ’s, aside from their nostalgic aesthetic, is their signature soft serve. The ice cream is ultra-creamy and best served covered in a layer of their trademark Krunch Kote, a combination of rainbow sprinkles and peanut brittle. Whatever size you get, rest assured, they never skimp on the portions (or toppings). You could also treat yourself to one of their frappes (the New Englander’s milkshake). We also love that JJ’s is dog-friendly, offering a frosty “Doggie Dish” for furry friends. 140 Chief Justice Cushing Highway, Cohasset, 781-383-0020, facebook.com/jjsdairyhut
Gelato & Chill
Authentic Italian gelato is hard to find in New England, but the newly opened Gelato & Chill at Derby Street Shops in Hingham is changing all of that. After living and working in Italy for several years, Vincent Turco became obsessed with uncovering the secrets of the country’s artisanal gelato makers. Turco returned to Massachusetts where he set out to turn his passion into a business. After testing out his products at a few Boston kiosks, the Hingham resident opened his first major brick and mortar location in Hingham earlier this year (you can also find Gelato & Chill at Time Out Market in Boston). Specializing in small-batch handmade gelato and sorbet inspired by award-winning Italian recipes, Gelato & Chill uses only the highest quality natural ingredients, including fresh milk and cream from Massachusetts dairies, and prestigious imported ingredients like Valrhona chocolate from France, pistachios from Sicily, hazelnuts from Piemonte, Italy, and vanilla beans from Madagascar. Favorite gelato flavors include stracciatella and tiramisu. An assortment of refreshing sorbets are also served, made from fresh, seasonal fruits. 92 Derby St., Suite 117, Hingham, 617-717-4989, gelatochill.com
Hornstra Farm Store & Dairy Bar
Hornstra Farms has been family owned and operated for over 100 years, delivering the freshest and finest quality milk, cream, and farm-fresh products to families across the South Shore. Their Farm Store, is open year-round and stocked with a selection of cheeses, pies, and churned butter. The Hornstra Farms seasonal Dairy Bar features a wide selection of handcrafted ice cream made with Grade-A quality milk, with minimal pasteurization. Fun ice cream flavors include Cow Tracks, which consists of vanilla ice cream with crushed peanut butter cups and fudge, and Pasture Patty, featuring a rich chocolate base combined with cookie dough, chocolate chips and a fudge swirl. 246 Prospect St., Norwell,
781-749-1222, Hornstrafarms.com
LiL Duke’s Ice Cream Shoppe
Located within the newly constructed Merchants Row shopping center, LiL Duke’s is a great new addition to the South Shore. This family-owned and operated ice cream shop proudly serves Emack & Bolio’s ice cream and cupcakes from Cupcake Mojo. Some of LiL Duke’s most popular menu items include the flavor S’moreo (vanilla ice cream with marshmallows, chunks of Oreos, and a chocolate swirl) and their Purple Rain shake (deep purple chip ice cream made with wild berry, chocolate, and raspberry sauce, topped with chocolate and raspberry drizzle). Their expansive menu also features five flavorful options of vegan ice cream, made with coconut cream, as well as homemade waffle cones and signature specialty sodas. 2053 Washington St., Unit 202, Hanover, 781-826-2129, lildukes.com
Peaceful Meadows
When Peaceful Meadows Farm was established in 1920 in Whitman, Milk, cream and other dairy products were delivered by horse and wagon to customers’ homes. The first Peaceful Meadows ice cream stand opened in 1962, offering sweet treats made from the finest, freshest ingredients available. Peaceful Meadows ice cream is still produced at the Whitman farm and is now served at three locations. In addition to single-servings, they offer hand-packed pints and quarts of ice cream. Favorite flavors include Coconut Chocolate Almond (the only monthly special they had to make a regular flavor) consisting of coconut ice cream and chocolate-covered almonds; Peppermint Patti, which features peppermint ice cream, tiny candies and a hint of chocolate. They also offer monthly specials like peach and blueberry cheesecake. 60 Bedford St., Whitman, 781-447-2381; 170 Water St., Plymouth, 508-746-2362, peacefulmeadows.com
Nona’s Homemade
Since it opened in 2001, Nona’s Homemade has been serving customers a selection of over 100 flavors of ice cream, sorbets and sherbets at their shops in downtown Hingham and Scituate Harbor (they also have a traveling ice cream truck). Favorite flavors include Coffee Oreo and Candied, a sugary sweet concoction of vanilla ice cream mixed with chocolate chips, gummy bears, M&Ms and rainbow sprinkles. Nona’s also pays homage to South Shore towns with flavors like Hingham Harbor Sludge, a blissful combination of chocolate ice cream and Oreos with fudge and caramel swirls, and Cohastronaut, a light mocha ice cream with chopped Thin Mints and fudge ripple. All ice cream is made on-site. Complete your order by having your scoops settle into one of Nona’s freshly-made waffle cones. 19 Main St., Hingham, 781-749-3999; 1 Mill Wharf Plaza, Scituate, 781-378-1464, Nonasicecream.com
Surf & Scoops Ice Cream Parlor
Hull’s Surf & Scoops Ice Cream Parlor recently relocated the iconic Paragon Boardwalk strip. Now situated across from the picturesque Nantasket Beach, this ice cream shop serves a wide selection of sundaes, frozen drinks and beach food. The parlor features an assortment of familiar favorites, including over 40 flavors of Hershey’s ice cream, frozen yogurt, and soft serve, as well as Dippin’ Dots and Richie’s Slush. Surf & Scoops also offers an array of gluten-free options, freshly-made waffle cones and custom frappes (one popular example is the Banana Longboard, a thick shake made with banana pudding ice cream, diced bananas and topped with caramel drizzle). Owner Ronnie Lee, from the well-known local establishment Northeast Surfing Co., created Surf & Scoops to offer beachgoers a surfing-themed ice cream shop with an old-school style and look. “You don’t have to know how to surf, you just have to love ice cream,” says Lee. “Either way, come feel our surf vibe and get stoked!” 197 Nantasket Avenue, Hull,
781-925-9019, surfandscoops.com