Robert H.
Yelp
My name is Bob, and I'm an...
Ice-Cream-holic!
Perhaps on Yelp it's inappropriate to invoke a 12-Step cliche, but I've gotta be honest, ice cream is my downfall. I eat ice cream nearly every day and have tasted the best (and the worst).
Ashley's is among the best ice cream we've had in an ice-cream parlor setting. (Of course, the ice cream that we've had on desserts at some of NYC's finest is a different animal.)
Peculiarly, I don't like "lumps" in my ice cream (same for a good friend who's a bona-fide "foodie") -- therefore most of the ice cream potions/flavors available these days, particularly Ben & Jerry's, are not to my liking.
The guy in charge here (probably franchisee) offered a taste of their fall special, Pumpkin with Ginger Snaps, by way of demonstrating that the ginger snaps therein would be somewhat softened. They were, and this flavor was a home run! Creamy, delicious and complex, the pumpkin ice cream is seasoned perfectly and the sweet ginger snap pieces offer a taste that's a perfect compliment.
I bought a pint of the stuff to take with me, froze it for a while, and insinuated a little good Bourbon into it and topped the mess with whipped cream and raisins. I ate the whole pint this way (bestest buddy got none - but he doesn't like Bourbon). This was a gustatory and buzz-driven peak experience!
The girls had chocolate chip (creamy and delicious with very good chocolate bits -- not huge chips) and a soft-serve low-cal blueberry twisted with low-fat vanilla ice cream. The blueberry boasts no fat and no sugar -- but it was delicious. The vanilla was just gilding the lilly.
The pumpkin and pumkin with ginger snap ice creams were of such good quality and subtle yet defined flavors that I'd serve it at the end of a high-level gourmet meal at my home.
Extra props for the photo-shopped pictures of celebrities wielding ice-cream cones (Sinatra, Gandolfini and more). The other wall's covered with drawings made by local school children. Mom must've helped with the one that made us laugh out loud: "We looked at houses in Guilford and in Durham. Then we went to (Guilford) Ashley's. That was seven years ago. We're still residents of Guilford."
Why no fifth star, you might ask? Because the benchmark was the now-gone Thomas Sweet in New Haven - their "sweet cream" ice cream was the best we've ever had, hands-down.
By the way, Ashley's quality comes at a cost -- this is not a value-priced location. But hey, it's Guilford and they can charge what they want.