Little cheaper on the travel budget......... St. Louis's own Ted Drewe's. Sort of dinner and a show with a wife beater T-shirt...... http://www.teddrewes.com/Drewes.asp
Leonidas isn't on the map when compared to Jean Paul Hevin... 2 stores in Paris. If you ever make it to Paris, here's a chocolatier map to the city that I put together for a trip earlier this year: [ame=http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=37.0625,-95.677068&spn=38.690438,74.179688&z=4]Google Maps[/ame]
Everyone has been raving about this place: http://www.kelleycountrycreamery.com So I drove out there this weekend with my family. Twice. It's in the middle of nowhere, just outside of Eden, Wisconsin. It is simply the best Ice Cream I've ever had--I love Ben and Jerry's, but it's not even close--but this stuff is literally out of the udder and into your mouth (maybe a bit too literal for some, but there it is). They have traditional flavors, as well as wierd ones--like jalepeno, and Maple Bacon (yes, it has bacon). The cool thing is the ice cream shop is on the farm, so you can sit on the porch, and see the very cows that contribute to your ice cream. They look a little pissed, but there's a fence, so I feel safe... Pretty much the "last word" on ice cream...
This sounds like my kind of place if they have "Maple Bacon". as for it being better than Ben & Jerrys probably so. Ben & Jerrys is very good but doen not compare to many "home made" ice cream shops in the North East (VA to ME) After attending "The Great Ice Cream Run" (a MINI run from VA to ME looking for the BEST home made) I can attest to the fact that there are some very very very good mom and pop ice cream shops out there. OF course now after reading about Maple Bacon I am going to have to travel to Wisconsin just to try it out. So who change the topic of this thread from "the last word" to ice cream? Who ever it was picked a smart topic to change to.
That may be, and I haven't tried Jean Paul Hevin, but there's a Savant at La Croix in Philadelphia called Frederick Ortega who is the best choclatier I have ever experienced. His work is absolutely unique, and makes Leonidas seem pedestrian. Here's their site: Boutique - Lacroix at the Rittenhouse - Downtown Philadelphia Fine Dining And that's my last word on this subject.
Cold Sweat, baybee. Cold Sweat. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL9vXAih2HI]YouTube - Cold Sweat Ice Cream[/ame]