Spokane, WA

My husband and I are big fans of Cold Stone Creamery’s Birthday club- where you sign up on their website and get a coupon for a free ice cream treat on your birthday. My husband’s birthday was last week and his birthday coupon was about to expire so we decided to go redeem it before it was too late. The closest Cold Stone Creamery to us is located on 29th Ave between Freya and Regal on the South Hill (The address is 3011 E 29th Avenue).

Aside from having delicious ice cream and mix-ins, the experience you have at Cold Stone is just fun. All the ice cream (that they make in store) is displayed in a glass case and to the right and left of the ice cream case is all the mix-ins you can get, which include all sorts of candy, fruit, pie crusts, syrups, cookies- you name it, they probably have it! Their ice cream is incredibly creamy and very delicious- my favorite is the coffee flavor.

When it’s your turn to order you go up to the counter and tell them what size (small, medium and large equal out to “Like It”, “Love It” and “Gotta Have It”) what kind of ice cream and what mix ins you want. They have suggested “creations” that you can choose from as well if you can’t decide. Whoever is serving you will scoop your ice cream out with a flat looking spoon and place in a cold stone (thus the name) behind the counter. Then they will add your mix-ins and mix it all up on the stone for you to see. The finished creation normally goes in a paper bowl, but you can have it in a waffle cone, a waffle bowl or even a chocolate and candy dipped waffle bowl (for an extra charge). When you go to pay, you might want to leave a tip and see what happens. The employees are required to sing fun songs about Cold Stone Ice Cream (to tunes of songs you most likely know).

In addition to ice cream creations, Cold Stone also offers smoothies, sundaes, milkshakes, ice cream cakes and ice cream cartons to go. They also offer low fat/low calorie options like “Sinless Sans Fat” and different sorbet flavors. And while their ice cream isn’t the most economical choice considering their competitors, I would say that the cost of $4-$6 per creation is well worth the taste of it (and its great when it’s free!) They also have smaller portions for kids that cost less than a typical adult-sized creation.

Most Cold Stone Creamerys have an indoor and outdoor dining area. I tend to skip the indoor dining of the South Hill Store because the air conditioning is usually cranked pretty high (although my husband loves that). Plus it’s nice to eat outside on a nice summer evening.

The most common way to get to the freeway from this Cold Stone location is to go north on Freya, but we like to take the more scenic route and go east on 29th. As it winds along and eventually meets with Glenrose and then Carnahan, there are some very nice views along the way, especially when the clouds are making a nice pattern, as they were when we went. You can also head south on Regal St and then East on 57th St and that will take you on a longer scenic drive that will drop you off at the same place. This is a great drive to take to see deer, especially at dusk.

If you love ice cream, or sugar in general like I do, then you will love Cold Stone Creamery. There are many parks up on the South Hill so you can eat your ice cream and then go work off the calories, or you can just take a scenic drive like we did.