Zoe's takes ice cream from 'cow to cone'
LAGRANGEVILLE - As you step through the doors of the red barn-shaped restaurant, it hits you.
The sweet smell of waffle cones and strawberries cooking in the back. The gleam shining off the steel soft-serve maker. The chill of the first bite into an ice-cream cone.
And the creamy vanilla taste that complements a warm, summer day.
Foodies of the region may know farm-to-table, but patrons at the upcoming Zoe's Ice Cream Barn can enjoy the sweet treat from "cow-to-cone."
The basis for Zoe's was homegrown from years volunteering and working with 4-H and an education at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, said owner Katie "Zoe" Ferris.
"I got my bachelor's degree in baking and pastry arts, which evolved into an interest in ice cream," Ferris said. "The idea behind Zoe's was based on a business plan I had to make at the CIA."
And key to the concept is fresh, homemade ice cream.
"All of our dairy products go from the farm to the store in 36 hours," Ferris said.
For the dairy used in the ice cream, Zoe's partnered with Hudson Valley Fresh, a co-op of 10 farms from Dutchess, Ulster and Columbia counties.
"There's no better milk that what you'll get at Hudson Valley Fresh," said Robert Ferris, Katie's father.
More than just homemade ice cream, Zoe's offers ice cream sandwiches and cakes, shakes and a rotation of specialty sundaes such as The Zoe, a 10-scoop sundae with every topping. But when all is said and done, nothing beats soft-serve vanilla with chocolate sprinkles, Ferris said.
Beyond the local ingredients, smoothness and creaminess are key to the ice cream made at Zoe's.
"A lot of the cheaper ice cream in the stores has a lot of air in it, making it less smooth," Katie Ferris said. "We also focus on the creaminess by using a high percentage of butterfat."
Yet Zoe's also invokes the feeling of a barn, with the red and white facade and bales of hay.
"We're definitely gearing the place toward families, making it as much an experience as a place to eat," Katie Ferris said.
Zoe's will be open year-round, and Katie Ferris said she plans to add burgers and fries to the menu this fall.
Katie Ferris, who got her nickname from her father, said she's been working on Zoe's for the past three years. Zoe's is set for a soft launch on Monday at 1181 Route 55 in LaGrangeville.
Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter: Geoff_LW