Sometimes people come up with clever ideas or business ideas that will make them a proverbial ton of money, ideas that they believe will revolutionize the world. I had such an idea: after reviewing a handful of restaurants in the metro area myself, I thought to myself, 

“Man, wouldn’t it be great to have children review local ice-cream stores?” That way, parents would know just where their kids like to go! And, if nothing else, I am sure the children will say cute, adorable things and it will make a grand article for a hot midwestern summer.”

Ha~! What could go wrong, right? It was all planned out in my head, too. I work with kids and have lots and lots of family, so getting good answers was going to be a walk in the park. Starting at the Coneflower in the Blackstone district, I was able to sit down at a small outside table with an Omaha youngster, Anders, 10, and his mother. Upon looking at the “Blackstone Butterbrickle" he had ordered, the corners of the boy's mouth moved away from each other and turned up, wicked. His eyes shifted to give a side-eye to his mom and then said of his brownish ice cream, 

"It reminds me of trying to make a snowman with my mom, but it ended up looking like Jabba the Butt.” 

HA! 

Wait, wait, this is an ice cream article! I swear! Good, clean family fun! Also, one shouldn’t judge an article by its cover or the first few lines (though to be honest, I totally do). 

When pressed about the ‘Blackstone Butterbrickle’s taste, he admitted that it was creamy, and the chocolate peanut butter he believed he was tasting went very well alongside the smoothness. "It smells suspiciously like coffee. It’s now my new favorite.” For the sake of the article, he said, “If you like a different variety of flavors, you should come here."

When I turned towards Anders’ younger brother Nils with my pen and notebook in hand, he was more than prepared to give me his opinion on his spring-colored ‘Pear Sorbet’. 

“Y, U, M,” Nils spelled, smiling broadly himself. 

“What does it taste like?” I queried, and with the unimpressed stoicism of an aged and jaded philosopher, he replied,

“Pears.” 

His reply was so flat that I uttered back, 

“Uh," then, "Are there other ways you could describe it?”

“It is soft. Very soft." 

The ice cream locale, Coneflower, is, in the words of Nils, “Awesome.” It is a great shop to satisfy anyone on a hot day this summer. But if by chance you are closer to 50th street in Dundee, then four-year-old Genevieve has got your back. At eCreamery, she was with her grandfather and had him order their Melon Sorbet for her. 

Sitting across from her, I opened up the interview and motioned to the fragrant, yellow ice cream, 

"What does it taste like?” 

With an assured nod, the little girl looked down at the delight and, with good words for one so young, she stated,

“Tastes like candy. Reminds me of flowers.” 

My heart, Dear Reader, be still. The cute answer was too much. She continued with a rising exuberance, 

“This is candy-flower-flower." 

“Ahaha, so a thumbs up?" 

"This’s infinity thumbs up.”

“That’s a lot of ice cream for you." 

"I’ll be fine.” Genevieve proceeded to spoon perhaps too much of the soft sorbet into her mouth. The chill caused her to wave her hands quickly at her cheeks like you would if something were too hot. Once abated and she was safely back to eating at a reasonable pace, I asked her, 

"What would you say to others about this place?”

“I’d tell my brothers. It’s soo, sooo good!” 

(I made sure to get the Melon Sorbet myself, and honestly it was, in the vernacular of a child: “bomb as heck”. It was a particularly charming and light sorbet!)

Aiming my sights out to West Omaha so as to not forget ya’ll out there, I took a young lady that I babysit from time to time to Betty Rae’s ice cream just off of 156th and Dodge. Of the children I had interviewed thus far, Clara was the eldest, soon to be in middle school. She was also told beforehand that I was looking for help with rating ice cream for a newspaper article, just so everyone knows she did have prep time. 

You know you have arrived at the right place when you see adorable paintings of smiling ice creams on glass windows. The inside of the shop was neat and clean, and the flavors were big and bold on the wall.

“Would you like to try more than one flavor?”

“No," she shook her head, "just the Cookie Dough,” which was also ordered with chocolate-chip toppings. With each bite, Clara offered up her opinion: 

“It’s actually so~ good. (x2) It’s so soft; it tastes like heaven. Like old-fashioned ice cream, and it has a good amount of chocolate chips.” 

“What would you rate it as?” 

“Ten out of ten.” 

Then, as an idea for their slogan, she added,

“Betty Rae’s is a good treat with friends and family.” 

Though not all adults would take the sage advice of children, so I shall offer up my own opinions: 

At Betty Rae’s, the ice cream was thicker than most other places, which is why I can see Clara marking it as “older ice cream.” A fair assessment, and Betty Rae’s was a great stop and mention for the article. However, if you are searching for ice cream that is “home-made" or “old-timey", then I would heartily suggest “Doozies", a location right next to Lake Manawa. Of the ice cream I have had in the metro, they have my favorite, while also having some fantastic French fries. Doozies did well with the old-diner aesthetic with its benches and interior. 

As for other locations, I generally try to avoid chain restaurants in reviews. The locations chosen above were chosen by children or, in one case, a parent. I hope this article helps you enjoy the last burst of heat this summer with your children, nieces, or nephews!

Austin Petak is an aspiring novelist and freelance journalist who loves seeking stories and the quiet passions of the soul. If you are interested in reaching out to him to cover a story, you may find him at austinpetak@gmail.com.