Your Summertime Ice Cream Guide

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/06/2018 (2639 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Manitoba’s temperatures soar, there’s no better way to cool off than with a delicious frozen treat. Ice cream is the quintessential summer indulgence, bringing people together after a baseball game, on the way to the lake or simply a way to enjoy a warm summer evening.

Trending magazine scoured Western Manitoba for the best ice cream parlours, so take note and head out on the highway for your next road trip!

Mad Dog Ice Cream — Forrest

For more than two decades, Mad Dog Ice Cream has been a popular stop for travellers on Highway 10. The old Brandon city bus has been converted into a colourful ice cream shop.

It was previously located on the east side of the highway, but was moved when the now owner, Morgan Ahmed, purchased it four years ago. It is now located on the west side of the highway, just south of Forrest Elementary School. “It’s just a part of the community … we wanted to see it continue,” she said. Hard ice cream is a favourite, as well as milkshakes.

“We have Dairy Chef and Chapmans,” Ahmed said. “This year our Flurries are pretty popular.”

The Batchery — Brandon

Built from a 1977 Airstream van, The Batchery has a definite retro vibe. Trinda and Darren Collister completely modernized the interior with stainless steel and new appliances, and opened the food truck in 2015.

Since then, it’s been a popular spot to find top quality and unique flavours of ice cream — all made right on the truck.

“What I make today, I serve tomorrow,” Trinda said. “Super fresh. I know everything that goes into that ice cream, where as when you buy the stuff out of the freezers at the store, there’s stuff in there that you have no idea what it is.”

The Batchery often has classic flavours like chocolate and vanilla, but it’s Trinda’s creative combinations that tend to sell out quickly. Some flavours to look for this year include chocolate-covered pistachio gelato, and peanut butter pretzel ice cream.

“It sounds strange, but it’s very good,” she said. “I dream. I wake up in the middle of the night and say, ‘that sounds good!’ I also do requested flavours — if you have a flavour that you would find interesting, I’m willing to try it.”

The menu includes gelato, which is made with a lighter milk fat than ice cream; sorbetto, made with juices and fruits (no dairy), and they also started making dairy-free ice cream, lactose-free ice cream and gluten-free ice cream.

The Batchery is located off of 18th Street, in the parking lot of the Healthy Living Centre at Brandon University. They also attend special events throughout the summer, such as Music in the Park, Cruise Nights, Global Market and Canada Day at the Riverbank Discovery Centre.

Velvet Dip — Brandon

Owners Jackie Kamann-Oke and Sam Oke are proud to keep the Velvet Dip legacy alive. The ice cream shop at 820 Victoria Ave. opened in 1965, and has been in the Kamann family for the past 35 years. Jackie and Sam purchased the business from her father in 2005.

“It’s wonderful. It feels kind of special,” Jackie said. “It’s nice to just have it still going because so many people just know and remember it from when they were kids.”

Along with the nostalgia, Velvet Dip is best-known for its soft-serve ice cream, made from real cream. All their cakes and novelties are made in house.

The old saying, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” rings true here, as one of the best sellers continues to be a plain vanilla cone.

“People just love the vanilla ice cream, so it’s probably the No. 1 seller,” Jackie said, adding hot fudge sundaes, banana splits and parfaits are always popular choices.

“Your good old classics are still some of the big ones.”

To keep things interesting, the staff creates new, specialty sundaes with unique flavours. Recently they started offering the “Miss Piggy,” which features bacon.

“Bacon is such a trending item these days on donuts and everything else, so we have that incorporated into a sundae now too,” Jackie said. “It’s always fun just to try new things.”

Ice Cream Island — Virden

New owners Tiffany and Kent Cameron are thrilled with their new business venture, after moving back to Virden from Alberta.

“My husband is originally from Virden and we moved away for 10 years,” Tiffany said. “We owned a business in Alberta, and we sold everything… and moved back to Virden.”

When they saw Ice Cream Island up for sale, it was the perfect fit.

“It’s wonderful. We love it,” Tiffany said. “Great community support. It’s a fun business and great staff.”

The Camerons relocated the business to 272 King St. E and are now in their second season. One of the most popular items is the Flavorburst, which mixes in your favourite topping. There are more than 20 flavours of hard ice cream, but time and again, the soft ice cream takes the top spot.

“We hear over and over again … it’s good quality, always creamy,” Tiffany said. “So our soft ice cream is by far the biggest portion of our business.”

Dari Isle Drive-In — Minnedosa

Shannon Alexander always had a dream of owning her own restaurant, so when the historic Dari Isle Drive-In went up for sale 11 years ago, she jumped at the chance. The ice cream parlour opened back in 1965 and is located at the corner of Main Street and Sixth Avenue NE.

The seasonal business serves up all the classics, such as sundaes, floats, ice cream cones and banana splits.

“Our most popular would probably be the good old chocolate milkshake,” Alexander said.

A quote posted on the Dari Isle’s social media, sums it up best:

You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream and that is pretty much the same thing.

Busy B Drive-In — Boissevain

Busy B Drive-In is a well-known stop for travellers on their way to Lake Medigoshe and other southern Manitoba lakes.

Located at the corner of Highway 10 and Highway 348 in Boissevain, the seasonal ice cream parlour and restaurant is now in its 49th season.

After living in Winnipeg, Keri Sawatzky wanted to come back to Boissevain where she was born and raised. She purchased the business six years ago.

“We’ve had people stop and specifically say its the best ice cream they’ve had, which is always nice to hear,” she said.

Busy B offers sundaes, banana splits, twisters, as well as eight varieties of hard ice cream. A unique item to try is their coffee milkshake.

“It’s kind of like a latte flavour, not bitter but it’s not horribly sweet either. It’s just that nice coffee flavour,” Sawatzky said.

Busy B also makes homemade ice cream sandwiches and custom ice cream cakes.

The Beach Hut — Killarney

After retiring from their jobs in northern Manitoba 11 years ago, Dennis and Judy Pearce purchased The Beach Hut.

“That was our retirement plan,” Judy said. “We decided to just do this for the summer so we could go south for the winter… I love it.”

The popular restaurant and ice cream shop has been a part of the community since the 1950s, located a stone’s throw from Killarney Beach (44 Water St).

It may be the Pearce’s last season, as they have put the business up for sale.

“We’re getting ready to leave it because it’s just time, we’re getting on,” Judy said. “It’s a fun place to be.”

The hut offers 16 flavours of hard ice cream, as well as the soft ice cream favourites, such as cones, Twisters and sundaes.

Be sure to try the “Beachie,” which is a refreshing combination of slush and soft vanilla ice cream. If you get the orange option, it tastes just like a creamsicle.

The Boardwalk on Clear Lake — Wasagaming

If you can’t decide between soft and hard ice cream, The Boardwalk has the solution. The “Stellar” (named after longtime employee Stella), lets customers choose a scoop of their favourite hard ice cream flavour and it is topped with soft ice cream — the best of both worlds.

Owner Sandra Shwetz said quality is the top priority, sourcing from seven different creameries in Canada. They also have a Manitoba focus, including Prairie West Creamery and Dairy Chef.

“I’m a Manitoba girl, I did grow up here and so it’s important to me to put back into the community,” she said. “There’s lots of other independent businesses like mine that want to make a go of it. They’re Manitoba people and they’re happy to be here, so its great to support each other.”

The Boardwalk has been open for 65 years, and is in an ideal location at 138 Wasagaming Dr., across from Clear Lake Beach.

“As we’re scooping, the sun is setting just on the lake across from us,” she said. “We have rainbow-coloured chairs that sit right across the viewing line that face the lake.”

Shwetz grew up going to Clear Lake, and took over the operation 14 years ago.

“It is the best job in the world, but it’s also crazy and very busy,” she said.

Best sellers are chocolate chip cookie dough, along with peanut butter chocolate and the New York cherry cheesecake.