Ice cream shop in Trumbull makes our Sunday sunny

Mud pie ice cream, anyone?

Today my daughter Allegra and I ventured out of the Valley - just a few miles from the Shelton line - to visit Sunny Daes, an ice cream shop in Trumbull.

I have been remiss this summer by not visiting ice cream shops and writing about our taste tests. Looking back it appears I wrote 16 posts about ice cream in 2012, and six more last year.

But as you can see I am trying to redeem myself with this post.


We chose to try Sunny Daes on this muggy afternoon on the recommendation of two friends. Both women told me a year ago to give it a whirl.

And we were not disappointed.

The homemade ice cream was rich. We both decided on Mud Pie, a decadently delicious coffee ice cream with fudge swirled into it. It was full of crushed chocolate cookie bits and walnuts too.

We decided we'll have to make a few return visits to try the homemade frozen yogurt, the soft-serve ice cream and the gelato.  I imagine they are just as good. The store also sells shakes and ice cream cakes.

Sunny Daes has five locations in Fairfield County: two in Fairfield, one in Stamford, one in Westport, and the one we visited at 900 White Plains Road in Trumbull.

The chain doesn't appear to have a website, but you can learn more about it on its Facebook page.


 

Dip-Top's treats get thumbs up

Ice Cream 101: The series continues

Life can get crazy and complicated, and that pretty much is why I started this series.

I simply wanted to have some fun: finding ice cream spots; consuming frozen treats; spending some time with my two grown children; and writing about my experiences.  

But I've not posted about ice cream in almost two weeks, and thought it was about time to do just that.
So Monday afternoon son Cameron and I headed to Dip-Top at 263 Boston Post Road, at the corner of Old Tavern Road in Orange. That corner at the five-way intersection has been home to delicious ice cream and other frozen treats since 1956.

If I said I remember when the location was once the home of Tastee Freez, I'd be dating myself.

Well I guess I just did.

I wonder when it became Dip-Top? I remember the building was devastated by a fire in 1999, but I don't think it was still Tastee Freez when that occurred.

Does anyone else remember the old Tastee Freez? 

I chose classic chocolate soft serve, but of course I had to have it topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream to make it even more sinfully good.

Cameron was fine with just getting a cup of cake batter ice cream. It was even richer than the cake batter ice cream he has had in the past because it was full of chocolate chips.
He gave it two thumbs up.


As you can see from the photos we sat on a bench facing the busy Boston Post Road, not the quietest location. But we enjoyed anyway.

I guess we should have ordered ice cream cones with a dip top, to put the house specialty to the test.

Next time!

Ice cream social in the Valley? I'm there

Some of you may have seen my Ice Cream 101 posts in recent weeks that I've been writing just for fun. This is another in a series.


On Thursday I attended an ice cream social with members of our Circle of Friends breast cancer support group at Griffin Hospital in Derby.

Our support group treated several Ansonia Girl Scout Troop 60500 and their leaders to an ice cream social to thank them for their support of our group and of breast cancer awareness in general.
Only five of the 12 Scouts in the Troop were able to attend along with their three leaders.

My daughter and I took part in the ice cream fun. At least we had fresh strawberries and blueberries to make the sundaes slightly nutritious. 

 

There were chocolate chip cookies and brownies as well. Yum.

I commend the Girl Scouts and their leaders on their caring and compassion. 
At right is one of the hundreds of ornaments they made last year to honor breast cancer survivors.

Those who were able to join us for ice cream were: Rebecca Cafaro, 12, Allie Ricci, 13, Jessica Palmer, 12, Kaitlyn Sarandrea, 13, and Shelley Hopkins, 13. All five are going into eighth grade.

Leaders Carole Cafaro, Heather Ricci and Carol Palmer were there as well. Cafaro said many of the girls have been together in the same Troop since they were in kindergarten, which is quite a feat. 

I'd like to thank you all again, and thanks to the other members of Troop 60500. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Sundae on Wednesday at the Ansonia Riverwalk

Ice Cream 101: The series continues 
 

If you're low on cash, you can always get an inexpensive frozen treat on a hot day at your local McDonald's.

That's what I did yesterday. Daughter Allegra and I were in the mood for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up and we opted for ice cream instead of iced tea or coffee.
We got hot fudge sundaes and went over to the new pavilion at the Ansonia Riverwalk to enjoy them. We put them down on a bench to take the photo.

I checked the McDonald's website to find out how many calories we consumed. The sundaes are small but they pack 330 calories. Many more than I thought.

But we did consume eight grams of protein, and 25 percent of our daily value of calcium so that made me feel better.

I'll be back soon with another ice cream report. Stay tuned.