There’s a heated debate that has been dividing Utahns for decades.
No, it’s not BYU vs. Utah. And it doesn’t have anything to do with sports.
It’s BYU Creamery vs. Aggie Ice Cream.
Both ice cream shops have quite the following, with lines almost constantly out the door, and each has taken turns topping lists of the best ice cream in Utah. (For example, Aggie Ice Cream was named No. 1 in a 2016 vote by KSL readers, while BYU Creamery topped a 2015 list from Business Insider). And both have been around for a while, with Aggie Ice Cream’s history going back to 1921 and BYU Creamery’s roots starting in 1949.
But which is the best?
While there will be a definite winner of Friday's football matchup, the battle between the creameries doesn’t have as clear of a winner.
The football record between the two is 46-35-3 in favor of the Cougars, but this ice cream battle adds another tally to the third column.
I’m calling it a tie.
Yes, it’s possible. And no, I’m not trying to play it safe.
After sampling products at each creamery, both had products that I loved and others that I can do without.
I sampled three flavors at each creamery based on the recommendations of the employees while also trying to get a variety and find flavors that represented the school. Here’s the breakdown:
Best flavors: The title of best ice cream flavor goes to Aggie Blue Mint, with BYU’s Graham Canyon as a close second and Really Raspberry in third.
Aggie Blue Mint is mint-flavored ice cream that is dyed blue and loaded with Oreos and white chocolate chips. It’s the perfect balance of creaminess and mix-ins, and it’s a fun plus that the best flavor has such obvious ties to school spirit.
Graham Canyon — with its vanilla base and plenty of graham crackers and Honey Comb cereal — narrowly misses the first-place spot but is nonetheless a delicious mix of cream and crunch, and Really Raspberry is a solid fruity offering with swirl after swirl of raspberries.
Least favorite flavors: BYU’s Cosmo Crunch takes that uncoveted spot. Admittedly, not every flavor on a restaurant’s menu needs to please everyone, but Cosmo Crunch just doesn’t have anything going for it — especially for a flavor that bears the name of the school’s mascot. It’s basic vanilla ice cream with blue M&Ms that quickly become soggy — nothing that really fits the name “crunch.”
However, perhaps it was an off day the day I visited Aggie Ice Cream because while both its Aggie Bull Tracks and Aggie ROTC were enjoyable, both were very skimpy on the mix-ins. My scoop of Aggie Bull Tracks had barely any peanut butter cups, and the Aggie ROTC (which, in the case of ice cream, stands for raspberry, Oreo, toffee and chocolate) seemed as if they included toffee just to fit the acronym and didn’t actually include much of it in the ice cream.
Variety of flavors: Not only does BYU have 37 flavors to Aggie’s 27, but it also has a greater variety and originality in its offerings. While Aggie Ice Cream mostly has your standards (cookie dough, cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, peanut butter fudge, orange sherbet), BYU Creamery has several more unique flavors, some with equally unique, school-specific names (Whoosh Cecil chocolate-flavored ice cream with salted caramel and cashews, marionberry, macadamia nut, pineapple sherbet).
Price: The two creameries are fairly comparable in price. Prices at BYU Creamery are $1.80 for child’s scoop, $2.50 for a single, $3.80 for a double, while Aggie Ice Cream charges $2.09 for a mini, $2.69 for a single, $3.49 for double and $4.29 for triple at Aggie.
So now it’s up to you. Tell us what you think.