Peaceful Meadows - Best Ice Cream Southeast of Boston

Peaceful Meadows began as a dairy farm in the early 1920s. Milk, cream and other dairy products were produced and processed on their farm. In 1962, they started making the all-American favorite - rich, creamy ice cream made with only the finest quality ingredients. The business began in their Whitman location and has expanded over the years to 2 shops in Plymouth and one (thankfully) in Middleboro, just a few miles from my Mom's house.

I have been going to Peaceful Meadows for as long as I can remember. When someone at my mother's house mentions ice cream, we all perk up, make eye contact and the next thing you know we are all putting our jackets on and heading to the car to go get our fix.

Peaceful Meadows remains one of those ice cream shops from days gone by. You line up at the sliding glass windows, linger over the long list of flavors, place your order and snag your napkins from the dispenser in anticipation of your desired flavor. There are a couple of benches outside but most folks end up lapping up their ice cream while sitting in their cars, SUVs and oh yes, even pick-up trucks. Ice cream has mass appeal unlike anything I've ever seen. Young. Old. In Between. Beachgoers. Fishermen. Families. I've often thought that the United States should air lift ice cream to countries around the world to try and improve world peace because, let's face it, who doesn't love ice cream.

We all have our own favorite flavors. I'm a huge advocate for the Coconut Chocolate Almond - creamy coconut ice cream with chocolate covered almonds. My only complaint is that they used to put whole chocolate covered almonds in the ice cream and now they're chopped up into little bits. But one of their employees informed me that they still have them whole as a separate topping so I may change my strategy next time I go and just get them as a topping. My Mom and my brother Dick love the Maple Walnut which has New England written all over it. Very intense maple flavor with big walnut chunks mixed in. My niece Kirby, an ice cream connoisseur, prefers the Orange Pineapple while Dutch Chocolate Almond is a winner with my brother-in-law Norman. They also feature a variety of wonderful seasonal flavors like Peach (my sister Carol's fav), Ginger (my brother Jim's pick) and Eggnog (my sister Donna's Christmas craving).

As you can see, this place is not a one-hit wonder ice cream shop. And yes, even in the dead of winter, there are plenty of other folks at Peaceful Meadows besides us. It's a mecca for ice cream lovers in the area.

Peaceful Meadows also makes ice cream cakes, fountain drinks like Lime Rickeys and Sherbet Freezes, and about 10 different kinds of sundaes. I highly recommend the Hot Apple Sundae with spicy apple topping smothering a scoop of vanilla ice cream and topped with whipped cream and nuts. Another all-American classic.

If you're looking for a nice day trip out of Beantown, consider including Peaceful Meadows in your itinerary. It's a small detour on your way to the Cape and well worth the mile or two off track.

www.peacefulmeadows.com

Locations:
Whitman (the original location)
(open read round)
Route 18 in Whitman, MA (just north of the East Bridgewater town line)
781.447.3889

Middleboro
(open year round - thank God)
2 miles south of the rotary on Route 28 in Middleboro, MA
508-947-1322

Plymouth (2 locations):
Village Landing
170 Water Street, Plymouth, MA
(open year round)
508.746.2362

Waterfront
115 Water Street, Plymouth, MA
(open March thru November)