Look very, very close…

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Can you see it? Look very close. I thought it was dust on the lens but once I put it on the “Big screen” of the computer I saw a row-boat! It’ so tiny that I didn’t even see it when I was taking the picture. I could have enlarged it for you but I just want to see how many followers can find it in the original photo.. 🙂

Voted # 1 in New England

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Speaking of Ice Cream, I turned on the news the other morning to hear that an establishment in Taunton, Ma (where I live) was voted #1 for Ice Cream in New England. Now that’s really cool! Someplace in my own town won out and it’s a category I love…Ice Cream. I have got to check this out!

How could I have lived in this town for 6 years and not know where this place is? According to NECN , Frates at 1423 Somerset Ave, Taunton is #1.

So the first time I went looking it was raining but I found out right away why I’d never noticed it before. It’s on RT 138 going south but I am usually going north so I turn the opposite way about a mile before I would have reached it.

I was pleased to see that it isn’t just ice cream. They have all kinds of food; hamburgers, fish and chips, fried clams, fish sandwiches and more. And, oh yes they have ice cream. Tons of ice cream, hard and soft, blizzards, sundaes, floats. Amazing!

I tried the Fish sandwich. Sooo good and polished my meal off with a small soft serve cone with “mix in’s”. Remember the days when there might be 28 flavors of hard  ice cream but only vanilla, chocolate or a “twist” for soft serve? Well that sure has changed.

Ok, so my 2nd visit to Frates was on a sunny day. The picnic tables on the patio were open and there was a steady stream of cars in and out of the parking lot.

This time I had the fish and chips. Excellent choice. Once again I finished up with a small soft serve cone. This time with Oreo cookies mixed in.

Since this is less than a mile from my home I can see it becoming an addiction. The whole atmosphere is good.

 The folks are really nice and friendly and I love the decor..cows…along with the rockin’ oldies they have playing. I was tapping my foot and trying to sing along between bites.

Although they are “seasonal” their season runs from March to late Oct or beginning of November…that’s  seasonal plus. 🙂

Summer Treats

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I love summer. I love the sunshine. I love the heat. I love going to the seashore and the smell of sea breezes. But one thing I really love is all the ice cream stands that open up Memorial Day!

I guess people don’t eat enough ice cream in the winter to support all the different ice cream locations as so many of them close once the kids go back to school and the snow begins to fly.

I also love success stories. Last summer there was a little ice cream shop in one of the strip malls along RT 44 in Taunton. I’d stopped in a couple of times but there was never any line out the door or crowd so I wasn’t sure how their business was doing and of course, I wasn’t going to ask. That would be rude!

Recently I was at that mall again and the store front was empty. I wondered about it  and felt sad that another small business had bitten the dust in these uncertain economic times. Then Saturday was the BIG VOTE in Taunton. The vote is a yes/no non-binding referendum for a Casino so as I was tooling down RT 44 to my polling place to cast my vote I spotted a new ice cream stand.

Was this the same business from the little mall? Was it possible that it hadn’t closed but instead had enough success to move to this location? Looks to me like a prime spot with lots of visibility. The location also has a parking lot so folks looking for a tasty frozen treat can pull right in!

I went back today for a small soft serve and asked if this was the same ice cream shop. It is! I am so happy for them. I am thrilled to hear of a success story instead of the sad story I first thought.

I picked up their menu…WOW 24 flavors of Soft Serve and yes they have vanilla 🙂

There are toppings and hard ice cream too. Don’t want a cone? Have a dish or a sundae and wash it all down with Del’s lemonade.

This is not a paid advertisement. I’m just excited for a local business. I didn’t even tell them I was going to write about them. But stop by Tom & Jimmy’s, 337 Winthrop St, Taunton and have a cone and if you think of it, tell them you heard about them at aroundustyroads! 🙂