Lil’ Caboose Old Fashioned Ice Cream
EDITORS NOTE: This review is very old, and this shop is currently under new management, their prices have changed and they have new options on their menu. This review should be considered a historic snap show of how the shop was in 2006.
When Tess and I visited the Lil’ Caboose we felt the need for a little help. We brought some backup in the form of Deirdre and Sarah, both reporters for the Cape Cod Times.
We met in the parking lot and chatted briefly. The Lil’ Caboose gets its name from the little caboose that is permanently parked next to the store. To complete the train themed package, each employee gets to wear a lovely little engineer hat. Nothing like putting a silly hat on your employee to make their day, and yet they still seemed happy and attentive to the customers so maybe it’s not so bad. The lady at the counter was really nice and let us take her picture.
Unfortunately Lil’ Caboose doesn’t make there own ice cream, instead they use Garelick farms ice cream. Tess got the Maine blueberry, I got the brownie batter, Sarah the peanut butter cup, and Deirdre the cashew turtle.
We all agreed that the ice cream was good. It was pretty creamy, had low ice content, and the flavors were pretty good. The problem was that the ice cream didn’t sing to us.
More than one of us commented on the fact that the flavors lacked there name sakes. The cashew turtle didn’t have enough cashews, the peanut butter cup had like two peanut butter cups, the brownie batter had ONE batter chunk, and the blueberry was just blueberry topping mixed in instead of actual Maine blueberries.
The Lil’ Caboose has a lot of seating, ample parking ,offers both soft serve, yogurt and hard pack ice cream and it has got a pretty diverse array of flavors. However the ice cream is…well…just sorta good not great.
After 25 shops we have come to the conclusion that making great ice cream takes more than just a nice shop and good flavors. It’s the “intangibles” that effect a good scoop. Lil’ Caboose could have been a contender, but fell just short of greatness.
Tale of the tape:
Homemade: No (Garelick Farms)
Flavors: 
Size of the serving:
Taste:
Richness:
Creaminess:
Iciness:(higher means less ice):
Toppings:
Stuff in Cream:
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Price: about $2.65 for a small.
Specials:
Final Rating:
Address:
1279 Rte. 28, South Yarmouth, MA 02664
Phone:
508-398-1848
Driving Directions: Click Here
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I am surprised you did not mention the garden. It is large and beautiful. My guess is that you ate at a picnic table on the far side of the Caboose ..?
Also it would be interesting if you tried a yogurt such as peach or a no sugar such as black raspberry.
We did not see any garden? Is it located back behind the store? If so we will have to go back and perhaps sit in it while trying some yogurt or no-sugar ice cream. Thanks for the tip.
Although the Lil’ Caboose does not have the best/fastest service and most flavors of any ice cream store on the planet, it is quite exceptional. I am most impressed by the Caboose’s options through their no sugar and low/no fat yogurt flavors. The kids at the Caboose were most accommodating when I let them know about my son’s nut allergy. They happily washed the scoops, spades, tongs, and all ladles to remove nut residue.
Keep on scooping!