Cold Stone is my favorite place for ice cream in my area. The ice cream is flavorful, smooth and delicious, let alone all the "mix-ins" ranging from coconut to fruits to candy bars to fresh brownies!
If you're not familiar with the "process," you first choose a flavor of ice cream (they have 12-14 rotating flavors, from Sweet Cream (their vanilla) to cake batter) and then how ever many mix-ins you would like. The person then dishes out the ice cream on to literally, a freezing cold granite stone, piles on the mix-ins, then blends the two using spatulas (its fun to watch!) That way you can make EXACTLY the kind of ice cream you want!
The one downside to CS would definitely be the prices. For ice cream, it runs a little high, but sitll no more than your Grande Starbucks drink and the servings are really generous! You can make it economical by sharing a pint with a friend, or they recently added a Kids size--- only $1.50 for 3 oz of ice cream and one mix in-- really the perfect size!! It's supposed to be for 12 and under, but I was able to buy this size, too!
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