Now that fall has arrived, many are looking forward to its activities: sampling the many fall drinks and foods. Several local eateries have their new fall menus available with multiple foods, drinks, ice creams, pies, and many more options. Lucky for our Walton-Galveston community, we have a homemade option close to home where we can visit and try some of our fall favorites. Kings’ Courier members, Lynnsey Ramer, Bella Wagoner, and their families decided to go taste and rate Galveston’s Sweet Retreat Homemade Ice Cream & More’s fall menu.
Sweet Retreat has a variety of fall ice cream flavors, homemade Moore’s pies, apple dumplings, and apple cider slushies. The new fall menu includes an apple cider sorbet, Pumpkin cheesecake ice cream, spiced carrot cake ice cream, caramel apple crisp ice cream, and a caramel apple sundae. Everything we sampled from the fall menu did not disappoint!
First up to rate the new ice cream flavors were junior, Jayden Ramer and seventh grader, Sydney Ramer. Jayden first tried the apple cider sorbet and replied, “I would definitely get this again. It was very enjoyable and I could eat a lot of it.” Sydney felt similarly, saying she liked the flavor, how it tasted like an apple cider slushie, and the sweetness. They both rated it 10 out of 10. The next flavor Jayden sampled was spiced carrot cake, saying, “I like how there are pieces of carrot cake in the ice cream, and it tastes really good.” He rated it 10 out of 10. Jayden was very easy to please, as he loved both the ice creams, though he said the apple cider sorbet was his favorite. Sydney agreed too, saying she also loved the apple cider flavor, and she said, “I would recommend it because it is sweet and really good.”
Personally, I (Lynnsey) really liked the pumpkin cheesecake ice cream and the consistency of the ice cream, and how it tasted like pumpkin pie. I would recommend this ice cream if you like the taste of pumpkin pie. Overall, I rate the pumpkin pie an 8 out of 10. The next thing I tried was the caramel apple crisp. This flavor was not my favorite, and I would not get it again willingly. I would not recommend this if you don’t like caramel and chunks of oatmeal. Overall, I would rate the caramel apple crisp a 4 out of 10. In general, my experience at Sweet Retreat was really good, and the workers were very nice. I am definitely going back and getting something off their fall menu.
Junior Alyiah Reynoso tried the caramel apple sundae and rated it a 9.5 out of 10, saying, “I loved the cold ice cream mixed with the warm apples and the cinnamon and caramel toppings.” Alyiah also said the service and staff at Sweet Retreat were “very friendly, and I enjoyed visiting here.” Overall, Alyiah’s favorite seasonal item was the apple sundae, and she strongly recommends that others visit Sweet Retreat to try the new seasonal flavors.
I (Bella) also personally tasted the new fall flavors, and the one I least enjoyed was the pumpkin cheesecake because I do not prefer pumpkin-flavored items. I thought it had a bitter aftertaste and was bland, rating it a 5/10. I would not try it again. The last thing I sampled was the caramel apple sundae, and I rated it an 8 out of 10. It is definitely at the top of my list for the fall menu items.
Sweet Retreat has very kind and hardworking staff, who made our visit more enjoyable. The service is excellent, and we would definitely recommend visiting if you are in the mood for some sorbet or pies for the fall season. During our visit, we spoke to a couple of staff members about business. Staff member and Northwestern student, Evelynn Laskowski, said her favorite seasonal menu over the year is fall because of its many choices and good flavors. Fellow NW student, Madison Brennan, talked about the fall menu and replied, “I have tried all of the flavors and my favorite is the apple crisp because I enjoy the apple-flavored items over the pumpkin-flavored items.”
When asked how business has been since the new fall menu came out, Madison responded with, “It has been pretty busy here at Sweet Retreat, but I think it will die down soon, and then once our Halloween menu comes out, we will probably have a lot more people start coming in to get our Halloween treats.”
Overall, we all enjoyed visiting Sweet Retreat and sampling the new fall menu items. Sweet Retreat is a great place to stop by to try some fall-flavored treats, but if you did not enjoy these new sweets, stop by next month to give their Halloween menu, including the Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein flavors, a try. Sweet Retreat is open yearly, so if it is a chilly winter night, you could grab a few friends and go to 429 S California St, Galveston, IN 46932 to taste winter flavors, including the Grinch, peppermint crunch, and other fun-filled flavors.
