If you've known Shane and me for any amount of time, you know that we both nurse a pretty gnarly sweet tooth. We will make any excuse for desert or a treat any day of the week- especially when we are out of our normal routine on vacation or with visitors- or, in this case- moving from Alabama to Rhode Island and wanting to do as the locals do!Before we moved to Tiverton, I scoured Yelp for local hot spots and local's favorite restaurants
(bonus for those with an expansive gluten free selection!). One common thread on reviews around Tiverton was ice cream. Being that I recently traded my dairy-free lifestyle for a gluten-free one (among 19 other things that my body despises. Long story for another post if you're really interested), I was excited to be in a position to try out all this famous ice cream touted by Tivertonians (I may have just made that up).
One thing was evident: people in Tiverton had very strong alliances to either Gray's or Helger's ice cream. One review I read went so far to say that a man lied to his wife about taking their daughter to the ice cream shop opposite of his wife's favorite. If she found out, there would be hell to pay for that poor husband. Is there such thing as irrevocable ice cream differences?
One thing seemed very obvious to Shane and me: we had to try both!
While they were both delicious for different reasons, there was one caveat- No one mentioned a third contender!
Much closer to our home than either Gray's or Helger's (too close, one might say), was the Moose Cafe.
Having reintroduced dairy and having three delicious ice cream options at our fingertips was definitely feeding our sweet teeth. While not good for diets, it was definitely good for date nights!
Thank you for the very sweet welcome, Tiverton! We would gladly support local businesses by trying, and retrying the local ice cream establishments (as a business owner myself, I am also a supporter of local businesses #shoplocal). While the Reilly jury is still out on which one is the best, the Moose definitely gets a few extra points for their ABUNDANCE of flavor choices and the fact that they carry a gluten-free cone. Shane loved the homemade waffle cone at Helgers and we both loved the coffee chip flavor at Grey's. When it comes to ice cream, it's hard for us to leave anyone out.
For the first (several) trips to get ice cream, Shane always ordered the same thing, a soft-serve twist in a waffle cone, add chocolate jimmies (yes, they're called jimmies in the Northeast, not sprinkles as I have been accustomed to for my 27 years as a Southern Belle). They say opposites attract, my dear husband and I much like a chocolate and vanilla twist, so I had to try a new flavor each time. So far, there hasn't been one I didn't like.
While my taste buds are happy in Tiverton, my waistline is waving the flag of caution. We've now established an "ice cream only on weekends" rule but that has already been broken once or twice. As I write this, Shane has texted me to ask me out on a weeknight ice cream date. What respectable wife would turn that down!? Surely not I- I am a Southern Belle deeply rooted in chivalry, old-fashioned traditions, and respectable gender roles after all.
So far, Rhode Island has agreed with me across the board, the ice cream just being the icing on the cake.
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