In Welch, one local ice cream shop combines frozen treats with coal mining history. Coal Town Creamery is a small shop housed in a historic former 76 gas station. "The service station was run by World War 2 veteran and two-time purple heart recipient, Ed Shepard. Shepard’s legacy has been memorialized with the entry room of the shop, letting future generations learn more about this local hero," according to WVVA. I was excited to visit on their first day of reopening for the season. I'm sure they were still working out some of the kinks and dealing with the recent flood, but you wouldn't know that from the ice cream. I enjoyed butter pecan and cashew, as well as chocolate peanut butter. They were certainly a bit difficult for the workers to scoop, but softened my the time they hit my palate. I believe they use Velvet brand ice cream, which is a little unique. But just as good. Grade: A

Leopold’s Ice Cream was founded in 1919 by three brothers from Greece. They learned the art of candy and dessert making from an uncle who had already settled in America. George, Peter and Basil Leopold perfected their secret formulas and created the now world famous Leopold’s Ice Cream in Savannah, Georgia, reads the website.



Leopold’s Ice Cream is a downtown Savannah landmark, and features the original black marble soda fountain, wooden back bar, and telephone booth. But the main draw is the premium ice cream.



Tutti frutti is their most popular flavor - rum ice cream with candied fruit and fresh roasted Georgia pecans. The Original since 1919!



Butter pecan is another favorite, though, and features roasted George pecans. So that was my choice. And after waiting about a half hour, I was ready to dig in.



Very smooth, very creamy. And butter pecan is one of my favorite flavors because it adds a little texture, plus some salty to go along with the sweet.



Have you been?



Grade: A

Crafts of Coal has expanded beyond their humble beginnings. The ice cream shop has opened up several locations, with the newest being in Sissonville. The building has a walk-up window and lounge chairs on the porch - but no inside dining. The flavors are a fun combo of classics and unique. I ordered the Country Roads Cookie Jar, which had both m&ms and cookie dough. I enjoyed the cookie dough bits, but I think the m&ms were just a bit too much for my personal preference. But I'd gladly go back to try all the other flavors! Grade: B

Coffee & Cream Cabana, established in June 2023, is a Myrtle Beach destination offering freshly roasted coffee, espresso drinks, and homemade ice cream. Hand-crafted ice cream and locally roasted coffee sounds like a good match to me. I ordered a hot chocolate, which was lightly sweet, and an almond croissant, which was better than any croissant I've had. I think of croissants as being dry and flaky, but the sweet almond cream filling was perfection. Grade: A

I have often passed the pastel colored shed along 219 and finally caught them open. Bones & Cones serves ice cream for pets and people. I ordered a salted caramel sundae with caramel, peanuts and whipped cream. It was overflowing with caramel, so it ended up a bit of a sticky mess. The peanuts were key, though, because they added some salt on top of the sweet, sweet, sweet. The ice cream was a little gritty, so I might try a different flavor on the next visit. Grade: B

Red Bird Cafe is an ice cream shop in southern West Virginia that is part of a new development called the Appalachian Outpost.



This new development features of variety of shops and a restaurant in addition to the ice cream store. But I bee-lined straight to the Red Bird Cafe. The black and red themed shop features hand-dipped ice cream, coffee and assorted pastries.



I ordered a butter pecan milkshake. It was decent. The sweet cream with a touch of saltiness is always always one of my favorite flavors. Texture was a bit odd as a milkshake though - maybe it would have been better if it was less blended so the nuts seemed more intentional rather than odd, tiny gravel-y bits.



Grade: B

"Well known for serving up classic flavors along with constantly evolving roster of delightful, small-batch flavors beloved in Baltimore, Taharka Brothers’ award winning ice cream lineup includes favorites like Honey Graham, Mintflix & Chillz, Key Lime Pie, and Caramel Crunch," reads the website.



I ordered a "honey graham" scoop in a cup. It was SO good. Graham cracker is so underrated as an ice cream accessory. A little crunch, slight sweetness. It's a wonderful supporting character - and here, it's the star.



Grade: A

Shepherdstown is home to quirky shops, great art and delicious food - especially ice cream. I visited a second homemade ice cream shop in town recently: Amy & Alex's Homemade Ice Cream & Coffee.



The small shop, which has parking right out front, features traditional ice cream flavors like chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, as well as options like and Mint Chip, Honey Raspberry Blueberry Swirl, Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel, Mango Dragonfruit, Coffee Crunch Bar, Matcha White Chip, Chocolate Almond and Cookies & Cold Brew. I went with a caramel (of course); the smooth velvety texture is what I recall most. There's something about the homemade ice cream that feels so much creamier.



Grade: A

Rock Hill Creamery is a Shepherdstown ice cream shop that keeps it simple: "We make our ice cream right here in the shop using only milk, sugar, and heavy cream as our base."



In 2021, the local paper wrote: "Founded by Gary Miller in Martinsburg in 1996, Rock Hill Creamery was officially closed six years ago. One of Miller’s longtime employees, however, lived in Shepherdstown and realized she wanted to bring the creamery back to life in her town."



I kept it pretty simple with salted caramel, but it was the most silky, luxurious salted caramel I've had in recent memory. maybe because of the simplicity, the flavors really popped. I know next time I want to try a waffle cone, if available.



Grade: A

Yelp ranked the top 100 ice cream shops of 2023 and Page's Dairy Mart in Pittsburgh was ranked 16th on the list.



The iconic ice cream shop has been around for 50+ years and serves milkshakes, sundaes, swirls and more. It's cash only, and there's usually a line.



when I got up to the window, I saw the sign for Thr Yinzer. How could I not order that?



The Yinzer is blonde brownie with white and milk chocolate, whipped cream and caramel.



There's no way you can go wrong with that combo. But I do especially like how everything tasted so fresh with quality ingredients. Definitely my jam.



Grade: A

Sweet Cow is a small-batch ice cream shop in the Denver area; I visited the Stanley Marketplace location in Aurora to try out their locally sourced, handscooped ice cream.



"At Sweet Cow we churn small batch handcrafted ice cream that tastes simply moolicious! We focus on creating a neighborhood space where memories are made, lives are celebrated and humans connect with one another. We are Colorado proud, from the majestic flatirons of Boulder to the mirrored skyscrapers of Denver and beyond. Swing by and experience the best homemade ice cream in Colorado," reads the website.



With two dozen choices for flavors, I honed in on rich, luxurious options like butter pecan and caramel latte. I can't remember which I settled on, but I remember the velvety texture of the ice cream was dreamy. The consistency was thick, which made it feel very artisanal.



And next time, I definitely want to try the ice cream in a sandwich, as opposed to just a scoop. But that's not all - sundaes, milkshakes, root beer floats, ice cream cakes, and even pies.



Grade: A

Boasting 24 homemade flavors, Farm House Ice Cream in Bridgeport is a small, independent ice cream shop with big flavors.



The shop itself is clean and modern and is the perfect backdrop for your Instagram photo of your dessert. Menu options include cones, cups, milkshakes, brownies, cookies, and more. Ice cream flavors rotate seasonally, but some I contemplated were birthday cake, butter pecan, and cookie monster.



I ultimately ordered a specialty s'more shake, which was delicious. It's like a sweet vanilla base with the textured bits of graham cracker plus the sweet roasted chocolate flavor. Complete with whip cream and a cherry. Can't go wrong.



Grade: A