CMH Gourmand – Eating in Columbus & Ohio

Spring and summer inspire road trips on hot days. Here are three great ice cream shops within a one-hour drive of the capital city in case you need some fresh scenery and cold ice cream.

Tom’s Ice Cream Bowl
532 McIntire Avenue, Zanesville
740.452.5267
www.tomsicecreambowl.com
(Closed every Monday)

(70 E to the State Street Exit in Zanesville)

Tom’s is tucked away in a residential neighborhood. The staff is decked out in white hats, white aprons and black bow ties. The interior looks untouched since it opened at the current location in 1950. Tom’s feels like a Soda fountain from the past. Bill Sullivan bought the business from original owner Tom Mirgon in 1984. A portrait of Tom still watches over the business from a spot just above the soda counter. You can also get a good sandwich, Ben Heggy’s chocolates and Tom’s famous roasted redskin peanuts to go with your ice cream (which is often served in a big soup bowl). In 1998,Tom’s was listed as one of the nation’s 10 best ice cream spots in USA Today.

Velvet Ice Cream, Ye Olde Mill
11324 Mount Vernon Road, Utica
1.800.589.5000
www.velveticecream.com
(SR 62 N to SR 13)

Since 1817, several different mills have stood in the stone foundation of Ye Olde Mill. (One downside to the location, the Mill has a tendency to burn to the ground most recently in 1986 and 2004). The Mill has always served as a meeting place for friends and families in the area. The Dager family understands the importance of tradition; they have been making ice cream since 1914. Velvet chose the Mill to be the symbol of their company. You can see the mill on each container of Velvet makes. The Ye Olde Mill is open from May to October. Tours of the ice cream factory are from 11 AM to 3 PM. The Mill also serves as the hub for the annual Utica Old Fashioned Ice Cream Festival which is Memorial Day Weekend.

Young’s Jersey Dairy
6880 Springfield-Xenia Road, Yellow Springs
937.325.0629
www.youngsdairy.com

(I 70 W to SR 68 S)

Young’s is a family entertainment destination, which would have made P.T. Barnum a bit jealous. The cornucopia of attractions includes: a farm-themed eighteen hole miniature golf course, a driving range, batting cages, farm animal petting barn, a full service restaurant, bakery, gift shop, and a corn maze. However the biggest attraction is ice cream, sometimes more than 3000 gallons per week is served. Much of the ice cream ends up in the Moovelous Milkshakes that consist of two to five dips of rich French Vanilla. All of the standard flavors are available as well as some farm themed creations such as Cow Patty – chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and other goodies mixed in. Considering Young’s started as a 10 x 10 room for selling milk to the public in 1958 – no need to cry over spilt milk at Youngs…but a dropped scoop of ice cream – would be a very sad event.