Hayley and Lilly enjoying milkshakes on a Sunday afternoon on the front porch of Cook-Out

Now, I don’t even pretend to be a Guy Fieri who knows every drive-in, diner, and dive across America and where to get the best milkshakes.  But I do know a GOOD milkshake, if I say so myself.

I grew up in small towns where you drove up to a tiny little building and then walked up to the window (usually with screens) to order a cone, a hot dog, some fries, or a milkshake.  Now you only see those little places in the movies, I guess, or at the Freezo right here in Knoxville. But they’re definitely vanishing from America’s landscape.

My dad loved milkshakes, so he would drive my mom and me to the Dairy Queen and place his order: Three milkshakes, please. Then he’d walk back to the car, and we’d sip away quietly.  At least ’til we hit bottom. And then we all announced The End with that hollowed-out noise that only comes when you suck the last drops into an otherwise empty straw.

When the second daughter arrived, Dad announced that he would be ordering four milkshakes pretty soon.  Later, he proudly said it would be five, then six, then seven, since I’m the oldest of five girls, all of whom like milkshakes — or at least they did when they were young.  Best invention, according to my dad, was that cardboard 6-hole carrying container that transported all but one of the frothy shakes to our Chevy station wagon, leaving just one trip back to the window for my dad who said he was doing all this just for us.  We knew better.

So I thought of my dad and those good family times when my husband said, You wanna try a milkshake at Cook-Out?  There’s one on Cumberland.  Now how could I refuse?

Cook-Out on Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville

Verdict: Cook-Out has delicious milkshakes.  I can say that from my years of family indulgences and fully trained tastebuds.  Of course, others nearby that I’ve written about like Bruster’s and Tic Toc do, too, but Cook-Out probably has everyone beat when it comes to choices.

Just look at this.  More milkshake flavors than — well, just about anybody!  But there’s another thing.  If you can imagine it, they say they can blend it right up — your very own concoction.

Two servers, Jacob and Ashton filled us in on Cook-Out, a privately owned chain of restaurants in North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Jacob and Ashton, servers at Cook-Out, admit they’re lovers of the milkshakes, too.

What we like, they said, is how fresh the milkshakes are.

They explained that the richest, best ice cream is blended, dated, and stored in cups for a only a brief time.  There’s a time stamp handwritten on the bottom of each cup to guarantee freshness. Then they add refreshing ingredients like bananas, strawberries, pineapple — even watermelon in July and August — to the shakes when ordered.  And, they added, if you don’t see what you want on the list, you can ask us to make a different combo!

Somehow this code is a freshness indicator, but you have to know the code, I guess.

Cook-Out serves food, too, “cooked outdoors style” — like char-grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken breasts — as well as barbecue, BLTs, and sides of slaw. And it’s one of the few places in Knoxville that has Cheerwine Floats on the menu!

At Ashton‘s suggestion, I ordered a Peanut Butter Shake — one of two best sellers: Peanut Butter and Oreo!  Bert ordered Snickers. We agreed: rich ingredients, quality ice cream.

Jacob hands Bert my fresh-made peanut butter milkshake.

I have a technique down pat after all these years of “milkshaking.” First, I dig the spoon in for a medium bite of the creamy cold goodness.  Then I squish it between my tongue and the roof of my mouth — ever so slowly — to avoid the inevitable brain freeze.  I continue with bigger and bigger spoonfuls until I notice that at least some of the shake has started to melt.  At that point, I poke in my straw and commence the sipping/slurping process. (Some things your dad teaches you, you never forget!)

So, check out this unofficial website (The company doesn’t have its own up and running yet) to find a Cook-Out in your area. You, too, can enjoy shakes from Labor Day all the way through football season.

And one more thing — you’ll only hear Christian music at Cook-Out:  owner preference. Certainly didn’t make a difference to us — we enjoy milkshakes no matter what’s playing in the background!

So, what will it be? Chocolate malt . . . heath toffee . . . strawberry cheesecake . . . cappuccino . . . blueberry . . .

Cook-Out

Knoxville Locations: 2135 Cumberland Avenue and 6920 Kingston Pike

Corporate Office: 1-866-547-0011

Unofficial Website: http://www.cookoutnc.com

Been to Cook-Out?  Got a favorite milkshake flavor?  Leave us a comment.  We may try yours next time!  Or, if you’ve got another place you love, please share.  What’s not to like about a great shake on a hot afternoon?!

<a href=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/68/1613353/restaurant/Fort-Sanders/Cook-Out-Knoxville”><img alt=”Cook Out on Urbanspoon” src=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1613353/minilink.gif” style=”border:none;padding:0px;width:130px;height:36px” /></a>

My second foray into Knoxville’s Grocery Wars occurred this past weekend when I ventured forth to the West Knox Trader Joe’s in Suburban Plaza Shopping Center!  I had to go there.  After all, I’d heard about Trader Joe’s since I took my mom to California to see the Rose Parade years ago.  In fact, we ate snacks from the TJ’s in Pasadena in our hotel at night.

Not only that, I’ve had more hits on my blog for the post on the new Publix than for any other post to date.  That fact alone tells me something: grocery stores really are destinations, not just places for hunter gatherers like myself to grab whatever I can find for dinner that night (although I’ve been known to do just that)!

So it was that my husband Bert and I entered the colorful, quirky world of Trader Joe’s. And, first thing, we did what we thought we should, being responsible bloggers, you know.  We headed to the manager’s station in the far left corner and asked David at the desk if we could have permission to take pictures for the blog.  He smiled and kindly replied, We don’t allow inside pictures.  Sorry.

I’m sure he read the telltale signs of real disappointment on my face, but he just shrugged and said Sorry again and added, That’s corporate policy. 

Good thing I asked, I thought, because I really, really wanted to show you, my readers, the inside of a Trader Joe’s, especially this one with its UT Orange-and-White-Go-Vols theme! But I can’t. That corporate policy thing.

So, join us vicariously as we share our impressions and a few pictures of our purchases with you.  We still had fun (and that’s one of the takeaways for Trader Joe’s — you CAN have fun) — we just can’t show you what’s inside.

First impression:  Trader Joe’s is small, but intimacy is part of the charm.  Selected items, many of which are store brands, stack nicely on the waist-high shelves and fill the chest-high frozen food bins.  There are only a couple of aisles, and you can see the whole store over the low displays. We liked that.

Don’t go in expecting to fill your cart for the weekly stock-the-pantry kind of shopping, though.  This is niche marketing at its best.  Fewer items — unusual, too– uniquely packaged.

Second impression: Trader Joe’s really is colorful, funky, and fun!  Ceiling-high murals of Neyland Stadium and UT activities let you know that the owners paid attention to what turns us on in Big Orange country.

Just for fun (and information!), a guy hoisting an 8-foot pole topped with tiki sign on one side, question mark on the other, moved willy nilly through the store helping newbie customers like us. We couldn’t help wanting to chat with that affable fellow, and he wanted to talk to us, too!

Employees were decked out in hybiscus T-shirts or the ubiquitous Hawaiian Trader Joe’s shirt.  I guess there’s one in every store!

Also fun are the store samplings we’ve come to expect with all these grocery store openings! A smiling young lady (who said she’d be a UT student in a couple of weeks) dished out little cups of mac and cheese from the free sample booth in the back of the store.  What’s not to like about that?!

We liked the free samples of Mac ‘n Cheese enough to take home a package. It’s microwaveable!

And third impression:  The food is different!  Way different.  Artsy packaging and  clever names abound. Like Gone Bananas for chocolate covered frozen banana slices!  Varieties of the “same old, same old” in other stores seemed downright enticing at TJ’s — like cereal they call Clusters and an entree called Reduced Guilt Pizza Primavera! We had fun just reading labels and packages!

Some of the Trader Joe’s foods we brought home: Almond Butter — Creamy with Sea Salt, Organic Dark Chocolate, Cinnamon Schoolhouse Cookies, and Omega Trek Mix with Omega Fortified Cranberries.

Here’s what else we saw. (Prices accurate as of August 17 , 2012.)

Bread: So many varieties and choices.  Harvest Cranberry Scones (2.99). Brat Buns for your brats, of course. (2.49 for 6). British (not English) muffins (1.99). Tandoori Garlic Naan — we lived for this stuff when we traveled in Nepal! (3.69). And Trader Joe’s brand Whole Grain Bread (2.99).

Frozens: Meals in a bag, desserts, you name it.  Sweet Potato Gnocchi (2.99). Pasta with Sockeye Salmon and Asparagus (5.99). Trader Giotta’s (not Joe’s!) Eggplant Stacked Parmesan (3.49). Trader Jose’s (Mexican Joe, I guess!) Chicken Taquitos (3.99). Palah Paneer — Spinach & Paneer Cheese seasoned with curry and chili (2.99). Trader Joe’s Carbonara Stuffed Cheese Ravioli (3.49). And Trader Joe’s Perline Pasta & Prosciutto (2.99).

A friend of ours, Cecile, who works the evening shift was going on break, stopped to talk to us.  Since she was not technically working at the time, we snapped her picture.  She raved about her favorite frozen meal, an entree that she says keeps flying out the door: Mandarin Orange Chicken (4.99). (We’ve since tried it, but wasn’t as impressed as Cecile was.  May have to give it a go again some time.)

Grains, Oats, & Stuff: Lots of granola like Pecan Praline Granola (2.49). Trader Joe’s Just the Clusters (cereal) with great combinations: Maple Pecan Granola Cereal, Banana Nut, Vanilla Almond, Raisin Bran, etc.

Soups in boxes: Butternut Squash, Creamed Corn & Roasted Peppers, Carrot Ginger, Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper — most were around $2.79 a box.

Ice Cream & Frozen Delights: Mini Hold the Cone Ice Cream Cones (2.99), Soy Creamy Mini Chocolate Sandwiches (2.99 for 8), The Best (Bar None) Ice Cream Bars (2.99 for 4), and Fruit Frenzy Bars in Rasperry, Lemon, and Strawberry (1.99 for 4).

And other stuff:  Dried fruits like mangoes, Turkish figs, pineapple rings, flattened bananas, and bing cherries.  Lots of yogurts — some you’ve heard of and some I’ll bet you haven’t.  Coffees from around the world: Ethiopian, Kona, Costa Rican and Joe’s brands — Dark, House Blend, Bay Blend and more. Cookies like Vanilla Meringue and Cinnamon Schoolbook Cookies.  Whoopie Pies, too!

More purchases from Trader Joe’s: Traditional French Brie, Trader Joe’s Vanana Organic Lowfat Yogurt, and Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter.

When we got home, we checked out Trader Joe’s website.  As you would expect, it’s just as creative as this new West Knox store!  Lots of moving pictures, clever drawings, photos with captions, and a great little newsletter, Fearless Flyer.

Found out it all began in 1958 under the name of Pronto Markets, but in ’67, the original Trader Joe (yep, that was his name), changed the store name and opened the first Trader Joe’s in Pasadena.  And that Pasadena store is the same today —  same spot, same parking lot — but probably with newer foods and more organic offerings.

We also read that, in 2002, the first bottles of Two Buck Chuck were sold. Maybe you’ve heard of these Charles Shaw wines that cost only two dollars a bottle.  We, of course, don’t have ’em in Knoxville, since we don’t sell wine in grocery stores, but, as you travel, look for the famous brand in other Trader Joe’s.

Bert said he’d try a beer he hadn’t heard of — just for the sake of the blog, of course!

I love the Trader Joe’s website if for nothing else the great recipes.  Click here for my favorite (well, so far): Peanut Butter Brownies! Yum!

So, would we go back to Trader Joe’s?  Sure.  But not for our routine grocery list, of course.  We’d go back for something unusual. Something different. The stuff you just can’t get anywhere else.

And prices aren’t bad.  At least we didn’t think so, for the amount and variety of the offerings.

Are we glad to have Trader Joe’s in Knoxville?  Of course.  It’s all about choices, variety, and a taste of the world — and that’s what TJ’s has brought us!

We’re still apologizing, however, for no pics.  You’ll just have to go see Trader Joe’s for yourself!

Trader Joe’s

8001 Kingston Pike

Knoxville, TN 37919

865.670.4088

Monday to Sunday: 8AM to 9PM

Got a comment?  Let us know what your favorite purchase at Trader Joe’s has been.  We just might want to try something new the next time around!

Makhaila serves the finest ice cream around at Tic Toc!

It’s been fun writing these blogs for Cool Off 2012, a review of area ice cream shops we love to patronize.  Selecting one as “the best” is not only difficult . . . it’s impossible.  They each have remarkable ice cream and concoctions to come back for. But we’ve saved what we think is our favorite for last.

Our go-to place for the creamiest ice cream, most interesting dessert creations, and the best back-in-time location, is the Tic Toc Ice Cream Parlor in Loudon, Tennessee, about 25 miles from Knoxville!

Tic Toc Ice Cream Parlor — downtown Loudon

Nestled in an old building on the corner of Grove Street, Tic Toc makes you feel as if you’ve come to the right spot to cool off, but you’ve done it in a way-back-when kinda place.  Only open 12 years, Tic Toc has quite a following, judging from the lines out the front door and the review in Southern Living praising it as a destination for quality ice cream, shakes, floats, and sodas.

We first encountered the Tic-Toc when we set up our antiques on the grounds of the Loudon County Courthouse for the Antiques on Mulberry show each fall.  Those long, hot days sitting in the sun talking to dealers and customers made us look around for something cold and satisfying.  When we asked where to go for an afternoon treat, one of the dealers pointed us to the Tic Toc! Our son, Jeff, remembers it fondly, too, since we treated him to a double scoop cone for helping us repack the van for the return trip home.

Bob and Mary Jones, who’ve owned the shop for seven years, use only the finest ingredients — fresh cream, Madagascar vanilla, hand-chopped chocolate chunks, and other great add-ins. They flash freeze each of the 24 flavors so there’s not even a hint of freezer burn. You can really taste the difference.

Big scoops of this creamy, rich goodness mound up and over sugar or cake cones or hand-made waffle cones.  It just doesn’t get any better than that!

Or maybe it does.  Lots of great ice cream assemblages await.  Here are a few we’d love to try:

• Black and White — Chocolate ice cream covered with marshmallow topping, whipped cream, chopped nuts and a cherry!
• Dusty Miller — Vanilla ice cream covered with chocolate syrup, marshmallow topping and a dusting of malt!
• The Yukon Gold Rush — Coffee Bean ice cream with hot caramel syrup, whipped cream, and a cherry!
• The Cardiac Arrest — 5 scoops of ice cream, 4 toppings, whipped cream, and 3 cherries on top!

So many choices . . . so little time!

Interesting ice cream names make you want to double or triple scoop or come back for more:  George Washington Cherry, Chattanooga Chocolate, Blackout, Plantation Praline, Rainbow Party, and Loco Coco!

Two other best sellers are the Affogato — vanilla ice cream topped with piping hot espresso — and The King — a banana split made with peanut butter crunch ice cream!

The shop features a wall of photos marking memorable moments and people who’ve made the trip to the now-famous Tic Toc, the little shop that not only could, but does!

Panels of photos in the background record the history of the Tic Toc.

Bert noted, as just about any man would, that the young ladies serving these creamy delights were another reason to make a stop at Tic Toc!  (Not only beautiful, these girls know their ice cream!) But I reined him back in to focus on the purpose of our visit and to sample his favorite flavor:  Butter Pecan. (The girls told us that was one of the most popular flavors at the store.)

Morgan and Emily — just two of the friendly servers at Tic Toc

So, drive on over to Loudon, a quaint Southern town with a great little ice cream shop.  You’ll find the Tic Toc catty-cornered from the Loudon County Courthouse and just down the street from one of our all-time favorite antique shops, The General Store!

It’s a great place to “sit a spell” and cool off in style!

Two happy customers relaxing on The Square in Loudon eating Tic Toc ice cream!

What’s to Like: Tic Toc Ice Cream Parlor

• Delicious ice cream made on site with the finest ingredients
• Ice cream treats like sundaes, special desserts, shakes, floats, and sodas
• Friendly service by people who know their flavors and the history of Tic Toc
• Old-time charm from tin ceilings to nostalgic photo boards
• Bragging rights to having eaten at a place with high commendations by Southern Living, Urbanspoon, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and  WATE
• 1501 Likes on their Facebook Page

Tic Toc Ice Cream Parlor

504 Grove Street

Loudon, TN 37774

865.408.9867

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/68/731552/restaurant/Knoxville/Tic-Toc-Ice-Cream-Parlor-Loudon

For reviews of the other Cool Off 2012 destinations featured in this blog, go to the top of this post and look at the right-hand column.  Thanks!

Ayden’s favorite flavor? Chocolate, of course!

Ask almost anyone from Knoxville to Athens what color jug to look for if you want Mayfield’s milk, and they’ll answer YELLOW!  It’s the same with ice cream cartons, frozen novelties, even campaign posters for Mayfield Dairy Farm president Scottie Mayfield who’s running for Congress!

Mayfield is a brand we know and love — not just for building strong bones and cooling us off in this brutal summer heat but also for an iconic brand that we’ve grown up with in school cafeterias and grocery stores throughout East Tennessee.

So, for my fifth in a series of Cool Off 2012 blogs, I ventured to Mayfield Dairy Farm in Athens where I watched kids on a summertime field trip and then toured the Visitor Center. Afterwards, I treated myself to a cold, creamy cup of my favorite flavor!

It was 1910 when T. B. Mayfield bought 45 Jersey cows and delivered milk to people in his hometown of Athens, Tennessee.  Today, Mayfield milk is distributed in Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. In 1981, Time  named Mayfield’s the “World’s Best Ice Cream”!

A mom and daughter from Fairfax, Virginia, wait for the Mayfield tour to begin.

But not much of that mattered to the more than 100 kids I saw on the Factory Tour, ready to see how a real dairy works.  We first went into the Moovie Theater where films are sometimes shown, but not today.  Instead, we did a little meet and greet and got to know our guide better.

At the guide’s request, we donned lovely red hairnets before embarking on our adventure. (Lots of giggles, as you can imagine!)

A happy family from Sevierville, TN model the red hairnets

Since we couldn’t take pictures inside the processing areas, you’ll have to take my word for it: fascinating!  First, we watched as rows of yellow jugs were created from bits of plastic, melted and molded into shape.  Then, the machines punched out the tops and handles, dumping the scraps into a bin to use later to make more jugs. (Ultimate recycling!)  The third area — the filling room —  featured parading jugs ready, willing, and able to receive delicious Mayfield milk.  The jugs then moved on to be capped and stored. Last, we viewed the clean-up area and the section of the plant where pint and half-pint cartons are filled. When school’s in session, Mayfield’s can fill two million half-pint cartons of milk each week!

Where is all this milk coming from?  Mayfield’s receives over 120,000 gallons of milk a day (weekends, too!) from over 150 area farmers!

You can’t tour the ice cream factory yet, but in the near future that part of the dairy will be open, too.

We learned a lot about Mayfield ice cream from watching a video and listening to our guide. I’m going to wait ’til the end to tell you the best-selling flavors she named for us, but be thinking now.  I want to see if you can guess which one is Number One!

She’s serving my favorite flavor? Can you guess what it is?

Meanwhile here’s what the guide told us those busy Mayfield folks produce:

• 50,000 gallons of ice cream per day!
• 10,000 ice cream sandwiches per hour!
• 9600 sundae cones per hour!
• 11,500 Brown Cows per hour!
• 3600 pint containers per hour!
• 3600 48-ounce and 56-ounce containers per hour!
• 400 three-gallon tubs per hour!

When Mayfield technicians first pour ice cream that has never been frozen (still in soft serve stage) into the cartons, they quickly place it into freezers at 45 degrees below zero where it hardens in 90 minutes! Then, the ice cream is moved to freezers set at 20 degrees below.   A lot of work to keep that ice cream creamy and cold!

Memorabilia and collectibles on display at the Mayfield Tour

We left the Factory Tour ready to look around and, of course, sample the goods.  The Mayfield Gift Shop offers almost everything bovine you can think of like udder bowls and spoons and cow-shaped scoops.

An Udder Bowl and an Udder Spoon!

Cow Ice Cream Scoops

 And t-shirts with slogans like “Love at First Bite” and Mayfield branded items!

T-shirts from Mayfield’s Gift Shop

Tervis Tumblers with the Mayfield logo

The real treat, of course, is the ice cream. Young and old file into the dining area to order their favorites.

Cooling off with Mayfield’s ice cream

Outside, these big porch rockers don’t stay empty for long — lots of folks want that Southern experience — rockin’ on the porch with a cup of Mayfield’s ice cream!

Rockin’ on the porch!

So, have you guessed the best-selling flavors yet? Just look below this picture of Jordan Hope and Jillian Boreing for the answer.  They confirmed what I suspected.

Jordan and Jillian – great Mayfield scoopers!

The Most Popular flavors of Mayfield ice cream are (drum roll, please):

1st Place: Vanilla

2nd Place: Moose Tracks

3rd Place: Homemade Vanilla

Did you guess correctly?

Now, for those of you who haven’t had Moose Tracks, here’s how Jordan described it: Vanilla ice cream base with Denali fudge swirl and chunks of chocolate cups filled with peanut butter! Yum!  I had to order that one, for sure!

A cup of Moose Tracks makes my day!

If you’re thinking of going to Mayfield Dairy Farm to cool off OR take your relatives OR herd a group of cute kids through the process, go to the website to confirm this schedule:  Monday -Friday: 9 AM to 5 PM and Saturday: 9 AM to 2 PM. Closed on Sunday. Or call 1-800-MAYFIELD.

What’s to Like: Mayfield Dairy Farm

• Interesting tour of actual plant production (Red hairnets NOT optional.)
• Knowledgeable, patient tour guides with data points fully memorized
• Gifts galore — from yellow Mayfield souvenirs to cow-related must-haves
• Outdoor seating and cows (not real) to climb on
• Delicious ice cream, shakes, and other goodies served with a smile!

Mayfield Dairy Farm

4 Mayfield Lane

Athens, TN 37303

1-800-MAYFIELD

It’s a great place to cool off!

For more information, take a look at the Mayfield Dairy Farms Visitor Center page of Tennessee Vacations: http://www.tnvacation.com/vendors/mayfield_dairy_farms_visitor_center/

Mayfield Dairy Farm is a point of interest on the Tanasi Trail of Tennessee Highways and Byways.

Note: If you’re making a day of it with kids, you might consider going to Sweetwater Valley Farms (17988 West Lee Highway, Philadelphia, TN) to see a working farm and cheese production on the same day as your visit to Mayfield’s.  The two sites are approximately 25 miles apart. You’ll love ’em both!

Four other Cool Off 2012 blogs await you — hope you’ll take a look:  Original Freezo, Coolato Gelato, Bruster’s, and Razzleberry’s.  And there’ll be one more.  Or maybe two.  It’s a hot summer, after all.

Jacquelin and Cayla wait for me to make up my mind at Razzleberry’s.

Sometimes you just stumble onto good ice cream.  In a place you’ve never even heard of.  You see people licking drippy ice cream cones, and you’re hot, and you ask . . . Hey, where’d you get that? 

Hand-made sign for home-made ice cream

And that’s how I found Razzleberry’s Cafe & Market in Oak Ridge on the day of the Lavender Festival in Jackson Square.  As I passed by a booth selling cornshuck dolls, I saw a couple sitting on a bench feeding some ice cream to a child in a stroller.  It was only 10:30 in the morning!  And then I saw another couple walking around with big waffle cones spilling over with more ice cream.  And then some kids.  And well, you get the picture.  I figured if all these people were eating ice cream BEFORE lunch, I’d better check out the source. After all, it was getting pretty hot, and I just might need a cool treat, too!

One friendly shopper said, Just follow the square around — it’s on the corner.  You can’t miss it. He was right. 

A crowded day at Razzleberry’s

When I arrived at the big sign overhead, I saw where the owner himself, Waldek Kaczocha, had set up tables with breakfast foods, coffee, and the makin’s for lunch! 

Waldek Kaczocha, owner of Razzleberry’s in Oak Ridge

His wife Ilona saw me taking pictures, so she came out to talk.  So nice.  So chatty.  We’re originally from Poland, but we’ve been in this location about six years, selling ice cream. We sell a lot more stuff, too. I peeped inside. Sure ‘nough.  It’s a full-fledged, full-service restaurant selling sandwiches, plates of food, and cold, creamy desserts! 

Ilona then whispered to me, Our best seller is Polish kielbasa.  You should come for lunch! I told her I was on an ice cream mission, and she pointed with pride at the flavor of the day:  Lavender!

In honor of the Lavender Festival . . . a special treat

I meandered through the restaurant staring at pigs — hundreds of pigs!  Cartoon pigs, stuffed pigs, plastic and chalk and moveable-parts pigs!  The signature mascot of Razzleberry’s, I guess.

Pigs on the menu wall

 About 20 flavors of fresh cream ice cream stood ready in a case to my left.  One very nice server added, We make it with 14 percent fresh cream! Make the waffle cones, too! 

Pigs behind the ice cream case

One man was just leaving with his giant cone, looking quite pleased with his mid-morning snack!  Just plain ol’ vanilla.  I’m not very adventurous, I guess, he told me.

My favorite? Just plain ol’ Vanilla!

But I had to try Lavender ice cream.  After all, how often do you get this treat, if ever?  So I tried a free sample. I must say it’s a more pleasing taste than I anticipated — a little herby, I suppose, but also kind of citrusy in a way. It’s mild, not overpowering.  It blends well.

Special Today: Lavender Ice Cream!

I wanted a whole scoop until I spotted what makes my Wordsworthian heart “leap up”: Death by Chocolate ice cream.  If there’s one thing I can hardly resist, it’s deep, dark, almost bitter chocolate, and combined with 14% fresh cream — OMG! 

Ooooooohhhhh! Dark Chocolate!

So, there I was at 11:00 AM.  In one hand, a bundle of freshly harvested lavender purchased from the Farmers Market. In another — a cone of Death by Chocolate ice cream from Razzleberry’s Cafe & Market! 

Happy as a pig guarding waffle cones.

You’ve no doubt seen this saying on a plaque in a craft booth somewhere:  Life is short.  Eat dessert first.  And I agree.  Eating Razzleberry’s ice cream mid-morning is not a bad way to ease into the rest of the day!

I’m not saying Razzleberry’s is the absolute bestest anywhere, but for good quality, fresh ice cream, especially if you’re in the Oak Ridge area, you owe it to yourself to try Razzleberry’s.  It’s a great place to cool off, and you might even want to have lunch first!

What’s to Like: Razzleberry’s Cafe & Market

• All the websites that rate restaurants call it Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab, so I guess it has two identities.  Works for me. Check out Urbanspoon. Or Yelp.
• Not far from Knoxville — and the drive is easy!
• Great variety of food — some Southern, some Cajun, some Polish.  You may want to see what the Knoxville News Sentinel’s Grub Scout wrote when he dined there October, 2011!  Click here!
• Pleasant servers who aim to please
• Pigs, pigs, and more pigs
• Rich, creamy ice cream in homemade cones (or cups or sundaes or shakes)!
• Lots of flavors that change daily
• Friendly owners who make you feel special no matter what you order!

Razzleberry’s Cafe & Market

201 Jackson Square

Oak Ridge, TN 37830

865.481.0300

If you want to read my three other reviews of where to find the coolest treats to beat the heat, click on any of the ones below:

Cool Off 2012: Bruster’s

Cool Off 2012: Coolato Gelato

Cool Off 2012: Original Freezo

Leave me a comment — about any of the Cool Off places or your favorite!  Would love to hear from you!

Whitley loves the free Kiddie cone with sprinkles on top from Bruster’s!

It’s unusual that we visit chain restaurants or chain ice cream shops or chain anything — we love to see what’s local! We want to find out who owns a Mom-and-Pop establishment and what they serve and what’s unique.  But Bruster’s Real Ice Cream — one of the fastest growing ice cream chains in the country is an exception!

Bruce Reed opened the first Bruster’s Real Ice Cream (love the word real in the title) in Bridgewater, Pennsylvania, in 1989.  We stumbled upon Bruster’s on Cedar Bluff Road (West Knoxville) about three years ago.  From then on, we’ve rarely visited another place for order-at-the-window consume-on-spot ice cream!  It’s the richest, creamiest, homemade-tasting ice cream anywhere nearby.

Recently, another Bruster’s opened in Rocky Hill and another on Emory Road, making these red stores hard to pass up, especially in the summer heat! (Judging from the lines, we’re in good company.)

Bruster’s in Rocky Hill — Knoxville

Bruster’s familiar red and white awning

Well, it’s no wonder why we’ve joined the customer line. The cones and cups we order (2 scoops, 2 flavors!) are filled with generous portions of a very creamy, very tasty, almost sinful ice cream.  Bruster’s offers over 150 flavors, and each store makes 24 different flavors per day (Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry required) right there on site along with cakes, pies and crispy waffle cones!

Two little fans of Bruster’s all the way from Chicago!

Flavors they’ve got — some with rather intriguing names:  Deep Dish Apple Pie, Gone Bananas, Jamaican Me Crazy, Monkey Madness, Peanut Butter Brittle, Purple Dinosaur, Smores, and on and on and on!

If you want to sign up to receive an email or text when they concoct your favorite at a location near you, you can do so! Just click here to register your address.  (Check me off: I signed up to be notified if and when the Northshore store makes Almond Chocolate Coconut!)

A dad treating his son to Bruster’s, but note who’s holding the ice cream!

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream is a kid magnet.  Moms and Dads want to treat their kids, but we’ve noticed the grown-ups aren’t denying themselves, either.  Some even order more than the single cones — they go all the way by reserving cakes for special days: holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. 

Special treats for special days at Bruster’s!

Others ask for the free Kiddie cone for kids who are just so tall!

Free Kiddie cone if you’re no taller than 40 inches!

No matter if you’re old or young, you gotta try Bruster’s Real Ice Cream.  It’s especially good when it’s hot outside, and you need a cold, creamy treat.  But just about any time can be Bruster Time. When you go there, you’ll get your order served up with a smile! 

Alexis hands Bert a cup of Banana Chocolate Chip.

What’s to Like: Bruster’s Real Ice Cream

• Rich, creamy, homemade-tasting ice cream made on site
• 150 flavors — Get ’em to email or text you when your favorite flavor is in the store!
• Ice cream your way: Sundaes, Smoothies, Cakes, Pies, Blasts (Vanilla ice cream with candy mix-ins)
• More options: Yogurt, Sherbet, Ices, Sorbets, No Sugar Added-Fat Free
• Gift cards and promotions (See below.)
• Friendly service!

Go to the Bruster’s website to check out all the great promotions:

• Banana Thursday – Bring your own banana and only pay half for a banana split!
• PJ Day — Wear your pajamas on PJ Day! Reward: a free single-scoop waffle cone!
• Doggie Sundae — A free sundae for your canine companion
• Kid at Heart — Over 60? Sign up to get 25 cents off each purchase each visit!
• Quart Club — Buy 6 quarts of hand-packed ice cream, and get the seventh one free!

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream — Knoxville, Tennessee

• Cedar Bluff — 1043 Old Cedar Bluff Road
• Rocky Hill — 7670 South Northshore Drive
• Emory Road — 906 East Emory Road

Isabella is lovin’ her Pistachio & Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato

Ready for the second in a series of Cool Off 2012? We’re in Downtown Knoxville for another favorite place where lines can get long on hot days: Coolato Gelato.

OK.  So I said I would write about ice cream for this series, but if you just have one taste of gelato or sorbetto, you’ll be happy you did what your mom used to tell you to do:  Try something new!

Gelato is called “Italian ice cream” — a cold, frozen treat with less than 50% of the butter fat and half the calories of premium ice cream since it’s made with milk instead of heavy cream.

Outside seating on Gay Street — downtown

Coolato Gelato’s on Gay Street is in the newly renovated WROL building —  and the folks at Coolato make their refreshing gelato on site: 18-24 flavors each and every day!  Manager Cherryl Meuret says they start pouring the milk into gelato machines around 8:00 AM and then “keep her going” throughout the day, adding traditional products from Italy for flavor and texture.

Speaking of flavors, take a look at these tempting names: Banana Puddin’, Pear & Feta, Almond Joy, Mascarpone Caramel & Pistachio, Root Beer Float, Moonpie, Fleur de Sel, Chocolate Raspberry, and Ooey Gooey — just to name a few! You stand in front of a case filled with metal tubs holding colorful, enticing gelato and try to make a decision! Someone creative dresses up these mountains of good stuff just to make it even harder to select the one you want.  Take a look at these three beauties!

Birthday Cake Gelato

Peanut Butter & Jelly Gelato

Watermelon Sorbetto

Coolato’s has a Dog Friendly Patio! And here’s something fun: dogs get a free gelato when they bring their family!!! Dog Gelato is even on the menu!

This is one lucky dog: free Dog Gelato for bringing his owner!

Ordering can be tricky since there are so many choices, so many sizes. You can order gelato Piccolo, Mediano, or Grande (small, medium or large)! More choices await like Gelato Cake or Spaghetti Gelato — gelato “pasta” smothered with strawberry sauce and topped with coconut!

Abby takes your order with a smile!

Coolato Gelato is a ‘gelateria’ — sells gelato but also offers coffee, pastries, paninis, and other great treats . . . like sorbetto made with water and fresh fruit instead of milk. Still a cool-off treat, but lower in calories!

Inside or out, Coolato Gelato is a great place to gather!

If you’re thinking I’m so hot I’ll just dash into the store on Gay Street for a yummy gelato, you’d better hurry!  Lines get long on hot summer days. But workers are patient and accommodating.  Just ask for a little sample and ponder what you want this time.  You’ll be back for another time when you can try something new.

Take our word for it: you won’t want to miss out on one of downtown Knoxville’s coolest treats!

What’s to Like: Coolato Gelato

• Delicious gourmet flavors of cold, cold gelato served in cones or cups
• Free tasting samples on tiny plastic spoons!
• Live music on Friday nights
• Outdoor tables so you can watch the people go by
• Dog friendly patio
• Award-winning restaurant — and not just for gelato!

2011: Metro Pulse Knoxville’s Best Frozen Dessert

2010: TripAdvisor #1 Restaurant in Knoxville

2010: Official Italian Ice Cream for the Cooking Channel Truck Tour

<a href=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/68/1473082/restaurant/Downtown/Coolato-Gelato-Knoxville”><img alt=”Coolato Gelato on Urbanspoon” src=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1473082/minilink.gif” style=”border:none;padding:0px;width:130px;height:36px” /></a>

Coolato Gelato

524 South Gay Street

Knoxville, TN 37902

865.971.5449

Joy hands me a SMALL soft serve at Original Freezo on Central!

It’s June 20th!  Summer has officially begun, according to the calendar. But in some places (Knoxville included) it began when the first convertibles went topless, and we started sweating at the half mile mark! So to keep your cool this week, Bert and I are making the ultimate summer sacrifice by visiting favorite places for cold, creamy, yummy treats in and around K-ville!

First up — Original Freezo in Knoxville’s Happy Holler!

The Freezo on Central sells ice cream fantasies . . . and more!

We came here for nostalgia — after all, how many ice cream stands built in 1942 are still standing?  (Bert and I both grew up in Louisiana, and our dads pulled up the family station wagons to these bastions of cool treats, lined up at the window –a manly, fatherly thing to do, you know — and ordered cones, shakes, and banana splits for the fam. Great memories!)

Well, the new owner, Darrell Dalton makes sure you can still get these goodies all summer long!

Joy, the pretty-smile girl who made our day, told me they whip up soft serve right on site in their Electro Freeze machine!  (Does that name sound like something out of a Grade B science fiction movie, or what?!) Well, no matter.  You can order fancy, schmancy treats like hot fudge cake, brain freezers and pineapple sundaes, but just give me the pure delight! Oh, OK.  Dip it in chocolate if you like that hard shell coating on your frosty cone!

It’s just a fun, old-fashioned place — you can sit in the back of the parking lot at a picnic table or stay in your car! Doesn’t matter.  You’re coolin’ off and smilin’ the rest of the day!

And, by the way, if anyone knows the name of that little Freezo Guy on the side of the building, let us know!  He’s another reason we like lickin’ our soft serves and smilin’ back at the Original Freezo!

What’s to Like: Original Freezo

• Nostalgic old-fashioned drive-up ice cream stand
• Creamy, extra-tall swirls of soft serve in a cone
• Three flavors of dips for your soft serve: butterscotch, cherry, and chocolate
• Friendly service by happy people like Joy! (After all, it’s in Happy Holler!)
• No frills.  Just come as you are.  Order.  And lick fast to catch the drips!

 Original Freezo

1305 N. Central Street

Knoxville, TN

Like ’em on Facebook: Click here!

<a href=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/68/731083/restaurant/Old-North-Knoxville/Original-Freezo-Knoxville”><img alt=”Original Freezo on Urbanspoon” src=”http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/731083/minilink.gif” style=”border:none;padding:0px;width:130px;height:36px” /></a>

Check back in the next few days — we’ve got more favorites to share with you!

And we’d love to hear from you:  What’s YOUR favorite cold treat place???