Ice Cream at Shady Glen

Made in the Shady
360 Middle Tpke W, Manchester

sgb.jpgShady Glen makes four appearances on CTMQ. I think that may be the record… One for being one of Esquire Magazine’s Best Burgers in the world, one for their Unique and delicious fried cheese plate, one for their burgers (again) being one of Roadfood’s best burgers, and one for its ice cream being on that same Roadfood list.

I’m sure I’ll return to the restaurant in the future to try some more ice cream – especially their seasonal flavors, but for now, Damian’s experience will suffice.

After a quick and delicious lunch, and since he was being such a good little boy, Damian and I shared some of Shady Glen’s peach melba ice cream.

Peach melba is a classic old school desert which is simply peaches and raspberry sauce accompanying vanilla ice cream. Delicious. So why not combine the three into one peachy vanilla ice cream with rasberry ribbons woven throughout? Genius!

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Truthfully, like all of the Shady Glen menu, the ice cream didn’t knock my socks off. Oh sure, it was great and we licked up every last drop, but it wasn’t among the best I’ve ever had. But this was Shady Glen after all, and half the joy of eating there is the atmosphere: Dixie cups of water, menus on the wall, cooks in paper hats, waitresses scampering about in 1950′s uniforms… It is a pretty cool time machine to eat in, that’s for sure.

The Roadfood experience: (Two versions)

shady-glen.jpgMilk shakes are available in every flavor of ice cream made at Shady Glen — a huge repertoire that ranges from chocolate and vanilla to frozen pudding and grape-nuts ice cream and our personal favorite, chocolate Almond Joy ice cream. Fruit ice creams are made from fresh fruit from local and regional farms and available topped with a semi-sweet chocolate sauce that hardens as it hits the cold ice cream and turns into rich, fudgy chunks. In addition to the regular list of flavors, Shady Glen always has seasonal varieties, such as Christmas ice cream (with red and green cherries) and Thanksgiving ice cream (pumpkin-flavored).

Shady Glen may be best known for their unique cheeseburger (four slices of cheese that are fried on the griddle and arranged like huge flower petals over the patty), but it is, in fact, a dairy store where John & Bernice Rieg produce some of the finest ice cream in Connecticut. Malts, sundaes, banana splits, and cones abound, all containing rich ice cream that’s high in both butterfat and taste. The New England favorites Grape-nut and Frozen Pudding are divine, but multiple visits are required for seasonal favorites like Pumpkin and Licorice Chip.

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Shady Glen via

CTMQ Eats through Roadfood’s Best of List

4 responses to “Ice Cream at Shady Glen”

  1. kerri says:

    For those who can eat peanut butter without going into anaphylactic shock, I recommend the chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

  2. honeybunny says:

    Chocolate Almond Joy.!

    hb

  3. J says:

    Kerri, the fact that you specified that is incredibly endearing.

    People should always remember to go to the “real” Shady Glen, the original location on West Middle, and not the one in the Manchester Parkade. The food and ice cream are the same in the Parkade, but it’s just not the same atmosphere.

  4. Judith M. says:

    I grew up with Shady Glenn. My Mother was friends with the folks that started the business and I went to school with one of the children.

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