By BRAD HORTON ’15
Price: $ $
Paw Rating: Four Paws (Out of four)
With autumn approaching, it seemed fitting to pop in to Mitchell’s ice cream for a last taste of summer. Ice cream is one of those foods that everyone seems to enjoy, no matter how old.
You can pop into any number nationally-owned franchises (DQ, Baskin-Robbins, Cold Stone Creamery). McDonald’s sells something they call ice cream, although it’s only an artificial approximation of the classic desert. In northeast Ohio, the best place, in my opinion, to get the frozen delight is Mitchell’s Ice Cream.
Mitchell’s Ice Cream started in 1999 with brothers Pete and Mike Mitchell. The brothers had a dream of serving real, homemade ice cream to their fellow Clevelanders. They have searched world over for the ingredients that go into their ice cream and even developed a three-step process to give their ice cream unsurpassed creaminess. One taste of their creations and you know they succeeded. Mitchell’s currently has four locations: Rocky River, Westlake, Solon, and Beachwood. A seasonal operation also opened this year at Huntington Beach in Bay Village. Most exciting for Ignatians is that Mitchell’s is moving their headquarters and opening a parlor a few blocks away on West 25th Street in 2012.
Each of the parlors is clean and brightly colored, and he first thing you notice is the traintrack suspended from the ceiling and the train that travels around it, decorated in Mitchell’s logo. Then you see all the children coloring a picture or chasing each other around the place. They are all smiling, so you naturally smile as well. You wait in line for about five minutes, which is just enough time to decide what you want from their vast amount of delicious options.
The menu offers an extensive array of classic cones such as Rocky Road, Double Chocolate, and Cherry Vanilla. The more adventurous might want to try their special blends. When I stopped in the offerings were Chevre with Strawberries (that’s goat cheese, by the way) and Sea Salt and Caramel.
I opted for the Double Chocolate and wasn’t disappointed. You can fully taste the chocolate as if you were eating a chocolate bar instead of ice cream, and the chunks of fudge are so rich and smooth you can’t help but notice them. This is the way ice cream should taste.
If you want the best ice cream and a great atmosphere, look no further than Mitchell’s Ice Cream. And there’s no reason to limit your ice cream consumption to one season a year.
