The Scoop Box

So we decided to make this blog for 3 reasons: 1. it would be an excuse to go on dates and try new things, 2. most restaurants and food in Ocean City on the island really do suck, so we do want to find the best places to eat, whether its just salt water taffy or a full 3 course meal, and 3. it's fun. In regards to number 2, Ocean City seems to have a lot of places that serve good breakfasts, but not a lot of places that serve good dinners. It probably has something to do with it being a dry town (not many people like to have a cocktail while at breakfast), but we still want to try and rate EVERYTHING that OC has to offer, so some of you may be sick of us getting pancakes and breakfast, but hey cool out we're amateurs just having some fun. We barely go enough money as it is and breakfast is cheaper and we have limited time because of work, so we're doing what we can. We're trying to get new things and try new places that people haven't heard of before, so we're just trying to make this the best blog we can.



With that said, we took some time out of our busy schedules to get some quick ice cream last week. We went to the Scoop Box on 34th Street next to the 34th Street Market. It's part of the "new wave" of ice cream places on the middle of the island after the Dairy Queen and another-sellout-ice-cream-place-to-be-reviewed-later closed up. It wasn't bad, we both enjoyed it. They have a lot of different flavors I've never heard of before such as Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and M&M's Vanilla Fudge. They served a lot of stuff from soft-serve to smoothies to an imitation Dairy Queen blizzard called the Razzle. They had a lot of seating outside which was nice and the prices were pretty cheap.

Still, it was just average and nothing to write home about. When you're looking for the best, you're sometimes going to find the average, so we're sorry if we think it was bland.

John ate: Sundae with M&M's Vanilla Fudge size small, C+

"So Lauren and I are trying to take the advice of others and try to get some signature items (even though we have done that in the past, see donuts, crab cakes, soup, and pizza, I mean we're not gonna go to a pizza place and try a hoagie for crying out loud), so instead of just getting a small ice cream I got an ice cream. It wasn't bad, but nothing outstanding. It was a good size for a small, but the whipped cream was a little bland. The M&M's Vanilla Fudge wasn't as good as I hoped, but it was still sweeter and a little different than your typical vanilla. Very good prices though."


Lauren ate: Razzle with Peaut Butter Cups, B-

"I tried to figure out what the signature item from an ice cream parlor would be. So, I decided to get something with ice cream in it. It seemed like the Razzle was a big deal. It’s basically like a Dairy Queen Blizzard. I chose vanilla ice cream and Reese’s peanut butter cups (crushed, obviously) after the young man working suggested I get the Resse’s cups. I ordered the smaller of the two sizes which was still huge!! It was pretty tasty, though. I do love Resse’s cups and it tasted pretty good with vanilla ice cream. However, it was just too big. Even though I tried to get something off the menu that wasn’t boring, it still ended up being pretty average.


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Aunt Betty's Ice Cream Shack

After our visit to Wildwood we scrambled to find a place open for ice cream. Ice cream in OC is kind of sad topic for John at least. 2 of the best places to go were closed down about 3-4 years ago: the Dairy Queen on 34th street, and another classic ice cream place that sold out and moved to a smaller location in Sea Isle which will be featured on this blog and will get a scathing review for moving.

But change isn't necessarily a bad thing. When one thing goes away, another thing comes in to take it's place. Well the fine people from Uncle Bill's Pancake House might have found the replacement by creating it's sister (wife?) establishment Aunt Betty's Ice Cream Shack. Aunt Betty's is featured in two locations like Uncle Bill's, one at 21st and Asbury and another at 40th and West. It's beach themed with lots of flowers in front that will make you feel like you're in Hawaii or on some tropical island. Inside, they have a big chalkboard that lists all these different beach themed ice cream sundaes. We went to the one on 21st street, where they have a wooden outdoor deck for you to sit.

we both agreed, it was pretty awesome.

John ate: Bear Foot Brownie with Hot Fudge, A- "I had been to Aunt Betty's numerous times before but I always compared it to other places and I was never that impressed. Well tonight I loved it. The Bear Foot Brownie is a brownie and chocolate swirl mixed in vanilla ice cream. It was excellent. I can't wait to go back and try some more stuff.

Lauren ate: "The Sandman"-vanilla soft serve with crushed vanilla wafers and Swedish Fish, B+, "Upon finding out it was a kid's dish, I decided to get it anyway and was glad I did! The vanilla wafers crushed up gave it an interesting texture and taste. The swedish fish were a little excessive, but it's a kid's sundae, so i understand why there were so many of them. However the fish make the ice cream a little fruity tasting which was very good. It was perfect size for me too. I also LOVED the umbrella! The cutest little sundae ever!"

Shriver's Gelato

The other night we went on the boardwalk and tried some Shriver's Gelato. It's an ice cream place next to Shriver's on 9th streets (the place that makes salt water taffy). It's a nice place inside and they have a variety of gourme flavors. For instance, we tried a sample of Chocolate Ginger (which wasn't that great). The gelato was pretty good. They allow you to get 2 different flavors in one cup or 3 different flavors in a cup depending on how much you want to get. We both opted for 2 scoops. We both thought it was very good.

John ate: 1 scoop Peanut Butter Cup and 1 scoop Cookie Crunch, B, "The cookie crunch was good but it seemed a little too plain and the vanilla ice cream in it was a little weird tasting. The peanut butter cup was very good. However, I wouldn't have wanted to get just 2 scoops of it because the peanut butter was a little strong in it. I also kind of wish they gave me a bigger portion. Any other ice cream place gives you 2 big scoops, not just 2 small scoops".

Lauren ate: 2 Scoops Fruiti Di Bosco, B, "It was pink and pretty and really good! It was nice to have something different than just normal ice cream. It almost seemed like a combination of water ice and ice cream."

Overall, we both liked it. If you're looking for a little something different than normal ice cream, you'll like Shriver's Gelato.