Photo by Caitlin Abrams
Exterior of Honey & Mackies
Whenever I tweet or Instagram about visiting Honey & Mackie’s Ice Cream & Fries, people go crazy.
“Where is this?”
“Ice cream? And French fries?”
YES! It’s true, it’s real, it’s happening. It’s in Plymouth, on County Road 24 at County Road 55. And it’s awesome.
Honey & Mackie’s has a rotating menu of 65 different flavors. At any given time you’ll find 22 in the freezer case. They make them fresh inside the Plymouth store. Amy and Josh Albert live in nearby Medina and always wanted an ice cream store near their home. Honey was their son Henry’s childhood nickname, Mackie was their other son Max’s. The family vibe is all over the store—with pictures of customers eating the ice cream all over their walls.
Photo by Jason DeRusha
Is dipping your French fries in ice cream a good idea? It’s a great idea. Maybe you’ve done it with a shake or a Wendy’s frosty, but it’s way better with delicious ice cream and freshly cut fries. Or they can turn any ice cream flavor into a shake. Amy told me she and her husband wanted something warm to keep business going in the winter, so why not French fries? Easy to make, doesn’t require a big kitchen setup, just freshly cut Idaho potatoes, and two fryers. The fries are twice fried, so they have that potato taste inside, and a nice crispy outside. A small cup is $2.50, and it was plenty of fries for my wife, my son, and me to share. For $1 you can add a dipping sauce, the Sriracha mayo is delightful.
The ice cream is solid: maybe not quite as good as Sebastian Joe’s, but pretty darn close. The Salted Caramel with peanuts is a favorite, I like the heat of the Cayenne Candied Bacon, my boys loved the Lemonheads flavor (I ate around the candy chunks and loved the lemon flavor myself), and you can’t go wrong with any of the chocolate chunks (Raspberry, Cherry, Peppermint). My kids also love all of the sorbets—they’re tangy and refreshing.
They have added a line of specialty hot dogs to compliment the plain dog (a good deal for kids: plain dog, side of fries, and kids ice cream for $6.75). The Chicago Dog was very good, topped with the salad on a bun I expect (the dog itself is pretty large compared to a typical Vienna Beef-style dog). We also liked the “Hot” Diggity Dog, which had bleu cheese dressing, buffalo mayo, and bleu cheese crumbles. The specialty hot dogs are $5.50, which seems a little steep to me.
Photo by Caitlin Abrams
Honey & Mackie's
Amy and Josh own several Jimmy John’s franchises, and there’s no doubt that Honey & Mackie’s is designed to be a franchise. The iconic graphic design, the light fixtures, the whole place feels like it could be easily replicated, and that’s a compliment! The design is modern, it stands out, I think the concept is a good one.
There’s no reason DQ and the non-local national chains should be the only ice cream game in town. I can’t wait until I see Honey & Mackie’s all over Minnesota and beyond!
They’re in their fall/winter hours now, which means they open at 2 p.m. on weekdays and 12 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
16725 Co. Rd. 24, Plymouth, 763-225-6682, honeyandmackies.com
