By Lexie Spector & Emmaline Carol, Staff Reporters

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! If you are sick and tired of the basic ice cream flavors–chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, we have just the solution for you. We present easy-to-access ice cream places and their most unique flavor with ratings, so you can know what spots are worth both your time and your dime.

Our rating scale, which is all out of 10, will judge the ice cream based on its taste, texture, convenience, creativity, and service. While we will include the prices for the smallest size available, it will not factor into the score. The maximum rating one ice cream can get is 50 points.

Our first establishment is Graeter’s Ice Cream in Northbrook (1347 Shermer Rd., Northbrook, IL 60062). Graeters was founded in 1870 and is a family-run business that specializes in thick and creamy ice cream. Even though we didn’t go at night, we decided the flavor ‘Midnight Snack’ was the most creative. This ice cream consisted of a malt base with brownies, chocolate-covered pretzels, and peanut butter cups. Here’s how we rated it:

• Taste: 6/10, the base wasn’t amazing but the add-ins were perfection
• Texture: 10/10, smooth an easy to go down
• Convenience: 6/10, a 12-minute drive from school
• Creativity: 9/10, an interesting blend of elements
• Service: 10/10, kind people and quick service
• Cost: $6.00

Total score: 41. Overall–worth a visit!

Next, we visited Baskin Robbins (499 Lake Cook Rd, Deerfield, IL 60015), which was founded in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins.

Their signature is having 31 flavors, and a fun fact if you look at their logo, ‘31’ is highlighted in pink. We chose two flavors, our first being ‘Gold Ribbon’, which is a mixture of chocolate, vanilla, and caramel.

• Taste: 6/10, the vanilla was bland
• Texture: 6/10, the caramel swirl caused the ice cream to break apart
• Convenience: 10/10, an eight minute drive from high school
• Creativity: 6/10, We had never seen the classic flavors mixed like this
• Service: 8/10, the worker was really nice but didn’t know what seasonal flavors were
• Cost: $4.00

Total score: 36. The flavor was okay, the vanilla tasted like nothing, the chocolate was overpowering, and the caramel was a cute idea but had a bad execution.

Our second flavor was Beach Day, which can also be found at Baskin Robbins, which was extremely creative, with its base being bright blue, having chocolate turtles and graham cracker sand woven throughout the ice cream.

• Taste: 6/10, had a funky aftertaste that left you mouth feeling cakey
• Texture: 5/10, the graham cracker sand made it extremely gritty and grainy
• Convenience: 10/10, many locations near us
• Creativity: 10/10, we have never seen anything like this!
• Service: 8/10, again the worker was really nice but didn’t know what seasonal flavors were
• Cost: $4.00

Total score: 39. Our final review is eh, not the worst, but it didn’t have the pizzazz we were looking for.

Next, we visited Scoops and Cookies in Deerfield Square. They are devoted to serving quality ice cream. Founded in 2023, it is the newest ice cream shop in our area. The sweet shop is unique because they serve cookie dough and ice cream together. We chose to taste the flavor ‘Blue moon’. This bright–blue ice cream is ambiguous in flavor, having a sweet, bubblegum/marshmallow taste.

• Taste: 5/10, the taste wasn’t as advertised
• Texture: 9/10, could have been creamier.
• Convenience: 10/10, located in Deerfield square, which is very close
• Creativity: 10/10, this flavor was very unusual, and it was visually interesting being bright blue
• Service: 9/10, they had a good attitude but could’ve been friendlier
• Cost: $6.00

Total score: 41. This flavor had us at a divide… It was very hit or miss.

Our final destination was Terry’s Toffee (1853 2nd St, Highland Park). Even though this store is known for their toffee, their ice cream is top notch. The ice cream served at Terry’s Toffee is a product of Sweet Home Gelato.

Terry’s Toffee was founded in 2002, and serves handcrafted toffee and gelato. We chose the Nutella flavor. Although the ice cream itself was a bit plain, having no add-ins, this was a flavor we hadn’t seen many times before.

• Taste: 10/10, who could go wrong with Nutella?
• Texture: 10/10, the texture was super creamy, and there were no chunks of ice or grainy bits
• Convenience: 6/10, Terry’s Toffee is in Highland Park, which is somewhat far away
• Creativity: 6/10, there were no mix-ins, which took off points
• Service: 10/10, the service was great, and the employees were super friendly!
• Cost: $6.00

Total score: 43. The texture was fabulous, and it tasted great. The service was also amazing. However, it was a bit of a hike to get to the store.

Even though they aren’t as widely available, unique and creative flavors do exist. This is your sign to look and to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. With its imaginative flavors and commitment to quality, we recommend visiting Terry’s Toffee for an unforgettable ice cream experience!