If the cruel temptations of the Play-Doh Fun Factory taught the world anything, it's that extruded swoops and dollops are more gratifying when they're actually edible. Swoop spoon-first into a scoop of icy eats with today's deal: for $5, you get $10 worth of homemade ice cream at Josh & John's downtown creamporium.

The favorite ice cream of Colorado Springers Colorado Springs wide, Josh & John's luscious blends are made without hormoney, artificially beefed-up dairy products, and each scoop is fresh, often churned just hours before. Like the seasons, special flavors come and go by the day or week, but popular stalwarts such as yellow cake, chocolate-chip-cookie dough, oatmeal cookie, Dutch chocolate, and Rocky Mountain Roads Take My Tongue Home hold down the creamy fort. Dive face-first into a regular-sized cone ($4) or homemade waffle-bowl ice-cream salad ($5.45). Top them with garnishes such as fresh whipped cream, nuts, fruit, the house-crafted caramel, and more ($0.15–$0.90 each). Go sundae any day ($5.10 for a regular) or celebrate soccer-league victory with a round of root-beer floats ($4.25). You can also take home a pint of your own ($4.75) or prepare in advance for a chilly special occasion by ordering an ice-cream cake (starting a $19).

Decorated with pastel and chrome creamery gear and an open chalkboard filled with doodles from kids (and from the slightly older kids from nearby Colorado College), Josh & John's is as local as an ice-cream parlor can get, unless it’s located inside an actual local resident. Every day, the friendly staff puts up a new trivia question for patrons to answer, and if you come in on cold, rainy, or snowy days, you'll get bonus punches on your Ice Creamometer card.

Reviews

TripAdvisors give Josh & John's 4.5 stars, making it the #4 Most Popular Restaurant in Colorado Springs. Yelpers also give 4.5 stars, and 84% of Urbanspooners recommend it:

• I have lived in Colorado Springs for a long time. I will not get ice cream anywhere else! The best by far. The cookies and cream is the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!! – deputychris, TripAdvisor
• There is just something about creamy, rich, home-made style ice cream that brings back memories of all things good! Josh & John's delivers consistently with their fabulous cuisine. Absolutely love the cake and the fudge flavors. We'll make a special trip for dessert or an afternoon treat. – Mirth60, TripAdvisor
• As you walk in, you can see the machines where they churn out their huge variety of flavors, from the basic to the unique, and they'll even email you when your favorite flavor has just been made. A helpful tool for those devoted to something particular, as they rotate flavors around to keep it interesting. There's a trivia question or two that give you a couple cents off your order, and the staff was more than willing to engage in playful banter as we debated the answers. – Annabelle N., Yelp