The People’s Choice

Applegate Farm’s peanut butter fudge brownie ice cream was the winner of the “People’s Choice” award at the 2007 New Jersey State Ice Cream Festival held in Toms River on Saturday, July 21. This is Applegate’s third award from the festival, having won in both 2003 and 2004.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Applegate Farm, it’s the big red farmhouse on Grove St. in Upper Montclair. It’s an area staple for homemade ice cream and in recent years has branched out to a total of eight locations Jersey-wide. Their ice cream is also served in some local restaurants, such as Rick’s American Bar and Grill in Clifton.

Applegate Farm holds a special place in my heart having been there for me in both good times and bad. I hold special memories of eating ice cream and smoking cloves in the parking lot during high school. It is also the home of my very-favorite flavor, cherry vanilla, which one of my best friends brought to me last year as I laid in bed recovering from my tonsillectomy. It’s a smooth and creamy, perfectly balanced mix of flavors with whole black cherries in it.

Other recommended flavors are chocolate chip cookie dough (Such big chunks of dough!), maple walnut (Take home the container and try it on a brownie or a waffle.) and the low fat chocolate peanut butter cup (There are enough tasty tidbits of peanut butter cup in there to distract you from the fact that some of the fat is missing.) To be fair though, I must warn you, the mint chocolate chip, which is normally a favorite flavor of mine, tastes somewhat medicinal at Applegate’s. I guess not everyone is perfect.

Applegate’s also serves a variety of sorbets, sherbets, low-fat yogurts, Italian ices and assorted cakes and novelties.

If you’re a dieter, their website also lists nutritional facts for all of its flavors. That way you can plan your Weight Watchers points or similar before leaving the house. Or you could check after and then kick yourself for inhaling 13 grams of frozen fat (per half-cup serving of the peanut butter fudge brownie). But if you’re going to splurge, it might as well be on the “best.”

616 Grove Street
Upper Montclair, NJ
973-744-5900
http://www.applegatefarm.com/

— by Ali Hanford
Ali is managing editor and a co-founder of GoOutJersey and lives in Essex County. She has lived in NJ her whole life.

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