Shameless Plug Tuesday!

What: Carmen & David's Creamery

Where: Prince St., across from the Fulton Opera House in Downtown Lancaster, PA

Why: really amazing ice cream. All of the ice cream sold in the store is made on the premises, which is actually strangely rare in a town surrounded in part by dairy farms. What this means is that the ice cream is always fresh and doesn't have a bunch of fillers, preservatives, or air pumped into it like the stuff that you buy in the grocery store. It also means that the shop's resident Mad Kitchen Scientist (David) gets to roll out new flavors once a week or so, and can experiment with more exotic combinations like Holy Mole (modeled after the spicy, chocolatey sauce used in Mexican cooking) and Baracky Road, which they rolled out for, duh, the Inauguration. And, for those of you into local/seasonal/sustainable foods, you'll be pleased to know that not only is the dairy local, but many of the add-ins come from Lancaster's Central Market, only a block away. Basically, it's the best ice cream I've had in my 27 years, and I've tried quite a few.

My favorite flavors: Lemon Drop (based on the candy of the same name), Dulce de Leche, Butter Almond, Pear Cabernet Sorbet, and Meadow Mint Chocolate Chunk.

Hours, flavors, photos, special events, and the like may be found at www.myspace.com/carmenanddavidscreamery.