My baby has my nose, and he also has my adoration of food. Therefore, even though I couldn’t take baby with me during the blogger ice cream tasting I attended yesterday at the famous Boston-area store, J.P. Licks, my son was very much on my mind the whole yummy time.
Now, in the years before baby, I could always flit off to epic blogger events before you could say, “Burp!” These days, however, there are logistics of childcare to calculate before I can even go downstairs. Bless my husband, he agreed to rush home from work early to watch Devi, so I could take the train to ice cream world. I was so excited on the way to the event that I sprinted for the bus: a luxury I can never do while wearing the baby in my usual front backpack carrier.
And then I arrived: Dear J.P. Licks! This Boston-based company (Named “JP” for Jamaica Plain, near Jamaica Pond in Boston) offers homemade, ridiculously creative, delicious flavors in its locations around New England, and it has a very special place in my heart.
After giving birth, it took weeks for me to muster the strength to walk around again on my own. And where was my first solo destination after baby? J.P. Licks, of course, to soothe my soul and body with my favorite flavor: Brownie Brownie Batter! That amount of creamy chocolate makes everything right.
Come with me now on a photographic tour of this ice cream tasting party, accompanied by photos of which baby poses each creative flavor reminded me of! But first, be awed by the full line of specialty flavors:
Of course, I had to try them all. Can you get over these choices? And they change every month! I started with Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie ice cream. YES!
When the minty chocolate hit my tongue in a cold, crunchy burst, I made this face, just like my baby:
Next, I bopped over to the soft yogurt section and opted for Baked Apple flavor. Healthy, because it’s a fruit, right?
The flavor was so soft and comforting, my mind flew to cuddling my little son… and as I gobbled the last drop of frozen yogurt from the thin cup, I felt like my baby slurping at my fingers like this:
Now, looking at the wild flavor list, I bet you asked: “What is ‘Leprechaun’s Brew?'” Well, get this: it is a bright green ice cream that contains Sam Adams Lager (!) in honor of St. Patrick’s Day! Oh my. This is how it looks:
The flavor was subtle and impish, much like this little green-suited Leprechaun, here:
Finally I had to pick a flavor for my cup. One cannot sample forever, or the kind ice cream lassie will eventually throw the scooping implement at your dairy-covered face. After much deliberation, I selected the following flavor combo: Peanut Butter Cookies & Cream atop Brownie Brownie Batter.
I made the right choice! My taste buds danced like the arms of my baby when I wrap him up like a little fluffy ice cream cone!
T’was a great excursion, but that’s a pretty safe bet for any afternoon involving high quality ice cream. Thanks, J.P. Licks– we will be back! And back. And back again. Yum!

The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English, fitness fan, and mother of two who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched Around the World “L” Travel and Life Blog in 2009, and over 4.2 million readers have now visited this site. Lillie also runs TeachingTraveling.com and DrawingsOf.com. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media!
alex
Friday 30th of May 2014
Jp Licks is great, but its all about that toscanini's in cambridge though
Lillie
Friday 30th of May 2014
Mmmm-- LOVE Toscanini's!!!
MightyTravels
Tuesday 1st of April 2014
Do they run Salted Caramel ice cream there? Btw - just followed you on Twitter as well - please keep it up. Looking forward to connect! Torsten
Lillie
Saturday 5th of April 2014
I think it was one of their monthly flavors once. Salted caramel seems to be all the rage now! Glad you connected on Twitter... It's my favorite social media venue!
amelie88
Wednesday 19th of March 2014
I've definitely heard of this place. Last summer when I was in Boston, my friend and I were on a quest to find ice cream and she kept mentioning JP Lick's. But we ended up at some other place on Newbury (which was pretty good too!). Is this the kind of place that you pay by the weight? That's how they do it at my local ice cream store here.
Lillie
Thursday 20th of March 2014
It's a famous place! You don't pay by the weight-- you just order normal sizes and specific toppings. I think the Newbury St. location moved recently, but there are several other locations around New England.
Thomas @ Journey Scout
Wednesday 19th of March 2014
Wonderful post! The baby looks very cute.Lovely post you made Lillie! Thanks for posting :)
Mary @ Green Global Travel
Sunday 16th of March 2014
Oh wow. They all look AMAZING. I think I would have picked the peanut butter and brownie batter, too! Mmmmmmm! Thanks for sharing.
P.S. Your baby is ADORABLE! :-)