Peaceful Meadows, Whitman, Mass., Leading in New England Ice Cream Poll

Peaceful Meadows, Whitman, Mass. (photo by Eric)

Peaceful Meadows ice cream stand in Whitman, Mass., leads our VisitingNewEngland.com New England Vacations Facebook Fan Page Ice Cream Poll with around 17 percent of the total vote.

Coming in second is Kimball Farm in Westford, Mass., with about 14 percent of the vote. Rounding out the top 10 are Dairy Chief (now located in the CV Variety Store) in Dartmouth, Mass., Crescent Ridge Dairy in Sharon, Mass., Dairy Queen in Abington and Middleboro, Mass., Browns Old-Fashioned Ice Cream in York Beach, Maine, Richardson's in Middleton, Mass.,  Kimball Farm in Jaffrey, N.H., Bubbling Brook in Westwood, Mass., and Kimball Farm in Carlisle, Mass.

Others mentions include Kellerhaus, Weirs Beach, N.H.,  Howard's Drive-in, West Brookfield, Mass., Skinner's Sugar House in East Bridgewater, Mass.,  The Common Man Town Docks in Meredith, N.H., Gray's in Tiverton, R.I., Bedford Farms, Bedford, Mass., Erickson's, Maynard, Mass., Memories, Kingston, N.H.,  The Big Dipper, Prospect, Conn., and Emack and Bolio's, Orleans, Mass.

Additional mentions include Four Seas, Centerville, Mass., The Whole Scoop, Hanson, Mass., Heidi's Hollow Farm, Hanson, Mass., Uhlman's, Westborough, Mass., Beaks Ice Cream, Milton, N.H., Farfar's, Duxbury, Mass., Park St. Ice Cream, Natick, Mass., Whistlestop, Monument Beach, Mass., Hayward's Ice Cream Stand, Milford, N.H., Arnie's Place, Concord, N.H., Puritan Backroom, Manchester, N.H., Rich's Ice Cream, Oxford, Conn., J. Foster's, Simsbury, Conn., Mystic Drawbridge, Mystic, Conn., and White's in Ipswich, Mass.

We received mention of ice cream places with no town or city identified. If we did not know the mentioned ice cream stand or store without town or city name, it wasn't included on this list. Interestingly, we also received a vote for Carvel in Carteret, N.J. Now there's a classic New England city!

Thanks to all that voted. We recognize how much you enjoy eating ice cream! We'll keep you updated on additional votes coming in. If you'd like to vote, visit our Facebook Fan Page and scroll down to the April 7 "Ice Cream" post.

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What Is Your Favorite New England Ice Cream Stand Or Shop?

Ice Cream Machine, Cumberland, R.I. (photo by Eric)

We have a fun mini-poll going on right now, asking for your favorite New England ice cream stand or shop. You can access the poll by scrolling down three posts (at this writing) on our VisitingNewEngland.com New England Vacations Facebook Fan Page. If you don't see an ice cream stand that you'd vote for, please feel free to write in your choice. Please make sure to list the ice cream stand or shop's location, too, as we've received a few ice cream places without geographical mention.

So far, Kimball Farm in Westford Mass., is leading the pack, with Peaceful Meadows in Whitman, Mass., coming on strong! We've also received votes on ice cream destinations that tend to fly under the "ice cream radar." That's great to see as we're big fans on "hidden gems."

We'll post the final results next week of which ice cream stands wins the mini-poll.

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Ice Cream for a New England Fall Day

Article by Eric H., at VisitingNewEngland.com

We often think of summer as the time to frequent our beloved New England ice cream stands. The fall time, however, brings about homemade ice cream flavors that are perfect for the autumn season. Richardson's Ice Cream stand in Middletown, MA, offers two such seasonal flavors, apple crisp and pumpkin ice creams. Both taste authentic -- not too sweet or artificial -- courtesy of its high cream content and traditional made-from-scratch process (including 400 cows in the field) that makes Richardson's ice cream so special. Richardson's also features an all-season dining room, two miniature golf courses, batting cages and a driving range! Fall hours are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. -10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.- 11 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Richardson's Ice Cream
156 South Main St. (Rte 114)
Middleton, MA
Phone: 978-774-5450

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The Eighth Best Ice Cream Place in the World

Article and Photo by Eric H.
National Geographic's "An Ultimate Guide for Travelers" ranked Crescent Ridge Dairy Bar in Sharon, MA, in 2007, as the eighth best ice cream place in the world. That's great news for New Englanders, as other top 10 ice cream places would have required a trip, for example, to Florence, Italy, or Paris, France (actually, a good excuse to travel).

Crescent Ridge does have some truly great ice cream, including the current special S'Mores, and orange pineapple, peppermint stick, ginger, fudge ripple and the old standbys of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. While we wonder how a list of best ice cream places in the world could be narrowed to ten, the reality is that, from a local's perspective, Crescent Ridge is slightly better than the other top-tiered ice cream stands in New England. It all comes down to freshness, and Crescent Ridge somehow comes through better than most. What's more, Crescent Ridge represents the classic New England ice cream stand at its best with a truly bucolic, relaxing setting -- a farmhouse in the scenic distance, a field with cows, and picnic benches. Along with Kimball Farm in Westford, MA, Carlisle, MA and Jaffrey, NH, the Ice Cream Machine in Cumberland , RI, Four Seas in Centerville, MA, Brown's in York Beach, Maine, the Black Cow in Millis, MA, Bubbling Brook in Westwood, MA, and Peaceful Meadows in Whitman, MA, Crescent Ridge ranks with our current favorite ice cream places in New England.

Crescent Ridge Dairy, 355 Bay Rd., Sharon, MA. Tel. 781-784-2740

Read more about the Best Ice Cream Stands in New England and Reader's Favorite Ice Cream

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