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canyonwalkerWildflower Travelog #6
Bakersfield, CA · Thu, 12 Mar 2026. 8pm.
I groused in my blog earlier today about Bakersfield being a shit-hole. Actually every time I've stayed in Bakersfield I've groused about it being a shit-hole. For example, I used the term "shit-hole" during my last stay here a few years ago, during my previous stay a few months before that, three stays ago, etc. Basically you can just click the "Bakersfield" tag below and find a shit-history. But this evening we found one— one!— redeeming thing about Bakersfield: Handel's Ice Cream.
Handel's is apparently a southern California ice cream chain. There's one location here in Bakersfield. We found it this evening when Hawk was jonesing for ice cream and searched around to find something better than the usual suspects of Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone, and whatever Michoacana paleteries/neverias popped up on the map. Reviews on Yelp raved about Handel's home-made ice cream. It was on the far side of town but we had free time since the hotel's hot tub was out of service (whaddaya expect in a shit-hole town?).
We arrived at Handel's to find a large store that just makes ice cream. Like, there's no stupid espresso machine taking up space or employees' time. Just several rows of freezers. And lots of combinations of ice cream flavors you don't see at every other ice cream shop.
The portions were huge. While a single scoop at BR is now just that— literally one single scoop of ice cream— a small cone at Handel's is 3-4 scoops. Such generous servings aren't cheap... but they're also not way more than BR.
And Handel's ice cream was delicious. The flavor combinations were rich. Just the ice cream itself was thick and rich. You can tell they used full-fat milk and cream to make their ice cream.
Our ice cream high lasted long enough for us to almost get back to our hotel. We fell short by a few blocks when we stopped at a gas station around the corner. Then we remembered that we were back in a city where every part of town looks, smells, and sounds like the wrong side of the tracks.
Update: Oh, there's one other good thing about Bakersfield. Leaving.
Bakersfield, CA · Thu, 12 Mar 2026. 8pm.
I groused in my blog earlier today about Bakersfield being a shit-hole. Actually every time I've stayed in Bakersfield I've groused about it being a shit-hole. For example, I used the term "shit-hole" during my last stay here a few years ago, during my previous stay a few months before that, three stays ago, etc. Basically you can just click the "Bakersfield" tag below and find a shit-history. But this evening we found one— one!— redeeming thing about Bakersfield: Handel's Ice Cream.
Handel's is apparently a southern California ice cream chain. There's one location here in Bakersfield. We found it this evening when Hawk was jonesing for ice cream and searched around to find something better than the usual suspects of Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone, and whatever Michoacana paleteries/neverias popped up on the map. Reviews on Yelp raved about Handel's home-made ice cream. It was on the far side of town but we had free time since the hotel's hot tub was out of service (whaddaya expect in a shit-hole town?).
We arrived at Handel's to find a large store that just makes ice cream. Like, there's no stupid espresso machine taking up space or employees' time. Just several rows of freezers. And lots of combinations of ice cream flavors you don't see at every other ice cream shop.
The portions were huge. While a single scoop at BR is now just that— literally one single scoop of ice cream— a small cone at Handel's is 3-4 scoops. Such generous servings aren't cheap... but they're also not way more than BR.
And Handel's ice cream was delicious. The flavor combinations were rich. Just the ice cream itself was thick and rich. You can tell they used full-fat milk and cream to make their ice cream.
Our ice cream high lasted long enough for us to almost get back to our hotel. We fell short by a few blocks when we stopped at a gas station around the corner. Then we remembered that we were back in a city where every part of town looks, smells, and sounds like the wrong side of the tracks.
Update: Oh, there's one other good thing about Bakersfield. Leaving.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-16 10:56 am (UTC)I am such a big fan of interesting little homemade ice cream chains! I had a great dinner conversation the other week reminiscing about the places we've gotten good ice cream (inspired by realizing that the amazing little ice cream place I found in Salem last summer is actually part of a small chain, which increases the odds of me getting more of their stuff!)
~Sor