Ice Cream Delights and Serious Sandwiches at Delavare Deli.

Hand scooped ice cream in a variety of wonderful flavors and a consistently good sandwich menu make Delaware Deli a must-stop when you're hanging around Lake Dardanelle.

Growing Up with The Purple Cow.

Restaurants that cater to the kid in all of us tend to get a lot of family traffic. That's certainly the case for us. For celebrations and the like, or just for a special treat, there's always the Purple Cow - which not only has the eponymous milkshake on the menu but a whole lot of different eats to boot.

An Arkansas Ice Cream Primer.

Ice cream isn’t just a luxury in Arkansas’s hot, humid summertime – it’s a necessity.  From picnics to poolsides, celebrations to chilling out, creamy cool refreshment takes many forms here in The Natural State.  Here are some things you need to know.

The 63 (Or So) Best Places For Ice Cream Treats in Arkansas.

It's summer.  It's hot.  There's nothing that beats the heat quite like a cold, refreshing ice cream cone, sundae, milkshake or banana split.

The Snak Shak in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Before we left for Little Rock, we had one more stop to make. It was hot, and though the simple solution would be to go jump in the ocean, we were looking for something that would leave our clothes dry for the return trip.

Mountainburgers, Silver Saddles and Ice Cream at Dairy Dream in Mountainburg.

I've been playing tricks with your head.  I've been sending people to the Dairy Dream in Mountainburg for many a year now, for a certain mythological item called the Silver Saddle.  I can tell when someone's taken my advice, because they don't ask me what's in a Silver Saddle any more. They just nod and smile.

Huzzah! Yarnell's is back!

It’s been a saga that perhaps my friends in other states haven’t quite understood.  How could one state get so worked up over one ice cream manufacturer?

When the Yarnell family announced suddenly on June 30th of last year that they were closing the doors to the 80 year old Searcy plant, there was much wringing of hands and breaking of hearts.  Just days before the most ice cream-friendly holiday of the year, Yarnell’s ceased to exist.  The doors were locked, the employees told to go home, and all that ice cream already produced was left in a freezer.

Someone distributed it -- while it disappeared from shelves in Little Rock within hours, I found cartons at CVs and Wal-Mart in Fort Smith through early September, and purchased my last carton of Ozark Black Walnut at a Mountain Home Wal-Mart in October.  That carton has been carefully preserved and saved.

Thing is, Searcy and Arkansas both love Yarnell’s, and through the work of a whole lot of people, Yarnell’s has come back.  The legendary Schulze & Burch Biscuit Company -- which already owns a snack manufacturing plant in town -- purchased the whole kit and kaboodle of the Yarnell’s empire: name, logo, plant, equipment, truck fleet and recipes.

Today I attended a press conference at the State Capitol where Schulze & Burch CEO Kevin Boyle, Searcy Mayor David Morris and Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe celebrated the return.  Governor Beebe got the first bite of Homemade Vanilla from off the line -- presented to him by Scoop, the new ice cream dude that will represent the Yarnell’s brand.

So, best news?  Yarnell's is back! The introductory flavors: Butter Pecan, Cookies and Cream, Death by Chocolate, Homemade Chocolate, Homemade Vanilla, Homemade Strawberry, Real Vanilla, Rocky Road and my favorite -- Ozark Black Walnut! Yarnell's will also offer frozen yogurt in five flavors -- Blueberries & Cream, Peaches & Cream, Strawberry, Chocolate and Vanilla -- and Guilt Free in Butter Pecan, Chocolate and Vanilla. Plus, the chocolate and vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches are coming back, too!

The ice cream carton is different.  Though the cartons retain that fabulous familiar deep red color, they’re now sqround -- both square and round, with a plastic top on them.  The new cartons are bigger -- 56 ounces compared to 48 -- and they seal better, which is good news for you if you actually manage to keep ice cream in your freezer for more than a day or two.

The new package also extends the shelf life... which, you know, I’m thinking might mean an eventual push outside the MidSouth for the ice cream.  Can you imagine -- Yarnell’s in Chicago, San Francisco, China?  Who knows? It’s also more “scoopable,” I’m told.  I’ll take their word on it.

So, after the announcement, folks lined up for cups of chocolate and vanilla.  I tried both -- the vanilla first, which that very moment brought back so many memories.  It is indeed the exact same homemade Vanilla I remember, though several people I saw there swore it was better.  The chocolate?  Yep, still the same.  Same, though, is such a good thing.  I am so glad they kept to the standard recipes.

And then... well, I was getting ready to leave and realized that while everyone was flocking to the ice cream cups being filled from giant tubs, that there were actual cartons of the other great flavors up on a table up front -- being ministered to by a crew of dignitaries who were sort of halfway making their way through samples while being interviewed by the press.

I stood up there with my puppydog eyes looking longingly at the Ozark Black Walnut until one of the Yarnell’s employees noticed me and graciously doled up a scoop for me.  Oh, sweet heaven, thy middle name is walnutty goodness.

They'll be available at Wal-Mart next week and within the next month at Kroger, Harp's and many independent Arkansas grocers.  Keep your eyes open!Now to go work off my ice cream-induced sugar high....

A little hope for Yarnell's.

• KAT ROBINSON

There's a lot of stuff spinning out there on the Internet about what's happening with Yarnell's. But this seems to be of note.

Over on Facebook, there are already 279 people signed up for a page called "Bring Blue Bell to Yarnell's Plant in Searcy, AR." This afternoon, this note came across:

I've been trying to contact someone with Nestle to validate the information. Problem is, it's late on a Friday afternoon on a holiday weekend. Any other news tips out there?

UPDATE: Still no official word, but this comment on the Facebook page:

UPDATE: WREG confirms that Nestle will hire delivery drivers... but that it's not purchasing Yarnell's West Memphis facility.

Yarnell's Goes Under.

UPDATE: Yarnell's took on new life in 2012. Read more here.

I was in the middle of a computer update when the news came over the web this morning. I kept looking at my phone, reading the messages coming across Facebook and Twitter while I helplessly waited for the computer to finish. By the time I could get back on, the rumor had been confirmed. Yarnell’s was no more.

The company’s owners met last night and decided that with no additional funding coming from the bank, with a looming electrical bill and rising ingredients costs, they had no choice but to close. 200 people lost their jobs this morning… many of them not finding out until they arrived at work in the wee hours, only to be turned back and told to go home.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Yarnell’s. Last year I was granted a very rare opportunity -- the chance to tour and report on the behind-the-scenes action at the lone remaining ice cream operation in the state of Arkansas. I grew up on their flavors. Not having their presence available was inconceivable.

Like many others, I went to the store today. I found that the stocks had already been depleted, but I was fortunate. I missed out on Angel Food Vanilla but did pick up Death by Chocolate, Woo Pig Chewy and my favorite flavor from Yarnell’s -- Ozark Black Walnut. I considered purchasing more… but made a very clear and conscious decision to leave the rest for others.

While I was on the radio this afternoon, I watched Twitter and Facebook messages fly by as people called in to tell us about their favorite Yarnell’s memories and flavors. There were postings about the places where you could still find Yarnell’s. I sent out a message to Todd Gold, the president of Purple Cow Restaurants which have for nearly 22 years now exclusively used Yarnell’s ice creams in their confections. They’re switching to Blue Bell.

I haven’t sat down with a bowl of ice cream yet… been too busy writing and working to even think of it. But tonight I’ll share a bowl with my daughter.

A lot of the things we grew up with are going away. I know it’s all part of life and moving on, but it still hurts. At 37 years old, I can remember all sorts of amazing flavors and sensations, places and people that have come through my life. I was cleaning yesterday evening and came across a drawstring bag from Booger Hollow. At the time I just thought “hey, it’s cool I have this souvenir.”

Right now I’m thinking about the people who are going to have to find another job. About a family that’s been involved with ice cream for four generations. And about a loss to Arkansas culture that really can’t be replicated. Some might think the story has been done to death on the airwaves and the Internet today. Not me. I think we’re collectively mourning a little bit of our united experience. It’s a sad day in the Natural State.

Small and Sweet: The Berryville Ice Cream Social.

I’ve been to some of the nation’s largest festivals, and now I’ve been to one of the smallest in my home state. Though I can’t imagine why the Berryville Ice Cream Social doesn’t have droves at its doorstep.

The annual event on Berryville’s town square is a great way to kick off the summer with music, arts and crafts and plenty of ice cream.

It starts off on Friday, really in the afternoon in evening with all sorts of
vendors selling everything from wind chimes to bracelets, kids playing in the park and an evening of local musicians jamming outside the Heritage Museum. On Saturday morning there’s a 5k run, tours of historic Berryville via tram, pony rides and a climbing wall for the kids. There’s music and dancing in the streets. And of course there’s ice cream.


This year I got the chance to be one of the judges for the annual cooking competition. The theme was berries. Last year there were more than 50 entries. I was a little surprised to see just 7 entries on the tables laid out for the judges to sample. No worries, though.

I was introduced to the other
judges, and we all took a look at the seven entries and did our judgments of appearance. From there we sat down, and the volunteers from Community First Bank came and brought us sample after sample of each dessert for us to try and judge on taste, creativity and overall.


There were many different delights. There was a chocolate ice cream confection with bits of berry in it, a strawberry cream cheese casserole dessert, a berry trifle with cream cheese and candied pecans, a selection of chocolate and strawberry parfaits, a whipped topping frosted cinnamon-infused pound cake with strawberry adornment, a Dutch oven blackberry cobbler, a selection of light pastry creations with blueberries and a strawberry cream cheese pie. We tried each one in turn, using tart green grapes and water to cleanse our palates between selections.

The votes tallied, we discovered that the little blueberry pastries from Maria Romero were our top choice. Maria won a $200 prize and bragging rights. Shirley Clark took the honorable mention and earned a $100 grocery gift card for her efforts.

After the judging, we went to hunt down another story at the festival. Along the row of vendors (including the Cattleman’s Association serving up brisket, a cart selling funnel cakes and pork tenderloin sandwiches and the Weinie Wagon) we found the Cajun Lunch Box cart.

My photographer had discovered the vendor while I’d been involved in the judging. He’d already procured two hand pies -- a shrimp fried pie and a crawfish fried pie -- and shared them with me. I had to go back and see what was up with this.

Turns out the Lejeunes travel to these smaller festivals in the area. They live in Oxford, AR but Mr. Lejeune is from far south Louisiana, south of I-10 and with that unique Cajun accent that’s almost incomprehensible. He and his wife were very sweet, though, and answered my peppering of questions.

The specialties served up at the Cajun Lunch Box are all authentic South Louisiana staples. They include Gator on a Stick (sold out long before we got there), etouffee, cajun sausages cornmeal battered and served up like corn dogs, gumbo, red beans and rice, boudin links, Po’Boys and sweet tea.

Unlike a lot of other immigrants from these parts, they didn’t come up because of Katrina. Seems Mr. Lejeune found himself a mate and partner and he came this way because of love. At least that’s what I was getting from the conversation.

The Cajun Lunch Box doesn’t make a whole lot of appearances. It’ll be in Melbourne for the festival up there in a few weeks and maybe a few more places but then they’ll pack it in for the season before it becomes truly hot.

Now how about those pies? They were awesome. The shrimp was good enough in its rich broth with rice and green peppers -- but the crawfish pie just blew me away with its low heat and lovely flavor. The pies are made from the etouffee. The dough is actually stretched out and rolled out when you order one, the filling dolloped onto the dough and the dough crimped by hand before the pocket is dumped into the hot grease. The whole thing is topped with nacho cheese sauce and handed out the window in exchange for $3. I found the dough satisfactory, even crisp despite the cheese sauce. It was filling and tasty, though I didn’t want to think about how much cholesterol was going into my system!

The social, which had been full of kids when we arrived, was slowing down. Claps of thunder and the occasional squall of a downpour had chased off many of the participants and attendees, but the folks with Community First Bank were dividing up the creations from the berry dessert contest and preparing to serve them for free to the crowd. The Cattlemen’s Association folks were huddled under the tent, the scent from the smokers almost hypnotic. I saw couples out by the gazebo, a few a little muddy from the rain, talking quietly.

I want to come back to this festival. I understand numbers were down this year, but that has a lot to do with the weather and goings-on elsewhere. Maybe spreading the word might get a few more folks to come park off the square and enjoy a day of it next year. I betcha that could happen.

Ice Cold Creamy Treats, An Arkansas Tradition.

Summertime may really start the third week of June, but in Arkansas the real sign of summer is our state’s largest festival, Riverfest. And while many of the fun food items change from year to year, one thing’s always certain: you’re always going to find Yarnell’s ice cream.

The state’s only ice cream manufacturer has been rolling since 1932, when founder Ray Yarnell bought Dairyland and got things started in Searcy. 78 years and four generations later, Yarnell’s isn’t just the oldest manufacturer in Searcy, it’s still privately owned and an Arkansas tradition. And yummy, to boot.

I’m not sure I knew of any other ice cream company as a kid. I thought ice cream was just supposed to come in those gold-topped maroon tubs, unless you wanted to get some Crush soda and milk and make
your own with an old hand-cranked ice cream maker at home. It was definitely an Arkansas thing, though… out of state relations would come in and stay with family and there’d be that carton, almost always Homemade Vanilla (which, as it turns out, is the most popular flavor to this day).


Even into adulthood, Yarnell’s always held a special place for me. And, obviously, for others as well. In my TV days they were always willing to come out and help a good cause like the Summer Cereal Drive. Yarnell’s folks would show up for just about anything. They helped me get a crowd of several hundred people together one morning, serving up ice cream at 4 a.m. and encouraging people to come out to meet Dave Price of the CBS Early Show… ah, what memories.


But I digress.

There are few manufacturers in this state that bring such pride. All sorts of places I go, I see Yarnell’s ice cream mentioned by name on menus, celebrated in stores and lauded at fairs and festivals. They’ve been a major sponsor for Riverfest for several years now. But what goes into that production?

I spent a good time begging for a chance to see ice cream being made, several phone calls and such. Finally I was granted a chance to visit the Searcy facility. Let me be clear: there’s no tour for the public. Read on and you’ll find out why. It’s a good reason, don’t worry.

I met with Dlorah deVore last week to see what goes on inside the plant. Right off the bat I had to take off all my jewelry and put up my hair. Yarnell’s follows strict standards. Nothing that can fall in is allowed. I was given a hairnet and a lab coat and we went in and scrubbed up. A foam on the floor sterilized our shoes; this foam is released at intervals to keep it renewed and to keep everything sanitized. It also has the added benefit of smelling nice.

Our first stop was at the tank room. Each of these tanks holds milk or cream that will be used in the production of ice cream. Each week, the plant uses 16,000 gallons of milk, 10,000 gallons of cream and 8000 gallons of sugar. The milk comes here first (and to the outside storage tanks) before being pasteurized and sent along to be mixed as ice cream.

All through the plant overhead are pipes from these tanks, pipes that carry the milk and cream directly to each processing area for use in making the ice cream itself, in frozen dessert products and in ice cream treats.

Dlorah showed me some of the assembly lines where frozen desserts were being assembled. Because of proprietary rules, I can’t tell you what was being made on the lines. But I was fascinated… not only by the speed at which these items were being assembled and by the apt and able hands guiding each product along the way, but by the machinery itself. These aren’t permanent lines. They’re assembled in sections depending on what needs to be made. It’s
conceivable that a different setup could be used for each and every item. Really kinda cool, if you ask me.

We also viewed some of the ice cream holding tanks. These big tanks hold the mixture of milk, cream and sugar just before and during the processing of each certain product. In-between they’re scrubbed out and sterilized. Not only does that keep your Fudge Bars from tasting like

your Fruit Bars, it means that everything’s done as meticulously and cleanly as possible. Depending on the run of a product, these tanks might get thoroughly cleaned out a couple times a day.

We walked through a couple of other areas and looked at equipment and another processing line. The gigantic drum that holds ice cream novelties as it goes around is huge. It has indentations for each treat within. Since it’s not being used right now, it’s been cleaned and set to the side. I also saw one of the big machines that catches the 1.5 quart tubs I’m used to seeing in refrigerated cases at the store. Very novel.

I also saw some of the giant tanks where different flavors of ice cream are mixed. It’s hard to comprehend just how much ice cream is made in this plant.

We passed through to another room, where pints of Cookies and Cream ice cream were quickly spinning through a short maze in front of us. Here’s where things get really busy. On the upper end of the room, you can see the product as it all comes together, with cookies in a hopper and the milk and cream and sugar all coming in via their own pipelines.

The cookies are ground to the proper consistency and mixed in with the other ingredients and forced into another pipe, which carries the mixture overhead to another machine.

The cups are placed in tubes for dispersal right there at the next machine over. In sets of four the cups are dropped into waiting round slots. They’re advanced forward to a machine that deposits just the right amount of Cookies and Cream ice cream into them.

On the other side of the room, batches of pint lids are sorted by a special machine that flips them the appropriate direction with the help of a shaker and gravity, then shoots them over to the ice cream filler, which plops the lids perfectly down onto the pint containers.


The pints are then sent scooting along a conveyor belt to waiting assistants that hand pack them into boxes and flats before those boxes and flats are sent into the freezer.

We didn’t go into the freezer… we certainly weren’t garbed out for freezer time. The VRT (Variable Retention Time) freezer instantly sweeps the ice cream up and away and freezes it at 90 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit. It’s kept there for a bit and then stored in the storage freezer at -30 degrees. The storage freezer can hold up to a million packages of ice cream at any one time.

Our tour of the inside complete, Dlorah took me outside to see the rest of the plant. She pointed out the fleet of Yarnell’s trucks; unlike other ice cream companies, Yarnell’s does all of its own distribution. So you know if you get Yarnell’s where you’re at that it’s been in a Yarnell’s truck. I like that thought -- less people in the middle of the cycle there, fewer chances for thawing and such.

The fleet thing -- that’s been something that’s been around since the very beginning. Back when the company was founded Ray Yarnell, his wife Hallie and their nine year old son Albert were three of the plant’s 13 employees. There were just four refrigerated trucks then, and they ran to Cabot and Heber Springs and Walnut Ridge. There’s a very complete history on the company’s website; I urge you to check it out.

I noticed there was a large trailer hooked up to the electrical on the far side of the fleet lot. Dlora told me it was full of ice cream. That makes sense. Riverfest is the biggest holiday of the year for Yarnell’s. More ice cream will be sold there than at any separate event this year. It’s all being kept refrigerated and ready to go.

The people that work the booths at Riverfest are almost all volunteers from local churches. They’ll earn money from the sales that will go for projects and the like.

We passed by where the milk trucks were making their deliveries and walked around the building further. We passed what folks there call “The Barn,” a structure that’s been there since the 40s that’s still used for storage today. It was neat, seeing this perfectly kept little barn in the middle of all this recently built stuff.

And then we passed by the big tanks from the outside with their loads of milk, sugar, cream and corn syrup.

Back inside, we went to the daily tasting. Each day ice cream produced the previous day is tested -- with samples pulled from the beginning, middle and end of each run. They’re sampled by members of the tasting team in a special upstairs laboratory. This is also where new flavors are sampled. But it’s not just a few select people that get to try the ice cream. Anyone who works at the plant can come upstairs and have their fill.

I got to sample several different types of ice cream produced at the plant, including a couple of new items being tested (no, can’t tell you about those), a few ice cream treats and a couple of ice cream flavors (which no, I can’t tell you about, either -- except to say they’re very yummy).

I felt a lot smarter about ice cream when I left, and I’m looking forward to the summer season.

I know that tomorrow morning Christina Yarnell, the company CEO representing the fourth generation of her family with the company, will be back on TV. I caught her talking with Barry Brandt last year as I was walking through the Riverfest set-up, as she shared Coke floats and the new Sunny Berry flavor.

This year the new flavors are Fried Ice Cream (a Riverfest special) and Lemon Ice Box Pie. I’ll certainly look for one of the nine stands out there… I’m partial to Ozark Black Walnut, myself.
If you’re interested in sampling some of the many flavors (there’s about 20 of them) or some of their ice cream novelties (did you know the Yarnell’s Ice Cream Sandwich is the most popular ice cream novelty in Arkansas? No? You do now), you can find them in just about any Arkansas grocery store. Yarnell’s is also distributed across Tennessee, Mississippi, as well as parts of Texas, Missouri, Alabama and Louisiana. You can find out more by checking out the company website.

UPDATE: On June 30th, 2011, Yarnell's informed its employees that it was ceasing operations. After 79 years as part of the Arkansas experience, it will be missed.

UPDATE:  December 1, 2011 -- Searcy Chamber of Commerce president Buck Layne tells me Shulze and Birch Biscuit Co. has purchased the plant and most of the recipes and plans to reopen the facility.  Huzzah!