This Ice Cream Sandwich Deserves A Food Blog; What Is Coming To Clarksville Commons?

Ice cream sandwich from Scoop and Paddle

I mean, does anyone really need a food blog?

Probably not since the Internet left blogging behind five years ago.  But then folks built a spot in Clarksville where they're trying to offer personalized pizzas, gourmet ice cream, and maybe more, more, more.

And you think: People need to know they can eat well here in Howard County.

Then you think:  How much ice cream can the kid smear across his face while we're sitting on this bench?

But you're a veteran now.  You have handful of napkins, so things will work out okay.

Scoop & Paddle's current cart

Sigh.  Hope that you have had a good 18 months since January 2016.  Mrs. HowChow and I sleep again.  We're learning all about Lego and underwear and what happens when a four-year-old lays down a balance bike on asphalt.

And we're eating.  For summer, we are eating ice cream at the new Clarksville spot where folks are trying to create a food attraction.  Already open at the Clarksville Commons -- You Pizza, which I'll write about soon, and Scoop & Paddle -- the best ice cream that I know made in Howard County.

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.

Ice Cream Truck In The Western County -- Go Now For Handmade Cups And Sweet Sandwiches

Local ice cream at the Scoop & Paddle food truck

People often ask me where to find homemade ice cream in Howard County, and now I need to tell you to buy it on the road.

From a VW bus, that is.  From a new food truck working the western county selling cups and ice cream sandwiches filled with their own rich, creamy ice cream.

Mrs. HowChow saw the sign for Scoop & Paddle at their summer home, River Hill Garden Center in Clarksville.  It's a spectacularly outfitted VW bus where they offer about a dozen flavors from chocolates to fruits to an experimental "coffee and doughnuts."

Ice cream outdoors just tastes better.  It's an event to go for a drive.  It's more delicious to spoon ice cream while you're watching traffic and feeling the weather outside.

Scoop & Paddle does a high-end update on cafeteria ice cream.  The $3.50 cups are white paper circles with white paper tops.  You grab a wooden paddle to use as your spoon.  The ice cream inside goes way beyond a cafeteria.  They make their own ice cream, apparently with a bunch of seasonal fruits at the front of the menu.

Lil' Chow went chocolate.  He loves salted caramel that we buy at Harris Teeter, but he has ordered chocolate when we're out.  He squatted happily on the River Hill parking lot and shared his chocolate.  I thought it was excellent.  Deep flavor.  Creamy, rich ice cream.  Mrs. HowChow went "coffee and doughnuts."  Again, an excellent ice cream.  She could have taken even stronger coffee flavor, and we're already thinking about when we can go back to try a $5.50 ice cream sandwich with house-made ice cream between house-made cookies.

You need to go get try Scoop & Paddle this week.  Go tonight.  Go this weekend.  You're reading a Howard County food blog.  How could you not want local ice cream from a refit VW bus?  Go on a date.  Take your kids.  Do whatever you need to soak up an ice cream experience while the days are still warm enough to warrant a frozen dessert.

Since late July, Scoop & Paddle has been parking at the garden center on Thursday to Saturday evenings.  They're switching soon to a fall schedule, and you'll be able to catch them at the Western Regional Park in Cooksville or a few options in Clarksville, including at River Hill football games.

Find Scoop & Paddle's schedule on their Twitter page or Facebook page.  Clarksville is an easy run from Fulton, Columbia and most of the western county.

Ice cream is a rough business because winter comes for so much of our year.  Many people have asked for shops that make their own ice cream.  I recommend a bunch of great frozen experiences, but I think they mostly sell chain ice cream like Hershey's or Baltimore brands like Taharka Brothers at Scoop Ah Dee Doo in Ellicott City.  Does anyone else know someone selling local ice cream like Scoop & Paddle?

The only thing missing from Scoop & Paddle is a few chairs.  The cups, sandwiches and $10.50 pints lend themselves to carrying away, and leaning against a car works fine if you don't have a toddler  But a few chairs -- think cheap and modern -- could help create a little scene outside the bus.