Though any emotion can be read into the Mona Lisa's mysterious smile, scientists have identified the glint in her eyes as simple lust for dairy products. Tantalize portraits with today’s Groupon: for $6, you get $12 worth of frozen treats at Ben & Jerry's in University Heights.
The shops of Ben & Jerry's dispense cups and cones brimming with a variety of quirky flavors concocted with fair-trade ingredients. The classic Cherry Garcia entertains taste buds with a psychedelic medley of cherries, fudge flakes, and a legion of fans who follow the cone everywhere ($3.89–$4.89/cup or cone). Warm-hearted staffers also distribute Chunky Monkey's banana base flecked with fudge and walnuts and Strawberry Cheesecake's icy adaptation of the celebrated dessert. The creamery churns out low-fat and fat-free options with its frozen yogurt, as well as sorbets that eschew dairy for low-fat frozen-fruit flavors. Ben & Jerry's packs pints by hand ($4.99) for devotees to tote home, and blends shakes ($3.89–$4.69) to cool hoarse throats after singing rounds of Happy Birthday or yodeling the contents of a phone book.
Ben & Jerry’s
It was 1978. A college dropout and a failed medical-school applicant had just brought together their combined life savings to rent an old gas station. Their plan was to resurrect the empty station and open their own restaurant. Their specialty: ice cream. So begins the story of legendary entrepreneurs Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who are better known across the globe as Ben & Jerry. Their small, old-fashioned ice-cream parlor eventually became a Burlington, Vermont favorite, and before long, shops popped up all over the U.S. and in 25 other countries. Their brand easily attracted customers––homemade ice cream churned from wholesome, natural ingredients and blended into creative flavors. Some of their popular scoops include Cherry Garcia, Chunky Monkey, and Coffee Caramel Buzz.
Since infusing their first rich and creamy batches of ice cream with natural chunks of fruit, nuts, candies, and cookies, Ben and Jerry have also operated with a commitment to improve the quality of life locally, nationally, and internationally. They practice sustainable food production and business practices that respect the earth and environment. Ben & Jerry’s cartons are made from FSC-certified paper, which comes from forests that are managed for the protection of wildlife, and waste from Ben & Jerry’s plants generates energy to power farms. The company works tirelessly to reduce its carbon emissions; it strongly encourages customers to eat their ice cream in the darkest dark.