Eating

Ashley's Ice Cream Cafe

280 York St.
New Haven, CT
(203) 776-7744

2100 Dixwell Ave.
Hamden, CT
(203) 287-7566

Even in the midst of a severe economic downturn, there are a few pleasures one can safely and affordably allow oneself: Pleasures that may even feel better when things are rough. One of those is a cup of decadently rich, flavorful ice cream for just a few bucks. "You get something where you feel like you're treating yourself," says Ashley's co-owner Brian Anderson, who points out the ice cream shop's five locations are "keeping the prices the same."

And yes, a cup of ice cream from Ashley's is a serious treat, fresher and more nuanced in taste than what you can find in a supermarket freezer case (it's made in Wallingford). "As much as we can use is local," Anderson says of Ashley's ingredients. "We move quick. You come in and get a scoop of ice cream, it was probably in the cow" not long ago. Popular as Ashley's is, the stuff is going to be fresh, going out the door before it has the chance to get stale. "I haven't seen anything go down the sink," says New Haven site manager Mike Kochis. When it comes to coffee Oreo, one of the most popular flavors at the New Haven shop (and which is made with actual coffee beans), Kochis says, "I ran out of it this weekend. I had five buckets."

Anderson says Ashley's is looking to the past to come up with flavors to add to the current rotation. "We pulled out our old recipe book from 20 years ago," he says. "One I pulled out was banana pudding, which was popular 15 years ago, but we haven't had since then." These re-discoveries should be fun for dedicated long-time customers. "What we see is a lot of Yale students, 20 years down the road, coming into the stores in Guilford and Branford with their families," Anderson says, which helps create a community of customers that, like the dedicated and eager staff at Ashley's, is "definitely a tight community. It's like a family."