Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in newark, NJ

Best Places to Get an Ice Cream Sundae

by Vanessa Druckman

March 24, 2009

Ice cream is my guilty pleasure, nothing can fix a bad day for me better than a little bowl (sometimes even a big bowl) of coffee heath bar crunch ice cream doused with hot fudge. When my oldest was a baby, she hated ice cream. She found the coldness offensive, disturbing and vile. Then when she was two and a half, she agreed to try it again and suddenly understood the appeal. Her chubby little face got animated with delight as she shoveled in the bowl of vanilla ice cream with gusto.

She's never looked back and her brother and sister took to ice cream immediately. Vanilla is still a big favorite, but they've broadened their horizons to include chocolate and even cookie dough in their repertoire. We've been exploring local places to get ice cream and are happy to share our favorites with Savvy Source readers.

Maggie Moo's in Ridgewood is our ultimate favorite destination.  They make all their ice cream on the premises and the kids can pick their mix-ins. They have flavors adults will love like dark chocolate, but also fun poop-altering flavors like blue bubble gum and yellow marshmallow. My children's concoction of choice is marshmallow ice cream with mini marshmallows mixed in and rainbow sprinkles on top.

For truly homemade ice cream, Bergen County families have been heading to Van Dyke's for decades at 145 Van Dyke St in Ridgewood. Uncommon Grounds in Allendale now offers a range of their flavors for consumption as well. They are cheaper than some of the chains and offer big sizes. Sprinkles are free, a boon in this economy.

Ben and Jerry's doesn't feel like a chain experience with their fun posters and young scoopers. I love that they have flavors like chocolate therapy (chocolate pudding swirls in chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookies) that they don't carry in stores. My kids love the cones and the excitement of running around outside in the evening air at the Ridgewood location.

This last entry is the only non-Ridgewood ice cream hot spot in this post. For some reason, Ridgewood seems to be a popular ice cream destination. City Creamery in Hawthorne has the best gelato I've ever had outside of Italy. It is made fresh daily on the premises and is absolutely amazing. Their flavors vary but I recently spotted vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and cookies and cream. City Creamery also offers popular cooking classes for children and adults.

I'm sure I've left out countless other great ice cream destinations.... feel free to leave some more in the comments of this post!