Anyone who has experienced the salivating sensation of craving an ice cream cone can attest that the sugary, creamy treat is near-irresistible. It’s not just because our bodies and taste buds have evolved to crave sugar on a regular basis. When you break down the chemistry behind ice cream, it’s easy to see why. The delectable dessert was born of the perfect combination of sugar, fat, and air to light up the dopamine receptors in our brain.
There’s no question that sweet and savory flavors commingling on your palate make for a rewarding experience. As the sugar and fat melt on your tongue, feel-good chemicals get fired up in our brains. This is because high-fat, high-calorie foods, like ice cream, trigger the pleasure centers much like hard drugs or caffeine. Luckily for us, unadulterated pure sugar is readily available and legal. We don’t just get pleasure from the sweetened cream butter fat either. Nostalgic memories of how comforting eating ice cream was as a child give added depth to the experience. There are no better memories than those warm summer nights as a child licking a cone.
So how do we bring back that feeling of nostalgia from our childhood? We bring our kids, our grandkids, anybody we can to grab a scoop. Birthdays, anniversaries, or simply because we made it through the day — these are all valid excuses to consume this cold sweet reward. Unless your lactose tolerance says otherwise, ice cream is here to stay!
Jolly Cow
1620 Route 9W, Lake Katrine
Located on Route 9W in lake Katrine, Jolly Cow took home the gold in our recent Ulster Eateries Unfiltered monthly poll for best ice cream in Ulster County. They eked out Boice Bros. Dairy, another local legend, by only two votes. Be on the lookout for weekly rotating soft-serve flavors and seasonal specials to keep you coming back for something new. You can’t miss the iconic cow out front welcoming guests in for some utterly delicious delights. Serving top-notch soft-serve and hard flavors, Jolly Cow is more than an ice cream stand — it’s a treasured institution of our local community.
Boice Bros Dairy
62 Oneil Street, Kingston
Located in midtown Kingston, Boice’s has been a family-owned dairy since they founded their farm in 1914. They use their own milk to churn fresh, delicious homemade ice cream flavors. Ice cream doesn’t get fresher than this. Their sundaes and shakes are hard to beat, and the ice cream stand has an attached store for all your dairy pickup needs. Boice’s is part of the DNA of Ulster County. As long-time producers of the best our area’s farms have to offer, they are beloved on a level far above the average dessert-slinger.
Alleyway Ice Cream
135 Partition Street, Saugerties
Located in an actual alleyway in Saugerties, Alleyway Ice Cream specializes in unique, Asian-inspired hard ice cream flavors. With the highest butter fat possible, this creamy-rich hard ice cream is to die for. Regular standouts on their mouthwatering menu include Ube Heath bar Crunch and Thai Tea Cookies and Cream. The addition of new flavors like Key Lime Crunch keep regulars coming back for more. Alleyway always hand makes their small batch ice cream with explosive flavors your taste buds won’t soon forget. They also have a dynamite vegan Chocolate Sorbet. The location feels almost hidden, but you’ll be telling everyone you know about this place once you try it.
Fortunes Ice Cream
55 Broadway, Tivoli
Tivoli’s best kept secret is this unique ice cream establishment. Fortunes tends to be for the more adventurous aficionados, with exotic flavorings like rosewater pistachio or halva honeycomb. Food & Wine magazine recently ranked Fortunes Ice Cream best ice cream in New York State. Enjoy super-cute outdoor seating with flavors so audacious you’ll be coming back to expand and explore your palate.
Jason Bover runs the Ulster Eateries Unfilitered group on Facebook for thousands of local foodies, and works with local restaurants to attract more customers.
Join the family! 
