How Ya Like Your Ice Cream?

OK, I was at my in-laws recently and was appalled when I saw that they were setting the ice cream out on the counter long before we were going to have dessert. I said nothing but thought to myself, 'What on earth are they doing, the ice cream will be ruined?' I then mentioned it to my step-mother-in-law (she and my father-in-law are my favorites in my husbands family). She said she likes to do that too. She'll even go so far as to stick hers in the microwave for a bit to get it all soupy/sloshy melty. Yuck! I could not believe it. I am a huge food texture person. I really hate when I get ice cream that's melty. I recently tried Culvers frozen custard and could not stand it cause it was melty and drippy within seconds of receiving it. I LOVE hard ice cream. Hard enough that I have to chew it even if it does not have chunks in it, but not too hard where the ice cream is out of deep freeze and you can hardly scoop it or taste the flavor. I am also a fan of totally real full fat ice cream. Don't give me that low fat crap. If I'm gonna have me some ice cream it's gotta be the real thing, otherwise I'll pass. We have a dairy in Chicagoland called Oberweis Dairy. They have little ice cream shops throughout the burbs (maybe 10?). They also have dairy items available for sale like fresh milk, butter, etc. They have maybe 20 flavors of ice cream. They are all very good, but when it comes to ice cream I am very much a "Plain Jane." I tend to like a more plain ice cream with a touch of something. My favorite is still chocolate chip after all these years but Oberweis chocolate chip is my favorite. If an ice cream is loaded with stuff I'll like it but can only eat a small amount before I get overload. If I ever get crazy and order some sundae with junk all over it, I always regret it after a few spoonfuls. It's just too much for me. I will get soft serve from inferior ice cream places on occasion but I don't enjoy it as much as real ice cream from Oberweis. Most grocery store ice cream is OK but often overly sweetened and lacking in density. Haagen Daz is good. I would rather have a scoop of vanilla with my birthday cake, definitely not ice cream with a bunch of stuff in it. I would tend to buy a quart of really good vanilla from the dairy and throw some fresh strawberries on it or possibly drizzle some chocolate syrup on it. Can't stand if I go to my MIL's she usually has LF ice cream loaded with fudge swirls and chunks of some sort to have along side some type of bundt cake that she's made. I think it's overkill, but that's me. The ice cream should not upstage a fabulous dessert, it should accentuate or compliment. Once in awhile I will order cinnamon ice cream or even pumpkin ice cream that is offered seasonally at the dairy. It is really good. I usually get this in their homemade waffle cone. They are so good. If you ever go inside to have your ice cream the whole place smells like intense vanilla cookies from the waffle cones being made. YUMM! My husband is not so hard to please. He will happily go to Dairy Queen and order a Blizzard with M&M's or Snickers that is made with chocolate soft serve rather than vanilla. He will also order a very delicious brownie sundae from Oberweis They are out of this world. Everything real! Real whipped cream on top, a warm brownie on the bottom, butter roasted pecans on top and drizzled with real hot fudge. Then he ruins it by getting butter pecan ice cream rather than their fabulous vanilla. I think there is so much going on in a brownie sundae that vanilla ice cream is the best flavor option.

So tell me what you like. What flavor(s)? What is your absolute favorite? Do you like soft serve or traditional ice cream? Do you like it cold and firm or melty and soupy? Tell me/us all about it. In a cone or in a cup? A sundae? What along side a piece of birthday cake? On top of pie? I'm curious. This is the season for the cold stuff. Ever make your own? Does the ice cream in your town stink?