Ben and Jerry’s

I can tell you with absolutely certainty when I visited this Ben and Jerry’s location. It was on September 12, aka «Catch the Orange» Day here in metro Portland. In addition to riding the new Orange Line MAX train, I rode the Aerial Tram and also took a short jaunt on the Portland Streetcar. Not wanting to stray too far from Tilikum Crossing, I haphazardly got off the streetcar after a short while, and this Ben and Jerry’s was staring me in the face.
I have only been to Ben and Jerry’s twice in my life and at two very different locations — here and at a location in their liberal, collegiate home of Burlington VT, two hours south of Montréal, in my beloved Canada. This particular Portland store is either on, or right next to, the PSU campus.
Their ice cream is fine. The service was pleasant. The prices were only slightly uptown, being downtown. There isn’t much room to sit down at this location, probably incentivizing those college kids to take their ice cream and eat it elsewhere, irrespective of the rain. However, September 12 was a picture perfect day in the metro area, and eating it outside was an easy choice. With umbrellas at the outside tables, one’s ice cream or other sugary treat will be shielded from the elements, including bird droppings, and one’s view will include the Portland Streetcar slicing through this downtown block diagonally and looking kind of sexy in the process.
I have one issue with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and it’s their naming conventions. Their names work so damn hard at being cute that it can obfuscate what a particular flavor entails. (In true hippie-​dippy form, they have one flavor named «Dazed and Confused.») This then requires that one asks those behind the counter what a flavor is all about and if they can taste a sample of it. I’m almost sure those working at Ben and Jerry’s field questions about the nature of the flavors to a much greater extent than those who work at Baskin Robbins.
In closing, I find that their ice cream is good, but not stellar. I wasn’t moved by the experience. I think that the real icing on the cake, in terms of ice cream, is having a cone or a cup of Tillamook ice cream assembled for you at the Tillamook factory out on the coast where, in my opinion, both their flavors and names are more down home and honest. I also have to poke fun at Ben and Jerry’s for two things. First, I looked at their site to make sure this was the location at which I sampled their ice cream and, in so doing, I saw that their stores are located downtown and in close-​in Southeast. I think that, if the area doesn’t have the cache’ of downtown or the Republican count is over 25% if outside of a downtown, they may fear that the flavors might recoil in response to such environmental stimuli. Second, they went all out to give their flavors some goofy names, but they could have been more true to form and named their rendition of Rocky Road «Rocky Horror (something).»

so dairy and i don’t mix well. So when I chuck that out the window for the night I go big… Well no I go small cup with ½ scoop Ming chip and the other ½ chocolate peanut butter. The guy was so friendly (he let me try like 8 things before I picked) and was very intentional with his conversation and with serving us. Good job on the customer service !

Good ice cream at a great location! Additionally, I’ve had great experiences with the staff, who were very kind.

I know this coming Tuesday, April 8 is Ben and Jerry’s Free Cone Day, but I was here with all their delicious choices staring me in the face, and what else could I do but cave and have a single scoop of double fudge brownie in a waffle cone. It was absolutely wonderfully fudgey and I loved every single bite.
This is a small shop in the middle of the PSU campus, and those who work at the counter are very friendly and accommodating, never getting impatient if the shop gets crowded, and make buying ice cream here (which is already pretty wonderful) a great experience.

I’m not supposed to eat ice cream as dairy and I are not friends, but that doesn’t stop me. And when this place is involved… well I can’t help myself. For a chain, this is a better company to eat at. They try to be responsible and I love the no growth hormone thing they do. The ice cream is good. A bit expensive, but good. I feel better about buying ice cream here over a local shop because of their partnership with New Avenues for Youth, a great local nonprofit!

Ben & Jerry’s is a gr8 company already; but, this location partners with New avenues for Youth. So that cancels out some of the guilt!

My husband bought another birthday cake (this time for my birthday) and it was beautiful! Also delicious (Americone dream + brownie = YUM)! They didn’t even charge him. See photos. Highly recommend for birthday ice cream cakes!

I love taking the max to this Ben and Jerry’s. Great ice cream selection and never had bad service. It is usually pretty quiet when we go which is nice because we can get our product much faster.

Portland’s latest addition to Ben & Jerry’s collaboration with New Avenues for Youth hits a sweet high in the center of PSU’s campus. The staff is great across the board — extremely welcoming and helpful. It’s not a big place, but there are some small tables inside and out, plus all the Ben & Jerry’s goodness you’ve come to expect. Don’t miss the regular rotation of ‘test batches’ which often yield yummy, not-​available-​at-​grochery-​store delights. The holiday 2011 offering is worthy of five stars all by itself, both for its creamy luciousness as well as the best name ever — Schweddy Balls — based on a classic SNL skit. Get some while the getting is good!