Surprise: For The Best Ice Cream, Hit Up A Garden Center For A Scoop (And Paddle)

You can feast on Scoop & Paddle ice cream in Clarksville

If food blogs exist for anything, it is to bang hard on a very local drum.  So let me say again that the best ice cream in Howard County is served at garden center in Clarksville.

If that surprises you, then you should check out Scoop & Paddle, which has set up weekend hours inside the River Hill Garden Center on Rte 108.  This is the best ice cream in Howard County.  It's absolutely worth you driving today for a mix of regular and seasonal flavors.

I might have grabbed the last gingerbread Saturday.  We added a seasonal peppermint stick and a classic salted caramel.

This is part of a "Surprise" series that I'm writing as I try to start blogging again.  Come back for more in the next few days.

We've been eating that caramel since Scoop & Paddle debuted last summer.  Back then, they were parking their customized VW bus in River Hill's parking lot.  They're still doing some standards like espresso chip and mint chip chocolate, but the seasonal choices have shifted from summer fruits to winter flavors like eggnog and cinnamon.

The ice cream is superb.  Creamy and rich.  But Scoop & Paddle really stands out because the flavors come through.  The winter flavors push spices.  Deep flavor, but not overpowering.  The eggnog and the gingerbread taste like those things -- except in a cold, creamy dessert.  It's pricey at $10.50 a pint, but I promise that I haven't had ice cream this exceptional anywhere nearby.  It's Capogiro quality, which is HowChow's highest standard.

The Scoop & Paddle cart sits inside River Hill in sight of the registers.  Along with pints, you can buy ice cream sandwiches.  I have two in our freezer -- chocolate cookies and peppermint ice cream.  (Shhhhh.  Don't tell Mrs. HowChow.  They're a surprise.)

Seriously, I miss summer so much.  Go to Scoop & Paddle to recapture some summer fun or to spice up your winter table.  Either way, it's a local taste worth trying.

To check on Scoop and Paddle's hours, I suggest you check on their Facebook page.  They say 12-3 pm today.  One warning: The hours change.  Mrs. HowChow has planned several trips only to realize that Scoop and Paddle closed early or shifted their location.  Chill out.  It's a little business working with teenagers.  The ice cream is worth some flexibility.