Update Review - June 2024
Oh King Kone. I've reviewed it so many times that it doesn't need an introduction, but I'll leave you with just this: it is still the best basic soft serve I've ever had. They may not have innovative flavors like ube, pandan, or croissant butter, they may not have unique toppings, fresh fruit, or house made sauces, and they may only have standard Joy cones, but ... the source the best dairy around for the base, they have excellent machines and clearly keep them well calibrated, and they make their flavors with real ingredients, not just syrups. The result is a consistently high quality product, that still surprises me every time I visit. <3 King Kone.
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| Vanilla w/ Crunch Coat. Baby. |
Vanilla. Cone. Crunch coat. This is simplicity done really, really well.
I still think King Kone makes the best vanilla soft serve I've ever had. It is so rich, so creamy, so actually vanilla flavored, great sweetness level. It melts perfectly. The crunch coat added texture and flavor, and really, this cone made me very happy, even though it was just vanilla. A+ King Kone, don't ever change. *****.
Baby is perfect size for me for a regular day as part of balanced normal eating (if I had a lighter lunch than usual, or it was snack time in the afternoon, I'd go bigger).
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| Vanilla / Lime / Coconut. Large. |
This was my first time ever getting something bigger than a baby/kiddie/small. I've seen others accidentally get a medium not knowing what they were in for, and I've seen pictures on social media of people with medium and large, but, this was my first experience in real life. And, it was mine. All mine. A King Kone large. Epic.
When I ordered, the server said, "Uh, do you know how big our large is? I need to warn you its probably a lot more than you are expecting ...". I smiled, said I knew, and inside was saying "Bring it King Kone, bring it!"
The vessel used for the large is, well, comical. It definitely isn't something intended for ice cream, not even giant banana sundae boats. Its a vat. And, yup, it was loaded up. I think this was at least a gallon of ice cream? Oh yes.
Of course, I wasn't intending to eat it right then (I already had the other cone after all!), this was for stashing into my vacuum mugs and packing into the coolers waiting filled with ice packs to bring to my parent's house 1.5 hours away. My mother had similar mugs and her own cooler with ice waiting as well. We are professionals at our King Kone outing by now.
All of the ice cream was classic King Kone: so rich, so creamy, melts so nice, sweet but not cloying, intense flavors. They really just make considerably better soft serve than anywhere around.
The lime I've had before, and I liked it again. It is a very intense flavor though, sweet and tangy, and very, well, lime-y. You definitely need to be in the mood for lime to enjoy it. ****.
The coconut I sampled once a few years ago, but it was after a week when I'd had a bunch of coconut desserts, and just wasn't feeling it then. This time, I was in the mood for it, no question. Fairly strong coconut flavor, a more versatile flavor than the lime. I'll gladly get this again. I used it on top of warm bread pudding and it was a fantastic compliment. ****.
Vanilla was the same as in my cone, simple perfection. The best vanilla soft serve there is. *****.
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| Crunch Coat / Chocolate Sprinkles. |
To go with my take home ice cream, I also got toppings. They provided me with substantial portions, to go with my substantial portion of ice cream!
The crunch coat has changed a few times in the past few years as the original supplier they had for many years went out of business during the pandemic, so I was interested to try the new one. This one was good. Great sweetness level, great peanut bits. No qualms with this vendor. ****.
The chocolate sprinkles (or, "jimmies"), were fairly average, nothing special about them, but just fine, not too waxy. ***+.
Update Review - July 2023
Another year, another visit to my parent's house in New Hampshire, another drive from Boston to their house, and definitely another visit to the best soft serve place in the United States (I'd say the best ever, but, that slot is reserved for soft serve in Japan). Our visit was at 4pm on a rainy, cool day, but since this was literally my only chance to get King Kone (they live 1.5 hours away), so we stopped, regardless.
The flavors of the day were: vanilla, chocolate, maple, coffee, black raspberry, and lime (which were available as swirls with chocolate-vanilla, maple-coffee, and black raspberry-lime). Only the lime was new to me, and I sampled that, and the black raspberry, before proceeding. Spoiler: it was all great!
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| Baby Maple Latte (maple and coffee swirl). |
Since I've had both before in the past, and King Kone has never let me down with tried and true flavors, I got the "maple latte", e.g. maple and coffee swirled, without trying either as a sample on this visit. Normally I'd call that a rookie move, but, King Kone is just so reliable, that I had no fear. I added chocolate sprinkles, because I like the chocolate and coffee combo.
It was not particularly warm out, and was raining, and definitely not "ice cream weather" in my head (plus, I'd already had
VERY rich peanut butter Fluffernutter pie after lunch from Rosebud just 2 hours prior), so I wasn't actually wanting ice cream at all, and I just got the smallest size, the "baby" (which is smaller than the kiddie, which in turn is smaller than the small, etc). This size is a pretty reasonable cone, what places in San Francisco would call a small (and charge 3x the price).
The cone itself was a slight letdown, a standard Joy cone, but it tasted a bit stale. They lose a bit of a point for that. But the ice cream was fabulous as always. The consistency really just is better than anywhere else. So creamy, rich in the right ways. Maple and coffee both combined together well, but I did feel both were a bit more muted from times past, neither flavor as strong as I remembered, and since swirled, you kinda missed out on a more pronounced flavor from either. Certainly good, far above average, but not quite as amazing as King Kone can be. ****.
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| Kiddie, Chocolate & Maple. |
To take home, my mom got the next size up from the baby, the kiddie, with maple and chocolate, side by side (since they weren't on the same machine, they can't be swirled).
As always, we laughed at the "kiddie" size. She tried to fit it into a large cooler mug, but only about half of it fit, which I had warned her. "Oh well, I'll just need to eat it now!", was her response, with a grin.
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| Sampler: Black Raspberry, Lime, Vanilla, Maple. |
As always, I got a sampler to take home, I had ice cream freezer mugs, and a cooler, ready to go. King Kone always carries 6 flavors, and a sampler can handle 4. It was nearly impossible for me to narrow down to just 4. I truly would have liked all 6, but, I ruled out the chocolate as it is my least favorite ice cream flavor in general, and eventually I ruled out the coffee, because I had just enjoyed a cone of it, and I don't normally have any caffeine in the afternoon, which meant I'd need to uh, eat it for breakfast.
The vanilla continues to be the best vanilla soft serve I've ever had. So creamy, and rich, but it doesn't leave your mouth with an odd coating. Not particularly novel flavor, but, premium ice cream, served from a well calibrated machine. Simple perfection. ****+.
The maple was more muted than in times past, but was lightly sweet, lightly mapley, and of course, just their fantastic consistency. There are stronger maple creamies out there, but, this one is good for its subtleness, and I always think it pairs great with coffee cake or cinnamon rolls. ****.
Lime was a new one for me to try, and really fascinating. I would never think of getting lime soft serve, truly had no idea what to expect, but, after trying a sample of it, I wanted more. The flavor wasn't in-your-face, it wasn't super tangy, but it was like just a hint of lime essence. Like getting a sparkling water with lime garnish/squeeze. Somewhat refreshing. I had no idea what I'd pair it with (normally I use ice cream as a pairing with a dessert base), but the server mentioned that it was great with cherry coat, and I can definitely see that, like cherry 7-Up. I bet it would be great with a cherry slushie float too. Super interesting, and, it turned out, a nice pairing with blackberry pie (later at home). ****.
The black raspberry I've had before, and always found good, but, not incredible. I grew up with black raspberry soft serve as *the* standard flavor (which I always thought was normal, but must be a local thing!). This current version was about what I remembered: definitely good, nice berry flavor, but not quite as strong as other brands (the use syrups rather than real fruit). But perfect consistency. ***+.
Overall, all very good ice creams, the lime was probably my favorite for uniqueness, the maple for enjoyment, the vanilla for simple perfection.
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| Side of Crunch Coat: New Recipe. |
King Kone has always carried my absolute favorite crunch coat. I always stock up when I'm there. But this year, supply chain issues, yadda, yadda, and they were trying a new brand. I still got a side to go, and was given quite a generous portion!
The verdict? The new one is crunchier (so, true to the "crunch" coat part of the name), and considerably more peanut forward (the other one was just vaguely peanut flavored), and the sprinkles are more fake/waxy flavored (more generic). I could see why people would like this version for the texture, and it tastes more like generic hot fudge sundae peanut bit topping, but I certainly preferred the old one. ***.
Update Review - July 2022
Another visit to my family in NH, another mandatory stop at King Kone, the place I had previously, repeatedly, declared the best soft serve I've ever had. During our visit this time, the line up was:
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Vanilla-Chocolate Twist
- Orange
- Creamsicle - Orange & Vanilla Twist
- Caramel
- Coffee
- Caramel Latte - Caramel & Coffee twist.
I wasn't particularly excited about these flavors. I don't generally go for orange flavor desserts, and the coffee I've had before, and it is fine, but not generally a flavor I opt for (because of caffeine, mostly). Caramel was a brand new flavor for King Kone, literally the first time they had offered it. I worried it would be too sweet. I wanted my favorites! Peanut butter! Mint! So many great other flavors. But alas, this was our line-up.
I asked to sample the orange and caramel, rather assuming I'd wind up with vanilla (which, don't get me wrong, is not a bad thing, it is, hands down, the best vanilla soft serve there is). My mom arrived planning to get the Creamsicle, as she does love citrus flavors, and she made comments about being sad about the caramel option as it would be too sweet, and she doesn't drink coffee, so, that wasn't high on her priority list either. I took a bite of the caramel though, and was really impressed. I told her she should try it, and, guess what? She totally swapped her order, no Creamsicle, instead she opted for the Caramel Latte, and raved about it. I need to learn to just trust King Kone!
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| Sampler: Vanilla, Creamsicle (Orange + Vanilla Swirl), Coffee, Caramel. |
I know exactly what to do at King Kone now. Get a Sampler (not on the menu, but the same price as a small, you get 4 flavors). Get a cone and crunch coat on the side. Make a reasonable sized cone to eat then, take the rest home. Win-win-win. I'll continue to do this. I liked all my choices.
Vanilla: I've reviewed this many times, but, same review as always. Just the best vanilla soft serve I've ever had. Creamy, not too sweet, delicious. Goes great with crunch coat, one you can enjoy alone, or as a "a la mode" for any dessert. *****.
Coffee: I've also had this before, and although I don't tend to go for coffee ice cream, this is a good one. Not too bitter, definitely not sweet, and again, perfect texture and creaminess. My mother loved it swirled with the caramel to balance it out. ****.
Caramel: What a surprise! This was sweet, but not too sweet, not cloying, it almost tasted like maple. A really complex, legit caramel flavor. Very good. I think I liked it even more than the maple. ****+.
Creamsicle: I tried the orange plain, and found it pretty sweet, and, well, pretty orange-y. I wanted a 4th flavor though, so I did it swirled with vanilla to mellow it out, which worked well. I'd need to be in the mood for this, but, it definitely worked. ***.
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| Caramel & Coffee. Small. |
As we were leaving, my Mom decided she wanted more to take home. She wanted to do another Caramel Latte, but I asked her to do it side-by-side, so that I could steal some of the caramel later, and not have the caffeine. Unlike me with my elaborate get-a-sample-eat-part-save-part, ter preference is to get a kiddie to enjoy there, and a small to take home.
Update Review - August 2021
The day I arrived in Boston, it was in the 90s. I spent two days in Boston, temps in the 90s both days. I of course went to JP Licks the first day (but,
sadly, it let me down), and settled for Shake Shack the second (
REALLY let me down), and on my third day in town the temperature ... dropped. By 30 degrees. Overnight. And that day happened to be the day my mother was coming to get me in Boston, to drive me to New Hampshire where she and my father live. And of course we were planning to stop at King Kone on the way. As you may recall from
my original review, King Kone has, simply put, my favorite soft serve ice cream in the United States.
So, was it ice cream weather? Nope. It was downright chilly. Was I sick of
ice cream anyway? Yeah, kinda. Were we running behind schedule cuz mom was late picking me up? Yup. Oh, and did it start RAINING as we approached the exit for King Kone? Sigh, yes.
But still, we persevered. Me, cold and a bit grumpy, and mom, stuffed from the delicious lunch I had gotten her from
Flour Bakery, still wanted our precious King Kone. And you know what? We were both glad we did.
We each got a "small", which, you likely know from my past posts is anything but, and then we also got extra to take home. I've created a monster in my mom - she showed up with freezer mugs that she had frozen overnight to stash extra ice cream in! She's turning pro :). And of course those were in coolers with ice packs to pick me up. Let's just say, I was impressed with her dedication.
The rainy, cold trip, was totally worth it.
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Sampler. $4.
Coffee, vanilla, mint, pumpkin (clockwise from top left). |
I asked the server how many flavors she could put in a small, and she told me 3. But then she said, "or you can get the sampler, which is 4 flavors, and it is the same price ...". So, uh, even though I only really wanted 3 flavors, I went for the sampler. Because more is better right?
Just like the King Kone "small" it was laughably large. But the flavors were all great.
My favorite was the mint, just, real, intense mint, not fake tasting, just, a lovely mint flavor. My mother got it swirled with chocolate (aka, "thin mint"), but I thought the chocolate took away from the glory of the mint.
Second favorite for me was the vanilla. Again, I say, King Kone just makes the best vanilla soft serve I've ever had. Its sweeter than most but not cloying, and just oh-so-creamy. The. Best.
Next up ... I'll say the coffee. I don't go for coffee ice cream often, but, this had a nice strong coffee flavor, and like all King Kone flavors was sweet and perfectly creamy.
And last place, the pumpkin, which I hadn't liked when I tried it a few years ago. I didn't mind it this time, it is spiced but not over the top spiced, but you need to be in the mood for pumpkin. They have that one on the same machine as the coffee, and the swirl is the "pumpkin latte" but I just don't see those going together well...
Not pictured is the chocolate, which I also tried (as my mom got it). Chocolate is not my flavor of choice for ice cream, which is strange because I like chocolate, I like chocolate cake, etc, but chocolate ice cream? Eh. I'll admit though, for chocolate ice cream, King Kone does a nice job. Rich, chocolately, creamy ... yup, classic King Kone.
Overall, I was quite pleased with my mint and vanilla in particular, and continue to say King Kone just is the best. Nothing else compares.
****+.
Update Review - September 2020
I usually get to visit King Kone once or maybe twice a season, as I drive/get driven from
Boston (airport) to New Hampshire where my family lives, when I visit for my annual summer trip. 2020 was no exception, although I didn't expect the second visit to happen (or the first, to be honest). Because summer of 2020 was the summer of COVID, and I didn't think I'd get a chance to travel. I finally did escape the complete lockdown in San Francisco, risking the flight and travel, to go stay with family at least for a a few weeks in late July, and appreciating breathing some fresh air. Of course we stopped at King Kone on the way back from Boston, and
loved it (review below).
When I was still there in mid-September, and I saw King Kone announce their closing date, just two weeks away, well, mom and I decided to visit, *not* because I was going back to Boston, but because ... FOMO. We also wanted to go to Trader Joe's, as there is not one anywhere near their house (the closest is 10 mins from King Kone), and it was the launch of the fall seasonal items at TJ, so ... yeah, we were a cliche, and I don't care. Yes, it took our entire Sunday afternoon to go to get ice cream and "groceries", in my dad's mind, but for us, it was a glorious set of adventures.
Starting with King Kone. It was not "ice cream weather", fall was definitely starting to show itself, but, we were determined, and I mostly wanted to take some home anyway (I brought freezer mugs and coolers with ice, for Trader Joes too).
I sampled the 3 special flavors, 2 of which I had before and knew I liked (maple, my favorite maple, less
intense maple the Mac's Maple, but I prefer that, and cake batter - very sweet but actual depth to the flavor, not just sweet, not fake, and quite enjoyable), plus the new seasonal pumpkin. All were perfectly creamy, but the pumpkin was a bit grainy, and although it did taste like pumpkin and it was "pumpkin spiced" somehow it just didn't really come together for me. My mother also had sampled it and said "I'm glad I sampled, I didn't care for that!" I was glad I didn't like one, as it helped me narrow down to wanting just 3 flavors (the max for a small).
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Maple / Cake Batter / Vanilla. Small.
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I loved the maple though, more than I expected, and I knew that they have the best vanilla soft serve on the planet, and liked the sweet cake batter too, so, I went for the trifecta.
And since I planned to save some, a small it was, which is a very, very generous amount of ice cream. Even their Kiddie size is over-sized and I knew it. My mom knew it. But she also got a small, having had a tiny lunch, in preparation, and knowing it was our last King Kone of the season. She regularly gets a small at places anyway, and often says, "my dish ran out! Can I get a refill?". I assure you, that *did* not happen this time. About 1/4 of the way through she was like "This is still so much ice cream! Can you take some to save in your mug?" So I did, I took a little, but a few minutes later, "I don't know if I can eat all this ..." Let's just say, I've never seen her actually get defeated by an ice cream, but King Kone can do it. I can only imagine the Medium ...
Anyway.
My ice cream was perfect, really. All amazingly rich and creamy. Sweet and flavorful, but not too sweet, and real flavors, not fake tasting flavors, real flavors.
The vanilla remains the best soft serve vanilla I've ever had. It is not "plain", it is a sweeter style, and, well, it is just beyond fabulous for vanilla. I got it so I could fill my mug with it, to use it paired with desserts.
Cake batter is a very sweet option, no question, but this one isn't a fake tasting sweet, it isn't cloying, and with ice cream quality so high, so creamy, it is just a delight. I really enjoyed it, but, beware, a little goes a long way, and you certainly need to mix with something else.
And finally, the maple. I think King Kone is my favorite maple. Yup, I said it. Even compared to Mac's Maple, the very
very good maker of maple creamees, right at their farm, with dairy from their own cows, and maple from their sugarhouse. I like King Kone more because it is actually a less intense maple, which might sound a bit odd, but, I think Mac's requires you to REALLY want maple, and this one is more of an "everyday maple", if that makes any sense. I again enjoyed it quite a bit.
All winners, all perfect in the classic King Kone sense I've come to expect and love. <3.
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| Chocolate Sprinkles (on the side). |
As always, I got my toppings on the side, this time just chocolate sprinkles. I was given, as always, a vat. This was not upsetting!
Update Review, Summer 2019 & 2020
July 2019Another trip to the East Coast, another mandatory King Kone visit (e.g. the best soft serve I've ever had, see
original review and prior update review).
The lineup, this time:
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Twist
- Coconut
- Chocolate/Coconut Twist
- Banana
- Black Raspberry
- Bananaberry (banana black raspberry twist)
I know that I do like the simple vanilla at King Kone, and that I haven't liked the banana before, but both the coconut and black raspberry were new to me, so I asked to sample. I forgot how generous the samples are at King Kone, as I was brought basically mini dishes of each (I failed to photograph).
The coconut was good, creamy, coconut flavored, but, I just wasn't feeling it. I had a lot of coconut milk based desserts the few days proceeding this visit, including earlier that day, and I was just done with coconut flavors.
Black raspberry is a very common flavor in the area, and I was excited to try King Kone's take on it. I liked it, but didn't *love* it. More on this soon though.
All flavors were far creamier, and sweeter, than most soft serve, which is the signature King Kone style.
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| Taking my own advice: Cone on the side, topping on the side ... |
For my order, I wanted something besides just black raspberry, since I didn't totally love it, so I wanted vanilla too. But ... vanilla is not on the same machine, and King Kone doesn't allow mixing two flavors in a cone, layered on top of each other, like most places do. (Yes, this drives me crazy. Why not?!). They will do it side by side in a dish though.
I also knew from previous experience that getting a dish can be better anyway - you generally get more, but also, its far easier to handle melting ice cream in a dish.
The problem? Well, I like to eat my soft serve by licking it from a cone. So I needed a cone, I just didn't want a giant quickly melting cone. And I wanted it with my two flavors.
Oh, and I knew I wanted crunch coat, because its amazing, but, I knew I didn't like it when I got it added on a bowl, as it mixed in, and I like it on the outside.
So ... yeah, I ordered my ice cream in a bowl, with a cone on the side, and crunch coat on the side. Now it was all within my control - I could make small cones, adding new ice cream every time I ran out, without it being a horribly melty mess, and I could add crunch coat on the outside only, to each new mini cone.
Ridiculous? Maybe. But it TOTALLY worked. This is my new pro move.
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| Black Raspberry & Vanilla, Small. $3.75. |
The vanilla was standard King Kone vanilla, creamy, sweeter than most, and great with the crunch coat. Very good vanilla. Continues to be the best vanilla soft serve I've ever found.
The black raspberry was very, very purple. It was more ... berry flavored than most black raspberry. You could really taste the berry. This is likely because, well, they use real fruit? It made it somehow more fruity, and more sweet, but also less intense? It is hard to describe. It was just really different from other black raspberry. I think I liked it, but I certainly didn't love it, and would rather have another flavor. It also didn't go well with the crunch coat, which surprised me. Somehow the peanut and berry didn't do it for me, again, a surprise, since isn't that basically PB&J?
For once, I went for the small, not the kiddie, even though I knew King Kone's kiddie is plenty for me. Why? Well, this was my own King Kone visit of the year, and I could splurge! (And, I had my travel mug with me, to save some if necessary - another protip, soft serve, kept in a high quality vacuum sealed travel mug and put in freezer, will keep perfect texture for a full day! Much longer, and it hardens though). It really was a ton of ice cream, particularly after the samples, which were nearly a normal kiddie cone themselves.
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| Crunch Coat. |
Asking for the crunch coat on the side had an unexpected benefit: I got a very generous portion! I was actually planning to try to order some on teh side extra to go, since I love this stuff and can't find it anywhere else, but, that wasn't necessary, as asking for it on the side resulted in this cup full (which, delighted me beyond belief. I added more as I needed it, and had plenty left over. <3! )
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| Black Raspberry with Crunch Coat. Kiddie. $3.25. |
And here you can see how a normal person (my companion) orders ice cream: a reasonable kiddie size (still very big for a kid, but great adult size!), properly in a cone, with crunch coat. Simple, yes, but, clearly inferior!
July 2020
Yup, another visit. It is a must when in New Hampshire!
The options on this visit:
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Twist
- Mint
- Chocolate/Mint Twist
- Strawberry
- Black Raspberry
- Very Berry (strawberry black raspberry twist)
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| Black Raspberry / Strawberry (samples). |
I know I love the mint, and think they have the best vanilla ever, and wasn't ever thrilled with the black raspberry, but I did ask to try the strawberry and black raspberry first. As I expected, I disliked the strawberry (I'm just *not* a strawberry ice cream girl!), and was only moderately into the black raspberry (it was fine, but, eh, not their strongest flavor). I also tried a bite of chocolate, also good, but I'm not really a big chocolate ice cream fan either.
But the two I knew I liked? Yup, excellent. And all were perfectly creamy and rich and honestly, just some of the best soft serve ever.
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| Mint / Vanilla. Small. Dish (Cone on the side).
|
I took my own advice as always, with the cone on the side, and got toppings on the side, and made my own custom cone (saving a little in my freezer mug immediately for later).
I was very, very pleased. The mint was minty, the vanilla still ridiculously vanilla-y vanilla, and both were rich and creamy (although melted VERY fast!). Assembling my cone was frantic, as it was 90* that day.
We did discover that my mom was giving a much bigger serving, even though we both had smalls, by the same server, which we *think* was because she got a twist rather than side by side? (Or cuz they just aren't consistent, or dock me for sampling, heh).
I'll gladly get these again.
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| Chocolate Sprinkles / Crunch Coat (on the side). |
And yes, taking my own advice, I got the crunch coat (2 portions) and chocolate sprinkles (to try! I thought they'd go great with mint!), on the side. I used what I needed to make my perfect cone (yes, chocolate with mint was A+), and was so happy to have my quality sprinkles and crunch coat to use other places.
Update Review, August 2018
I only discovered King Kone in 2017, but I was blown away by my two visits that year (see my original review,
below). So when it was time to visit my family in New Hampshire in the summer of 2018, I had a clear priority: King Kone. We needed to stop while en route to my parent's house on the way back from Boston. No question. I was sad that I wouldn't be returning via Boston (headed to Montreal after NH), and thus, would have only one opportunity to visit.
I made the most of it. And after visit #3, I can say ... it is still the best soft serve I've ever had. And my frequent ice cream eating mother agrees. It really doesn't get better than this. Texture and consistency are just spot on every time, ridiculously creamy. The flavors that aren't fake or cloyingly sweet, but are intense in the right ways. Perfection.
The lineup on our visit this time featured 4 new flavors, all of which sounded interesting to me, plus their standard vanilla and chocolate. The full lineup:
- Banana
- Strawberry
- Bananaberry (Banana & Strawberry Twist)
- Maple
- Pistachio
- Maple Nut (Maple Pistachio Twist)
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Twist
I sampled banana, strawberry, maple, and pistachio before ordering my full size item, as I was interested in all 4, plus, they really do make the best vanilla ever. All were good (more below), and I settled on two flavors ... but they weren't ones available as a swirl, so I asked to have them layered one on top of each other, like they had always done for me before. No go. I even said they had done it before, but they said it was against the health code. Boo.
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| Maple & Vanilla, Crunch Coat, Kiddie. |
So I got in a cup, with a cone on the side, and just scooped it into the cone and made myself a small cone, and then another cone, and another ... It actually turned out to work great, as it was it wasn't a big melting disaster that I had to frantically lick, I could make little cones, and let the other melting ice cream melt into the bowl. I didn't mind doing this at all, and in some way, might have even preferred it.
I also got the crunch coat, because I adore that stuff. I again adored it, it added a fun texture, color, sweetness, everything. I wish I could buy this stuff, and that more places had it instead of just sprinkles! It didn't work quite as well when not on a cone though, because it mixed in rather than staying on the outside. Still great texture, but, mixed in, which was just different. It also meant that I ran out of it, but that happens with normal cones anyway. So my future suggestion to self? Get extra crunch coat on the side, to keep dipping my self-made cones. And, um, just ask to buy a cup of just crunch coat to take with me?
Anyway, the ice cream. All 4 flavors I sampled, and both that I picked, were basically creamy ice cream perfection. The texture is just incredible, soooo creamy, and it melted perfectly. Love it. All were sweet, but not too sweet.
I decided on maple and vanilla.
The maple was a really interesting flavor, not anything like
the delicious but very sweet intense maple creamee from Mac's Maple. It was an entirely different maple experience, sweet, and yes maple, but it tasted more like maple pecan almost? My mother and I both got this flavor, and both enjoyed it.
I mixed with vanilla to tame it just a bit. The vanilla was classic soft serve, just, perfected. Sweeter than most, but not in a fake way. Creamy, just, incredible vanilla soft serve. It doesn't get better than this.
As I hoped, the two flavors balanced each other nicely. I was very happy with my choices.
Other flavors sampled:
Banana: Well ... yes, this was banana soft serve. It was creamy, it was intensely banana flavored, and not in a fake way. The fact that they use real fruit and infusions rather than powders and syrups was evident. It was a good banana flavor, and probably really good with chocolate dip or chocolate soft serve, for a "chocolate dipped banana" kind of thing. But I don't love banana flavor, so this one wasn't for me. I appreciated its intensity ... for someone else.
Strawberry: This was very good. My second choice to the maple, but I really didn't think strawberry and maple would go together, so, I opted for maple and vanilla instead. I don't generally go for strawberry ice cream (usually hard serve ... not something I see often in soft serve), but, this was fruity, creamy, sweet, and really quite tasty. With the banana it really was strawberry banana, reminded me of Starbursts candy of my youth. If it wasn't for the maple that I liked more, I would have gladly gotten a vanilla and strawberry mix, with topping, and been quite happy.
Pistachio: This didn't taste like pistachio at all to me. I can't really pinpoint what it tasted like, and it was a fine taste, just, not really pistachio. It was definitely fine, the ice cream creamy, but not a top pick since I liked the others more.
Original Review, 2017
I have a serious love of soft serve
ice cream - the real stuff, the kind you find at little New England roadside ice cream stands, the places that are only open in the summer. I have my favorite spot in my home town (
Dairy Twirl!), and although I've tried all the others around there, I don't often find myself seeking out new ice cream places around town during the limited time I'm on the east coast in the summer. Dairy Twirl is good and reliable, and most places don't really match the quality.
But on my recent trip home, I wanted to find a place for my mom and I to stop for ice cream on our way to Boston, when she returned me to the airport. I did a bunch of research, looking for somewhere right off the highway. That was an easy requirement, but, I also wanted somewhere that would be awesome. And I found it.
King Kone, in Merrimack, NH.
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| King Kone! |
King Kone was everything I wanted it to be.
Easy to take a slight detour to from the highway, adorable, and, well, delicious. My mother, who is even more of an ice cream aficionado than I am, said it was the best soft serve she's ever had. After several visits, I completely agree.
The ice cream is creamier, smoother, and more flavorful than any other ice cream shop I have visited. It is also sweeter, and I think I'd prefer the sweetness toned down a bit, but, it is still the best I've ever had.
Setting
King Kone is located on the side of the road, right off the highway (Route 3), down the street a bit further from a handful of fast food establishments. It has been there longer, more than 40 years.
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| Old-School Signage. |
Everything about King Kone is old-school, starting with the sign, complete with a ice cream cone man wearing a crown, aka, the King Kone?
They take cash only, by the way.
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| Parking and Side View. |
King Kone has some parking, but on our visit (3:30pm on a warm Friday afternoon) the lot was entirely full.
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| Front Window, Seating. |
King Kone is a classic ice cream stand, with no interior space, just a window, with signs out front, and some picnic tables.
And yes, it is shaped a bit like a castle, you know, for the king.
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| Picnic Tables. |
The space out front has a single set of picnic tables, and a little space to mill around, but not much else. Many people seemed to take their ice cream back to their cars, but I'm always such a disaster with sprinkles falling off and ice cream running down my arms, that going inside a car is risky business. Luckily, we grabbed a spot at the table.
The neighboring properties all have signs asking you to respect their space, and in particular, not come sit on their grass. I feel bad for the neighbors, but, yeah, King Kone doesn't have much space.
Food
King Kone features soft serve using a unique base from Oakhurst Dairy from Portland, Maine, rather than Hood or any of the larger scale bases used by most other ice cream shops in New England. They use all natural extracts and emulsions to craft the flavors rather than just syrups. They care, a lot, about the quality of the ice cream, and it shows.
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| Menu. |
King Kone does have a little bit of food in addition to ice cream offerings: hot dogs, chili dogs, corn dogs, tacos, and chili. I didn't see anyone ordering them though.
Ice cream is obviously the focus, soft serve only. No hard serve, no frozen yogurt, no dairy free options, etc. Just soft serve ice cream.
Ice cream is available as a cone or dish, in "standard" sizes (kiddie, small, medium, large) with a small assortment of toppings: rainbow sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, "crunch coat", and three types of dip (chocolate, cherry, peanut butter). Sundaes are also available, with a few liquid toppings (hot fudge, strawberry, butterscotch, pineapple), as are "Razzles", soft serve with mix-ins blended in, and basic ice cream sodas and frappes.
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| Flavors for the Week. |
King Kone offers 5 flavors at a time. They have 3 soft serve machines, each of which holds two flavors. One always contains classic vanilla and chocolate, available as a twist. The other 4 slots are filled with 3 flavors of the week, plus another vanilla or chocolate slot for a twist with one of the weekly specials.
If you ask for a sample, you are given a very generous sample, on a sundae spoon.
Visit #1: May 2017
On my first visit, our options were:
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Twist (Vanilla/Chocolate)
- Peach
- Peaches & Cream (Peach and Vanilla Twist)
- Peanut Butter
- Banana
- Peanut Butter & Banana Twist
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| Peanut Butter & Vanilla, with Crunch Coat, Kiddie. $2.85. |
I love peanut butter soft serve, so I certainly had my eye on it the moment I read the flavors of the week. But, the "Peaches and Cream" mix also sounded good. So I asked to sample both the peach and peanut butter. Both were good, but I knew they wouldn't combine well. The peanut butter had the edge, so I went with it.
However, I didn't want *just* peanut butter, but it was on the same machine as banana, so my options were peanut butter, or peanut butter and banana twist. I asked if I could have vanilla and peanut butter, and I was told no. I specified that I didn't want them twisted, and suggested just one on top of the other. It is always interesting to me to see how different places handle multiple flavors, the response is really different everywhere. Some places won't do it for the smallest sizes, but will for others. Others, like
J.P. Licks let you pick two and they do a single layer of each, and others, like
my favorite Dairy Twirl in my hometown, allow you to pick even three (yes, in the smallest size!) or if you pick two, they layer them twice. Here, the person taking my order was amenable to trying to do two flavors, so I asked for vanilla on the bottom, peanut butter on top, which she did with no problem.
Both flavors were incredibly creamy, rich, smooth, ice cream. They melted perfectly in the hot weather. No ice crystals, just, absolutely perfect texture.
The vanilla was very, very good. It wasn't a boring vanilla, it had some real flavor to it, but, it was sweeter than most. The peanut butter had nice flavor, you could taste the peanut butter, but, it wasn't the most intense I've had, and it too was a bit sweeter than average. My mom also commented that her flavors (chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, in a dish), seemed to have more sugar than usual.
I had no idea what "Crunch Coat" was, but the image on the sign showed something crunchy, so I was very excited to try a new cone-friendly topping. I love having sprinkles on my cones because I like having something on the cone, but, sprinkles aren't exactly delicious on their own. Crunch Coat also includes rainbow sprinkles, for a pop of color too!
I'm still not entirely sure what Crunch Coat is ... it seemed to be candied peanuts, mixed with the sprinkles? But the nuts were coated in something more than just regular candied nut coating. It was really crunchy, flavorful, and very sweet. The chunks are bigger than sprinkles, so the eating experience is even more fun than just regular sprinkles. On a hot day though it was a bit hard to deal with, I think the weight of the crunch made it slip down faster than sprinkles, so I had to lick very fast. It was also really a bit too sweet, at least, it was when combined with the sweet ice cream. Still, I really liked it. (Side note: I didn't grow up in Dairy Queen world, but, apparently, this is something they serve too?)
The rainbow sprinkles were good, and, like other reviewers had said, they aren't the same generic brand most places have. Better colors, a bit crunchier, less waxy, less like plastic.
The cone was a standard Joy cone, full size. Many places use smaller cones for kiddie cones / baby cones / x-small, but here, it was a regular full size cone, containing far more ice cream than I am accustomed. It was not stale, but obviously just a standard Joy cake cone, which I never actually want (I like to lick ice cream from a cone, but I never actually like the cones). Luckily, I had a spoon left from my tasting that I was able to use to extract the plentiful ice cream from the cone.
I went with the kiddie cone, and it was a fairly large cone. Not a monster or anything, but certainly not what you'd want to give a 5 year old, particularly because of the usage of a regular cone as the base, rather than a special smaller one. I wasn't actually particularly hungry when we arrived, so it was a bit more than I wanted, but on a normal day, I think the quantity would be just right.
Overall, this was a success. I was glad to have two flavors of ice cream when I got a bit sick of one, and I'd happily get either again. I liked both my coatings, and I'd get them again too - the crunch coat because I really liked the experience of eating it, the sprinkles because I love sprinkles.
A kiddie cone is $2.85, with each topping $0.35. I liked that they charge differently for toppings on different sizes, aka, for a medium ($4.50), each topping is $0.50 instead. It makes sense to charge based on consumption, it just isn't something I've seen before.
Visit #2: July 2017
I was back in New Hampshire several weeks later, and, I planned my transit back to Boston to include a stop at King Kone. My mom did not object.
Our flavors this time were:
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Twist (Vanilla & Chocolate Twist)
- Lemon
- Cake Batter
- Lemon Lush (Lemon and Cake Batter Twist)
- Mint
- Mint Chocolate (twist)
As before, the flavors all sounded great, so I tried a few, and then made my decision. As before, all were good, and I would have been happy with any. The flavors were all good, the texture perfect.
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| Vanilla & Mint, with Crunch Coat, Kiddie. $2.85. |
I liked the lemon. I liked the cake batter. But the mint was my favorite of the weekly specials. Not content to pick just one flavor, and not wanting chocolate (the swirl option), I decided to ask for vanilla too (I didn't think mint and lemon or cake batter would mix very well, and, well, they make a seriously good vanilla).
Last time I asked for two flavors, my server had never done it in a cone, but was more than willing to try it. This time I was told no. I could do it in a cup, as a side by side. But not a cone. I pressed, saying I had it that way once before. I still got a no. Two different servers got involved, and each told me no. I probably looked like I was going to cry or something, because, they finally agreed. I asked for mint on the bottom and vanilla on top since I wanted the crunch coat again and thought it would go best with the vanilla, but, she made it backwards. At least I got my two flavors though?
The mint was, uh, minty? A really nice mint flavor, refreshing, creamy, perfect. It didn't go great with the peanuty crunch coat though, and would have been better with chocolate sprinkles or chocolate dip probably. Or in the bottom of my cone, as I intended.
The vanilla was again fantastic. A simple flavor, but so well done. So creamy. Seriously, most creamy soft serve I've ever had. It melts perfectly too. I loved it, particularly with the crunch coat.
I'm sold on crunch coat. I think it adds a great texture, sweetness, and fun.
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| Vanilla / Chocolate Swirl, with Peanut Butter Dip, Kiddie. $2.85. |
A companion went for classic vanilla chocolate swirl, but ... he added my favorite type of dip: peanut butter.
I demanded a try. If King Kone's ice cream quality, and sprinkle quality, was much higher than everywhere else, I hoped that their dip too would blow my mind and exceed expectations.
The dip was good, but, it was like most other dip I've had. No better, no worse.
One thing we did notice is that dipped cones were taller and thinner, with more of a peak, whereas coated cones were shorter and wider, with no tip. I wonder if this was intentional, or, just coincidence based on my other two.
Other Flavors:
- Cake Batter: This was a great flavor, it tasted like good cake, not fake. But it was very sweet, too sweet for me at the time. Perhaps swirled with another flavor it would be less intense?
- Chocolate: I'm not one for chocolate ice cream in general, but when Ojan couldn't finish his cone, I tried it. It was ... well, chocolate ice cream. Not for me, but I loved how creamy it was, like all the others.
- Lemon: As I've said many times, I don't like lemon desserts, so you wouldn't even expect me to give this one a second glance. But, I loved the lemon at Dairy Twirl, so, I wanted to give King Kone a try. It was very good. Lovely lemon flavor, slightly tart, but still fairly sweet. Creamy and perfect texture like the others.
- Peach: Great texture like the other flavors, sweet, creamy, a bit fruity. I liked it, but I opted for other flavors instead that I liked even more.
