Kimball's Ice Cream at Bates Farm, Carlisle: Review

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I couldn’t understand why the editor of the Lincoln (MA) Review,  would ask members of my writers group for pieces on our favorite ice cream shops…Doesn’t everyone already know that Kimball’s at Bate’s Farm  (343 Bedford Rd, Route 225), in Carlisle  is the best place in the world to go for ice cream?

I live in Cambridge—walking distance from Steve’s,  Herrells, Lizzie’s, Toscanini’s, Emack and Boglio, Berry Line and the now defunct Bailey’s, in Harvard Square.  

But none of those can compete with Kimball’s/Bates Farm for ambience, flavors, serving size or price.

 At Bates, it’s  fun to see the kids and the farm animals, teenagers on dates –apologies for the non-sequitor–but last Spring, my friend Lisa and I were amused to watch kids watching sheep who appeared to be on dates)– and to join folks and families sitting outside at outdoor picnic tables.

But, mostly, the ice cream itself is, simply, great.  More flavors than I can list here. I’ve forsaken coffee heath bar crunch for a new best friend :  mocha almond assault—but for the ostensibly health conscious, there are  sherbet, sorbet or  frozen yogurts like peanut butter fudge swirl and black raspberry chocolate chip.

The portions are huge (another reviewer says the “baby” cone is actually the size of a baby)—and, while Kimball’s/Bates prices gone up considerably in the last few years,  compared with Cambridge,  the prices are right ( $3.25 for baby, $3.60 for small, $3.95 for large).

 I can’t vouch for the other Kimballs –there’s one on Route 14 in Jaffery, NH, and another  at 400 Littleton Rd, in Westford (the latter has a seafood restaurant, miniature golf, a driving range and a bumper boat pond)—but all serve the same delicious, cold, rich, creamy stuff.  

Best of all, for me, the Kimball’s experience is wonderfully dietetic. With Bates Farm, the closest, almost 20 miles from my home, I can’t get there often. And because what they offer is so good, I no longer bother going anyplace else.  

——–Anita Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.   HarrisCom also publishes HarriscomBlog, at http://blog.harriscom.com. A version of this writeup appeared in the Lincoln Review.



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