The Parlor
62160 M-66Saturday night was fireworks night at my in-laws lake near Sturgis. It was just us this year. The last few years we’ve had friends join us but we kept it low-key this time.
The weather was alright. The kids got a little swimming in. We cooked dinner on the grill then everyone kind of went to relax until fireworks time.
J and I wanted ice cream though so we called the kids back up from their screens and asked if they wanted to go get some.
We went to The Parlor on M-66 just south of Findley Road in Sherman Township north of Sturgis. The small ice cream shop is kind of on an island. All of the surrounding properties are farm houses and fields with the exception of M-66 Grocery just to the south. The small ice cream shop was built on the family’s old dairy farm to have a “fresh, farmhouse feel.”
There were quite a few people crammed in to the small shop when we got there. A pretty big group had the same idea we had and just beat us to the punch.
The set up of the shop is very similar to other ice cream shops with one thing that seemed kind of backwards. Instead of ordering your ice cream at the ice cream coolers then taking to the register to be paid for, you had to order at the register then pick it up further down the line. The kids are used to pointing out which ice cream they wanted so we had to make sure they knew the names so we could order.
The ice cream is all from Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream in Ludington. There are some options for things other than scoops like milk shakes, a banana split and even acai bowls but we all stuck to scoops.
It was a gorgeous night out so B and I went outside to the patio while we waited for J and L to grab our ice cream. There is a little bit of a counter inside to sit at but most of the seating is actually outside. There is some pretty nice patio furniture and umbrellas to block the shade. We were there pretty late in the evening so sun wasn’t much of an issue.
We all did scoops and I kept mine super simple getting just one scoop in a dish of Cookie Dough. I usually end up eating some of everyone else’s so I didn’t see a reason to get more than one scoop and Cookie Dough is one of my favorite ice creams.
B picked two scoops in a dish and thankfully, he’s finally learned how to eat ice cream without getting it all over himself. He picked Superman and Mint Chocolate Chip. It sounds like an odd combination to me but it’s the two flavors he really likes.
J also did two scoops picking Sea Turtle and Eskimo Kisses. Sea Turtle is sea-salt caramel ice cream with a salt caramel twirl and pieces of chocolate caramel turtles. The Eskimo Kisses is a coconut ice cream with chocolate truffles and chocolate fudge.
L went a little bit of a different route getting her two scoops in a waffle cone. She picked Rainbow Sherbet (was my absolute favorite thing to have at my grandma’s when I was a kid) and Raspberry Sorbet.
The cost for all of our ice cream was just under $20.
The Parlor is a great little ice cream shop that is surrounded by several lakes in St. Joseph County. It’s really close to my in-laws and it’s quickly become a favorite place to get ice cream after a day of swimming.
SW Michigan Dining 