The Ice Creams of Ohio

I've written time and again about how I miss Ohio food and restaurants you simply can't find in New York.

As spring heats up and summer is right around the corner, at the top of that list is Ohio ice cream shops. Or, in Ohio, perhaps that should be "shoppes."

To my delight, my sweet tooth was satisfied with ice cream twice during our trip to Ohio last month, and in two very different ways.

First, Graeter's. This ice creamery was founded in Cincinnati more than 140 years ago and now has locations throughout southeast Ohio, Columbus, Louisville and Indiana. I was introduced to Graeter's shortly before starting at Ohio State and I soon fell in love with the black raspberry chip, with chocolate chunks nearly as big as my thumb.

There's a Grater's in Worthington, right at the farmer's market we attended that Saturday. So I was a bad girl and skipped all the homemade, surely organic treats and went straight to the food I've been craving for almost four years.

It was worth it.

Second, the Town Trolley. This small outpost is in the tiny town of Huntsville, an hour outside of Columbus just off Route 33. I think it sells Hershey's ice cream, and I tend to get black cherry, but the brand or flavor hardly matters. See, the Town Trolley is directly on the route between my parents' house and Paul's, and we would always stop at least once each time we'd visit Defiance in the spring and summer.

That's a tradition you just can't break.