Ice Cream Chronicles (Vol. 16): Sticks And Cones - Knight's Ice Cream (Westerville)

Knight's Ice Cream has been scooping its ice cream to Westerville natives since 1960

Long before the coffee shop became the preferred hangout joint of the neighborhood, that honor often belonged to a place that served ice cream. Whether the ice cream they served was handmade or the offerings of a major mass-produced variety, people would be guaranteed to visit if you would do them the favor of scooping it up into a bowl, mixing it into a shake, or piling it into a mini-mountain of sugar dairy decadence with a slight hint of something healthy like fruit and nuts. Operating since 1960, Knight's Ice Cream in Westerville seems to firmly qualify in this category.

I had always been curious about this place on South Cleveland Avenue when I spotted it during some of my early travels around the metro. Not only did it not seem to be mentioned in the pantheon of the usual suspects for great ice cream in the immediate area (typically Jeni's and Graeter's, and for me personally, Mardi Gras) but the history behind the place didn't seem to easy to find, at least via the Internet. I have found out since then that there was a Clintonville store with the same name, but I admit to having no knowledge to if they're at all related.

What I did know before my first visit was that, according to their website,  the business was under new management and the store had been freshly renovated. Not knowing what the building looked like prior to the change, I will say that the blue and white paint scheme with striped awnings on the exterior was nicely appealing to the eye. The inside, on the other hand, is neat but pretty utilitarian, sporting a few tables and chairs (more lie on the outside in a small fenced off area),freezer cases, dry-ink menu boards, and the usual equipment and food items associated with an ice cream joint.

Knight's ice creams may be a notch down from the very top echelon
of local purveyors, but their KinghtSticks are quite tasty

The ice cream, while not bad, is a notch down from the previously mentioned pantheon; it's not as smooth as Jeni's, as texturally pleasing as Graeter's, nor do the flavors range toward the exotic like Mardi Gras (though their mango was the best out of the three flavors, including Butter Pecan and Buckeye, that I sampled initially.) For Knight's, this seems to be a case of not everyone can be the best; however, I found the ice cream more than good enough to quell a hankering for a scoop or two for a frozen treat for most adults and kids.

Perhaps the most winning ice cream related item on their menu is their KnightStick. Coming in 8 different variations at $3.75 each, their take on the popular frozen confection Drumstick® strikes all the right notes with plenty of nuts and a nice crunchy chocolate top; my cone even avoided for the most part the stale sugar cone texture that its commercial cousin often suffers from.

If ice cream isn't your thing, Knight's also comes through with things like frozen bananas and Only 8 Frozen Yogurt, which is advertised as a Kosher-certified and gluten-free.

Knight's Ice Cream
596 S. Cleveland Ave,
Westerville, OH 43081
(614) 890-2353
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