This New Jersey Boardwalk Destination Has The Best Shave Ice

Few things go better together than a beach boardwalk and ice cream shops. There is one place in particular that also has the best shave ice in New Jersey.

Located at 1300 Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, Betty's Ice Box is described by the Food Network: "There’s nothing like a cool treat while you're strolling the boardwalk, which makes Betty’s the perfect stop for shaved ice, ice cream and popsicles." In fact, the Food Network even named Betty's among the 10 best places in the country to get great shave ice.

What exactly is shave ice, and how is it different than a snow cone? I first had shave ice on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. It was also the first time I was introduced to such a thing or had even heard of it. There's a reason why it is so common and popular in Hawaii. It's also important to note the proper term is "shave" ice, not "shaved" ice.

In fact, Hawaiian Airlines has a detailed overview of the origins of this cool treat and how it dates back to the 1800's. "To cool off, Japanese immigrants in Hawaii used their tools to shave flakes off large blocks of ice, and then coated it with sugar or fruit juice," they explain.

Kitchen Aid makes produces products that allow you to create as close to shave ice as you can in your own home. They also have more common snow cone makers. They are two different products because although the shave ice and snow cones are similar and use the same ingredients, they have significantly different attributes.

"The primary difference between Hawaiian shave ice and snow cones is the texture of the ice," Kitchen Aid said. It's more common to use a spoon with shave ice. That is because, "Hawaiian shaved ice is made by ice that has been shaved into a fine, powdery consistency." A snow cone is packed in tight with more of a crunch in a way that a popsicle has, where it can be sucked.

Food Network calls out their watermelon flavor as one you can't miss, in part because of the refreshing taste, but it is also served in a half watermelon. All fan favorites include pink lemonade, blue raspberry, cherry, shark bite, pineapple, and root beer. If you can't decide which you want to enjoy, you do a half-and-half or mix of flavors.

You can see the authentic way in which Betty's Ice Box makes a fresh order of shave ice in this video the establishment shared on their Instagram. It literally starts with chopping a large block of ice.

Betty's Ice Box is open Sunday, Monday, and Thursday from 12 PM -7 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 12 PM to 9 PM.

Ben and Jerry's new flavors couldn't be more different from each other. The popular New England based ice cream brand has added three options to their creative family so far this year, and here I will rank them all.

Coincidentally, I tried each of these in one sitting. This was an unplanned taste test. With a house full of young kids, a visiting friend recently stopped by and knew the way to quickly win over the youngsters. Pints of ice cream.

Before I get into explaining which was best, I should note I am not an ice cream (or dessert) enthusiast by any means. Dare I say, I hardly seek out ice cream, even in the summer months. However, if it is put in front of me, I will eat it if it's one of my favorite varieties.

If I'm going for ice cream, though, Ben and Jerry's is easily my brand of choice. Being a New Englander, I have toured their Vermont location a handful of times. Their half-baked in a cone is my go-to choice.

If you are not familiar, these are the Ben and Jerry's new flavors that have rolled out in 2024. Impretzively Fudged, PB S'More, and Marshmallow Sky. Now, it's important to note that Marshmallow Sky is new just to pints. Meaning, it was available in their scoop shops only.

Another flavor entitled Strawberry Cheezecake was also unveiled earlier this year. This did not qualify here as a new flavor ranking because it had been an ice cream flavor (branded "cheesecake). The new "cheeze" version is a vegan dairy-free dessert.

Upon seeing these at my house, I realized they were new. So, instead of selecting one pint to scoop, I took one for the team and realized I needed one proper scoop of each.

My process was to try one at a time and not have all three in the same bowl. Blending flavors might compromise the intended taste.

As a result, there was a flavor where one bite was enough. Another where I couldn't get enough, and the third was somewhere in between.

Here is my official ice cream ranking of Ben and Jerry's new flavors.

It's chocolate ice cream with fudge covered pretzel pieces and pretzel swirl. The problem here is that I do not like chocolate covered pretzels. Oddly enough, I love pretzels alone. Dip them in sugar and ice cream and it either compromises the flavor or classifies as "too much." So, this was my least favorite.

Here we have toasted marshmallow ice cream with peanut butter cups, graham cracker pieces, and marshmallow swirl. The graham crackers are the star of this show. They pair better with the ice cream and chocolate than the typical marshmallow of a S'More. This was certainly a tasty delight, but I feel if the marshmallow swirl did not need to be invited to the party.

Admittedly, I was a little cautious about the blue ice cream color thinking it could suffer from cotton candy syndrome (where too much equals upset stomach city). That is not the case here. It's marshmallow ice cream with swirls, and then chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough. The latter of the cookie dough bites just brings this to another level. Some sweets get forced together and some just belong together and make each other better. That's the case here. It's no wonder Ben and Jerry's decided to promote this flavor. It tastes as cheerful as it looks.