INSIDE SCOOP

582 County Road 62, Westtown, NY 10098

845-355-CONE • thedairyo.com

Seasonal Hours: Thurs-Friday 4-9pm • Sat + Sun 12-9pm

It was a dark and stormy spring day, so what better way to brighten it up than to head out for some ice cream. I had heard from a little Robyn that there was a pretty neat shop not too far from Backroads Central, in the little burg of Westtown, NY, so in between the Saturday Sprint at Jerez and the beginning of the Mets vs Nationals game, we took a spin just a bit north and east to sample the wares at the Dairy’O.

It happened to be their opening day of the 2025 season, so upon entering the very brightly decorated parlor, we were greeted with a fresh smell and big smiles from Cindy Koller, the owner, and Mia, her scoop helper. While we looked over the offerings and snapped some pictures, we asked Cindy how she came to be on the corner of Route 284 and County Road 62.

Originally from Queens (which perked up Brian’s ears), she slowly migrated eastward, always staying on the New York side of the NY/NJ border – first in Sloatsburg and then here in Westtown. Her career kept her close to the sweet things in life, specifically buying candy for Macy’s, so she was quite familiar with what made people happy. When the opportunity came about to purchase the already popular Dairy’O ice cream shop, she did so and opened in March of 2020. Yup, that March.

But five years later, Cindy is going strong, opened seasonally from April to Labor Day, with a very loyal clientele. While we were there, a father with two little ones came to get their opening day ice cream. Cindy knew their orders before they even spoke. During our conversation, she told us of one gentleman who came in every six weeks and purchased six containers of red raspberry and another, a bus driver, who would stop on his way home to get ice cream for his wife. Just from the short time we were there, I could tell that Dairy’O was more than just a place to satisfy your sweet tooth, but had a great sense of community to it as well.

The shop itself is colorful, with that ice cream parlor feel, tables scattered, goodies displayed and cute decorations cleverly hung. Outside there are tables on the deck overlooking a lovely bucolic field on which to enjoy your ice cream while contemplating the day’s ride. There is a large parking lot so the whole crew can join you.

By this time, we had narrowed our selection to a three-scoop for each of us, with Brian filling his waffle cone with Coffee, French Coconut Custard and Cookies & Cream, topped with whipped cream, and my cup runneth over with German Chocolate Delight (chocolate, caramel, coconut), French Coconut Custard (so good we had it twice) and Lemon Crème Brulé Yogurt, topped with a beautifully sprinkled cake cone. I did have a small sample of Caramel Critter, Cindy’s favorite flavor, which is vanilla with caramel swirls and caramel smidgens – OMG, so good).

Dairy’O sources their homemade ice cream from Manning’s Dairy Farm in Dalton, PA, with over 35 rotating flavors. I had been there many moos ago and know that they make some of the best ice cream in the area. We asked Cindy if she had been out to the farm and, of course, she had but it was when she first opened and, during covid, they were not making deliveries so she made the drive. Yes, she agreed, a beautiful spot.

In addition to the many dairy delights, they offer dairy, gluten and sugar free options along with Mercer’s Wine Ice Cream – Red Raspberry Chardonnay, Chocolate Cabernet and Cherry Merlot. You can have your flavors simply, in a cup or cone, or spruce them up with a wide variety of toppings such as PB Cups, Coconut or even a scoop of edible cookie dough. Go big with a sundae, shake, float or malt. Top them all off with whipped cream and a cherry and Bob’s your uncle.

No matter what day you visit, Dairy’O has something special, literally. Mondays are 2 for 1 scoops, Fridays are ‘Wine’ Down, with 2 scoops of wine ice cream for the price of one and Sunday – you guessed it – are Sundae Funday with the second sundae half off.

Speaking of sundaes, Cindy has thought up some good ones; Landfill – vanilla or chocolate soft serve with M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, Oreo Crumble, Peanut Butter Cups, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry (that should take care of those Route 80 sinkholes) and, for your pet companion, ‘Dog’ Lover Parfait with vanilla soft serve, Reese’s PB sauce and organic dog biscuit – Fido will want to come back often.

Dairy’O sits in a lovely riding area so the next time you have a hankering for some great ice cream, take a spin to the Pine Island area, right along the New Jersey Claim Line. I’ll interject a bit of history and you can look up the rest – The NY/NJ Line War was a series of skirmishes and raids that took place for over half a century between 1701 and 1765 at the disputed border between two American colonies, the Province of New York and the Province of New Jersey.