Look around. New flowers are in bloom, and new fashions are waiting to be discovered. Most importantly, though, there are new icy treats to taste.
Whether you're solely devoted to ice cream or in love with Italian ice, State College offers the newest cool treats to satisfy the taste buds and simultaneously stop the dripping sweat from your brow.
Dairy Queen,
310 W. Aaron Drive
Store hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday to Saturday
Having opened last February, Dairy Queen is the newest icy treat addition to the State College area. Currently, its blizzard of the month is the Tin Roof Brownie, consisting of brownie pieces, fudge-covered peanuts and chocolate mixed with vanilla soft serve. Employee Lacey Francisco (junior-photography) said the mint Oreo blizzard, however, is the most popular.
Francisco said students come in mostly for ice cream instead of the "Hot Eats" the menu also offers.
"I'd come for the ice cream," Francisco said. "It's really good, low-fat ice cream."
An ice cream cone at Dairy Queen costs between $1.69 and $2.19, depending on the size.
"We have a wide variety of ice cream," she said. "It's at a low price. It's not too expensive."
Joining the coffee-crazy bandwagon, Dairy Queen offers customers a cold coffee drink, the MooLatte, for $3.49 to $3.99, depending on size. Francisco said there is currently a $1-off coupon on the drink running until April 30.
The Creamery,
Curtin Road
Store hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday
For the diehard ice cream lover, the Creamery has developed more new flavors. The newest flavors are White House (vanilla ice cream with maraschino cherries), Raspberry Parfait (vanilla ice cream with red raspberry swirl), and Heath Bar Candy (vanilla ice cream with mixed-in Heath bars).
In addition, for health-conscious consumers, the Creamery is offering a strawberry smoothie for $1.40, which contains probiotic ingredients that help "cleanse your system," Creamery employee Danielle Wenzel (junior-education) said.
"We just started selling them a couple of weeks ago, but it's selling really well," she said.
Besides the newest ice cream flavors, the Creamery recently added mint ice cream cookie sandwiches and orange sherbet to its product roster.
"It's just the Penn State Creamery," Wenzel said. "You go to the Creamery."
Rita's,
119 E. Beaver Ave.
Store hours: Noon to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, Noon to 11 p.m. Friday to Saturday
This spring, the traditional Italian ice chain will add three new products to its line: a "birthday cake" flavor, the Slenderita and the Ritaccino.
"A lot of people come in and ask for samples [of birthday cake]," employee Katie Donnelly (senior-health policy and administration) said.
Lauren White (freshman-biobehavioral health) said she likes Rita's because the Italian ice is less fattening than ice cream.
The chain has also added a signature drink. According to Rita's Web site, the Ritaccino is "a frosty explosion of coffee with a swirl of old fashioned vanilla custard and our signature vanilla Italian Ice blended together and topped with a dollop of vanilla custard."
Donnelly said the Ritaccino has as much caffeine as a 12-ounce can of soda.
Noah Rolleri (senior-biochemistry and molecular biology) said he eats a lot of Rita's because it's healthier than other cold treat options.
For the uber-health conscious, Rita's now offers the Slenderita, a fat-free version of Rita's vanilla custard.
"A lot of girls come in and ask for that," Donnelly said.
Yogurt Express,
426 E. College Ave
Store hours: 11 a.m. to midnight all week
Yogurt Express now offers a new smoothie flavor, the acai berry (pronounced ah-sigh-ee). The berry touts 167 antioxidants, which is more than one serving of pomegranate, blueberry or strawberry, according to Sambazon, a company that sells acai berries.
"It's becoming more and more popular all over the country," storeowner Steve Huber said.
Smoothies, Huber said, are very popular at the store, especially with the recent close of nearby Smoothie King.
"There's definitely been an increase of people getting smoothies here," Huber said. "And with the warmer weather, it'll increase more."
Samantha Moritz (freshman-biobehavioral health) said she prefers Yogurt Express and Rita's to shops that sell only ice cream.
"You don't feel as fat when you eat it," she said.
While Huber couldn't specify the most popular yogurt flavor, the most popular yogurt toppings are peanut butter cups and cookie cake pieces, he said.
"We have something for everybody -- from ice cream to smoothies," he said.
Cold Stone Creamery,
321 E. Beaver Ave.
Store hours: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. all week
Popular ice cream chain Cold Stone Creamery has recently added a new line of coffee-flavored products. Participating stores nationwide now offer lattes, regular and iced coffee and hot chocolate.
Employee Amanda Wick (junior-elementary education) said the iced coffee addition is the most popular choice thus far, with French Vanilla being the most popular flavor among customers.
Iced coffee at Cold Stone is $1.35 for a 12-ounce cup, and $1.70 for a 20-ounce cup, Wick said.
"It hasn't really taken off that well yet," Wick said, "but I think we're really known for ice cream with the students."
As for ice cream, Wick said the most popular flavor is birthday cake remix, which is a cake batter ice cream combined with brownie, sprinkles and fudge.
For sorbet lovers, Wick said the store rotates its flavors in and out, and they expect to get a new fruit flavor in soon.
Although Wick wasn't aware of Smoothie King's closing, she said, "It's really starting off with the smoothies and shakes here."
