Ice Cream in Pittsburgh

[greg42]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

I got excited when I saw Turkey Hill, but I read the ingredients and it had gum. I passed on it. If there was one with no gum I would try it.

There is one kind of Turkey Hill with no gum, that's what I mean. If you haven't tried it, well, I don't think it'll measure up to H-D because I think it has more overrun (air) than the really dense H-D. But it's not a bad plain vanilla, lot better than most. They do carry a couple of these at the big bird store usually. Here, like I said, look for the black containers.

All Natural Ice Cream Flavors | Turkey Hill Dairy | Imported From Lancaster County

They actually have more flavors in that than I realized. Maybe they're expanding it, that can only be good if people notice the crap ingredients in most ice creams. Mint chocolate chip with no crap in it, bet that's pretty good.

[Rosabel]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

Best ice cream I've had was at Penn State's Creamery. PSU ought to open a store at its Pittsburgh campus and sell it there too.

The best ice cream I've ever had is at a place called Mitchell's, which has several branches around Cleveland. I live in hope that they'll open a branch in Pittsburgh, but I doubt that'll ever happen! It was started by two brothers, at least one of whom learned to make ice cream at the Penn State Creamery, which is probably why it's so good.

I know this thread is about ice cream in Pittsburgh, which makes this kind of a useless suggestion, but if any of you ever get out to Cleveland, you should definitely take a trip to Mitchell's and get a scoop of ice cream topped with whipped cream and pecans. They make their own whipped cream (which may be even more delicious than the ice cream!), and the pecans are fresh and salty and delicious. Mmm, Mitchell's.

[lifepgh2op]

There's a mini golf place at the Robert Morris Island Sports Center off the Neville Island I-79 exit.

RMU Island Rapids Miniature Golf

Also, Scally's in Moon Township is an 18-hole mini golf course... www.scallysgolfcenter.com

[trotter_rej]

Originally Posted by CortlandGirl79

I was gonna ask if you guys had a Handel's. Handel's is based in Youngstown, but has really started franchising in recent years. I heard a rumor once that you had to be from the Youngstown area to own one, but i doubt that's true.

I'll vouch for Handel's, but I am admittedly biased. I grew up 3 blocks from the original Handel's store and walked there on many a summer night. (I was also 1 block from an Isaly's, so I had that to fall back on too ). A classmate of mine was a Handel, his great-aunt started the business. I was pleasantly surprised to find one in VA Beach when we vacationed there a couple of years ago.

[CortlandGirl79]

^Nice story, they even have locations in Cali now.

[Kippy]

Originally Posted by HillsHollow

Has any tried a couple of the mom and pop's icecream stands along 30? There's like three headed up to Ligonier.
They all look like they serve homemade stuff. I've keep meaning to stop by and try them. So I'm just wondering if anyone's tried them?

Do you mean Rita's, with the red and white awnings? Rita They are actually a decent sized national chain, but I have never tried their wares (italian ice and frozen custard).

If you are in the Greensburg area, you might want to check out Kerber Dairy (http://www.kerbers.com/index.html). They have yummy ice cream, which they make themselves.

[trlstreet]

Best custard I've ever had was at Ritters in South Bend, IN. I believe they are a small chain mainly operating out of Indiana. Beats anything I've ever had in the Pittsburgh area. I do like Glen's though, too. Used to like Rita's a long time ago but the quality of their stuff seems to have gone way down over the past decade while the prices have gone way up.

[h_curtis]

Been a lot of years, but I liked Hank's Frozen Custard and Mexican Food in New Brighten. If you think about it the combination is perfect. Eat some hot Mexican food and then drown out the fire with the custard.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Been a lot of years, but I liked Hank's Frozen Custard and Mexican Food in New Brighten. If you think about it the combination is perfect. Eat some hot Mexican food and then drown out the fire with the custard.

Not too far from me, guess I should try it. Have driven by a few times.

The combo always cracked me up. I didn't think either could really be that great.

Here's the right web site for New Brighton. http://go2hanks.com/ Some things are new vs original (including new ugly building 10 years ago, heh, and new machine in 2008 which could affect the product, and new ownership somewhere in there), although I'm sure that's true of other long-time businesses like this. You can't always keep the same machinery for 60 years and such. The reading would suggest they still have attention to detail with the custard, made fresh daily, etc.