Blue Bell Reveals First Flavor To Land On Texas Shelves

[douglas9]

Texas is finally getting Blue Bell back, starting with classic vanilla.

But you'll have to go to Austin to get it.

The company said product lands on shelves in the Brenham, Houston and Austin areas, as well as parts of Alabama, on August 31.

Here's what to expect with the limited roll-out of Blue Bell:

http://www.sacurrent.com/Blogs/archives/2015/08/24/blue-bell-reveals-first-flavor-to-land-on-texas-shelves

[MADem]

1. That is the listeria ice cream?

I'll bet they'll have a tylenol problem for a little while...

[mercuryblues]

3. blue bell

is one of my favorite ice creams. I suspect you are right about people being sluggish in their return to buying it. I expect a price cut and plenty of BOGOs offers.
Their plants are coming back online after a lot of modernization, cleaning and remodeling. I do think they have a decent plan to reintroduce it to the market. They are going slowly.

[MADem]

4. It doesn't make its way up north very much.

Ben and Jerry's and a lot of regional makers rule the day.

There is a dairy that is just a few miles from the Canadian border in Maine (Houlton Dairy) that makes GRAPE NUT ice cream. It used to be a staple of my misspent youth, but that's the only place I've been able to find it. Whenever I am in Aroostook County I nab some of that good stuff!

[spartan61]

5. Grapenut ice cream is my very favorite.

I used to get it all the time when I lived In Kennebec County. (Waterville, Augusta area) Now that I live in Fl, I only get stared at when I ask if they have grapenut ice cream. Now I'm waiting for Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean to return to Florida.

[mercuryblues]

6. Ben and Jerry's

coffee heath bar crunch is my kryptonite.

My Mom is buried in Oakfield. One of my favorite memories was going to the "swimming hole" in Smyrna with my cousins and a shaker of salt to get the blood suckers off.

When we went up to bury my Mom, I discovered Cabot cheese. I jumped for joy when they started selling where I now live.

[MADem]

7. It's really nice up that way. Very 'old school!'

If you're ever back that way, get some dry ice and stock up on the Houlton Dairy grapenut and their butter, too (it's farm fresh, that stuff!). I am heading up that way next month and that's what I'll be doing!!

[mercuryblues]

9. ayup.

I bet we are related, somehow. LOL.

It is beautiful country. I would live there if it wasn't for the winters. If they could just have spring, summer and fall I would be there in a heartbeat.

[MADem]

11. I stick out like a sore thumb up there.... but the people are really nice anyway!

I even like the winters (yes, I am odd--it just doesn't seem real COOOOLD there--probably because it's not overly humid; if I'm outside shoveling I can stay warm with a hat and gloves, sometimes just a sweater, so long as there's no wind). When there was no snow in MA a few years back I'd go up there to get my fix (the last couple of years we've been brutalized). I have family members who like the skiing and snowboarding and the price is more than right at Mars Hill--it's downright CHEAP and the slopes are really good there.

I have no talent in that regard, but I am very skilled at being team leader for the "tubing brigade." I can sit on my ass and slide down a hill with the best of 'em! And of course, I can order a family sized tray of those freaky looking red hot dogs at the snack bar faster than you can say "Are those any good?"

A lot of people in ME are snowbirds--they head for TX and FL and other spots, just until the worst of the weather abates, and head back north after the white stuff melts!

There is a joint called Grammy's on the Bangor Road in Linneus that serves some of the best "bad for you" food going. That's another thing I like about Maine--the food up there tastes unadulturated and delicious, and it's not expensive to go out and have a meal.

[mercuryblues]

16. LOL

We ate at Grammy's after we buried my Mom. Yummmm. We almost made it there from the cemetery on the logging road. Following my brother who "knew the way" SMH. Funniest drive in my life. You would be amazed at the roads a rented Ford Focus, Hyundai and Toyota can traverse. Got almost to the end when it became obvious that none of us were going to make it over the pine tree in the way. That week in Maine was the funniest week from hell.



I will definitely go there again. My next visit will also include Ashland Diner. A friend's nieces opened that up in Feb of this year.

[MADem]

17. I've never tried that, but I'll look for it.

I like the Big Stop in Houlton by the WALMART for breakfast and gas (and then maybe a trip over the border!).

Those Grammy's onion rings are EVIL, aren't they? Mmm mmm~!!!!!

[kentauros]

10. Plenty of popular things don't make their way "up north, down south, out west."

Bluebell is a huge operation. It's still a favorite in Texas due to how well they established themselves as a quality ice cream. This listeria issue has hurt them considerably, yet my observation of them is that they've taken their time in getting back into operation again, presumably to ensure safer standards. Or, it seems that way from their cautious approach so far.

I hope they do well again, even if I don't eat dairy-based ice cream any longer. My fave now is Coconut Bliss

[MADem]

12. Yeah, I wish those IN AND OUT burger places would come east.

I like getting a cheeseburger wrapped in lettuce, and no one else seems to do this!

I eat fast food maybe four or five times a year on average, slightly more often if I am traveling in places that don't have a lot of restaurants open at odd hours, so I'm not a high user of those places, but I did like the IN AND OUT experience (through the drive-thru late at night and back to the hotel watching televison in record time).

[kentauros]

13. I've seen people around here talk about that place a lot.

But, as I'm vegetarian, I seriously doubt I'll ever step into one. The only "fast-food" places I go to at all any more are Schlotzsky's and Firehouse Subs (the latter has the best vegetarian sandwich of anyone; finally someone using their brain and imagination to understand vegetarians don't want a "salad on a bun" all the time.)

[MADem]

14. You would like it because they have vegan/vegetarian options....that's how I ended up there!

I was with a picky eater crowd that included a vegetarian and a gluten free-er.

Very good fries, too:

http://dailyveganeats.tumblr.com/post/7438678776/eating-out-vegan-in-n-out-burger

[kentauros]

15. I suspect I'll only end up in one if I'm with friends.

I just don't go into fast-food places much at all, unless I'm sure of their options, or it's a local-only place I know intimately. Plus, it looks like from that review that it's hit or miss as to whether they would have that option at all:

Some In-N-Out Burger establishments will call this the Wish Burger, but not all In-N-Outs know what it is nor is it on the official secret menu found on their website.

Now, if you ever visit Houston, you'll always find me in Zabak's on Saturday afternoons due to the best falafel pita sandwich you can find outside of Palestine (the country, not the Texas town)

[TheBlackAdder]

2. It isn't Nutter Butter? nt

[Cirque du So-What]

8. As long as it isn't...

Sam & Ella's Ptomaine Tutti Frutti.

[hobbit709]

18. If they're still using HFCS I won't be buying now either.