Why I love Jackson, Michigan?

I scream, you scream, we all scream
ICE CREAM!

I grew up in Manchester, Michigan which is nestled in between Ann Arbor and Jackson. As a kid, we spent plenty of time in Jackson. There are always family favorites in any town: we all love the Jackson Cascades, two of my dad's favorite places in Jackson are the Meijer and Cracker Barrel, but the ultimate is the Jackson All Star Dairy (it's new name is the Parlour, but to us it will always be the All Star Dairy.) When I was a kid, they made their own brand of ice cream, that was delicious, but like other small businesses they couldn't keep going, so they stopped making their own ice cream. Sorry I digress.

What we love about the All Star Dairy is their monstrous proportions: the ice cream sundaes are HUGE! And did I mention truly delicious. So when you go to the Parlour, despite the fact that they started serving food you don't ever order anything but ice cream. It is best to go on an empty stomach and eat ice cream for the major meal that day, just to ensure you have enough room to finish. My mom, dad and I went on Saturday, for dinner of course.

I had an Almond Sundae covered with hot fudge, caramel and almonds, pictured to the left. I was able to polish off most of it myself, however, my mom managed to help me a little towards the end. My mom had a safe chocolate soda, why safe, well it's large, but it's one of their smaller items. My dad had a junior banana split that would look like a normal size at most other ice cream shops.

If you are a brave soul and a true ice cream love you may dare to try the Dare to Be Great! This sundae is a mere 24 scoops of your favorite ice cream, covered in all the toppings. They say if you can eat it in one hour you don't have to pay the $24.99 price tag, yes the mega treat is yours for free. No one in my family has ever been brave enough to attempt this feet. We are amazed at each other when one of us braves away from the junior sundae, like I did this weekend. To the right you can see the after picture, of my most delicious sundae. Mmmmmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.