Cows Ice Cream

Cows is an institution. You'll find it around PEI, as well as at the waterfront in Halifax. Each store has a copy of a list boasting that its ice cream is the world's best- and this is hard to argue with. Cows offers a variety of delicious flavours, which can all be served in delicious, freshly made waffle cones, or as an equally satisfying milkshake. The prices are extremely reasonable: just under 4 dollars (plus tax) for a single scoop, and around five for a shake, putting the prices in the same league as many cheaper ice cream shops, while the quality can go head to head with the best of the best international chains. Many of the flavours are also specially unique to Cows, including several which make use of PEI-grown apples or berries. The charm of Cows extends beyond the food itself- the entire place is full of cow-pun-themed merchandise, from the names of some flavours (including my favourite, Messy Bessie), to a line of t-shirts, mugs, and other souvenirs sporting pop-culture cow-puns. In PEI, at least (I haven't been in Halifax in a few years), you'll also find chocolate-covered potato chips (very good!) and merchandise from Anne of Green Gables chocolates (fans of the books will probably want to give the Raspberry Cordials a try). There's also a location in PEI where you can go on a tour of the factory- I personally haven't tried this, but it looks like a fun family outing. This is easily a favourite of mine- I'm certain I've never had better ice cream in my life. Uodate: I've recently been back to a different location of Cows, and wanted to add a little note regarding the Factory Shops location. I visited this location in the middle of a week day- not a particularly busy time. And yet, to me it seemed that the staff weren't experienced enough to handle the two or three groups in line: they outright skipped the people behind me, and didn't really react when I let them know that. They also seemed generally disorganized, running here and there without letting us know why we were being served (although they did occasionally apologize on return). This bugged me- Cows is an institution, and this location, right on the side of the Trans Canada, catches a lot of tourists' eyes. Yet, I don't feel it offers the best service- rather, the staff were inattentive and seemed overwhelmed by three or four groups. I also disliked very much that the merchandise which takes up the bulk of the store can't be paid for at the same time as ice cream: this seems like bad business sense to me, since as a customer I chose not to have to wait in a second line and use debit again for a small purchase. These comments, however, don't apply to the other locations, where I've found the staff very helpful indeed!