MSU Dairy Store

We finally got a chance to try MSU’s version of UPenn’s ice cream store, simply called the «dairy store.» We had taken our sick kitty to the vet school for extreme surgery, and were delighted that the dairy store was nearby. When we went, all of the flavors had something to do with a big 10 school. I had the Terrapin toffee crunch or something like that and other half had a Buckeye swirl concoction. Both flavors were outstanding. The quality of the ice cream is better than 99% of ice cream shops. Full fat, Full cream, not too much sugar, homemade waffle cone! The ingredients mixed in were not «too much» in quantity and were mixed perfectly. Bonus! The dairy store offers mixed quarts of all of the little bits and bobs from their buckets when they are almost empty. But be warned! These sell out fast– often to busy moms who need to buy some really cool ice cream for kids’ birthday parties.
We have been visiting kitty every day this week and we’ve only scratched the surface of this unbelievable ice cream. Of course, in the summer 4-​H exploration days kids line up out the door. But I can forgive them — I was one of them myself in high school and I see myself in their young personas. I remember 4H exploration days very well and had so much fun. I only wish that our leaders back then had been so cool as to take us, as a pack, to the MSU dairy store!

MSU dairy is by far the best in town. Their ice cream is creamy and smooth and made right there. The milk is from cows down the road. You can purchase ice cream and cheese in large quantities, and dine in for a grilled cheese and soup. Waffle cones are made fresh in front of you. They employ students who are usually nice and laid back.

We stopped in today as a treat for our lil guy, who just loooooooves ice-​cream! I chose a single scoop of the ‘coconut chocolate almond’…its seriously my new fav flavor! The coconut ice cream was just right, not super sweet like some of their other flavors. And they’re very generous on their single scoops (almost a double). There’s usually a super long wait on the weekends. Would be nice if they had some outdoor seating options. Overall, nice place to grab ice cream on campus!

Limited food option — more geared towards ice cream, etc. But definitely worth a quick trip. The number of flavors is enormous! Since I was hungry I tried the grilled cheese sandwich and the soup.

Best ice cream anywhere! My favorites are Purdue Tracks, Buckeye Blitz, and Sesquicentennial. The prices are very reasonable and the servings are huge.

Thanks to Unilocal I stumbled across this gem when inward in Lansing. Can’t wait to go back. I have a vanilla malt made with chocolate milk and I still dream about that shake!!!
Some of their other flavors were just awesome and they are known for their famous birthday cake flavor called Sesquicentennial Swirl. A MUST TRY!

2 large scoops of Sesquicentennial Swirl in a freshly made waffle cone for under $ 5. Enough said.
There are literally 10 metered spots, so parking is a little tough. Its on a college campus though so I can see why that’s not really a priority as most students coming in and out appeared to have walked there.

I’m not too sure what the hype about this place is. I tried the lemon custard and the maize and berry, both were OK, but I don’t think they lived up to the hype. Maize and berry was from my first visit, and I thought it was decent – after a bit it just gets too sweet and you get tired of it.
I thought since it was so highly raved about, I’d give this place another try, going for lemon custard the second visit. I liked the lemon custard more. It’s more light with a subtle lemony custard taste to it. But still I wouldn’t consider this a must-​go-​to place.
I was going to give 2 stars, but the employees are great here. Both times I visited they were very courteous and accommodating. I brought back to Ann Arbor (over an hour drive away) some for the girlfriend and they went to the back to get me the extra chilled box that would last the drive. The box I got was strawberry and, again, it wasn’t anything special. You could tell there was artificial flavoring added, and honestly, I would probably consider grocery store ice cream over it (for strawberry flavor) at a lower rate.
PARKING — all coin operated it seems in the small lot in front. It can get full, so walking might be better if you’re a student here!

This ice cream got me through graduate school. I’ve tried many favors (all good), but my favorite is sesquicentennial swirl: cake batter ice cream with chunks of white cake and a green icing ribbon throughout. I’ve never had anything like it anywhere else! The students who run the store are always friendly, and why wouldn’t they be?! They work in ice cream heaven. I live in Indianapolis now, so when I visit, I pack a cooler and some dry ice. Half gallons are $ 5.50 and worth every penny.

I grew up eating ice cream at the MSU Dairy Store — my family would drive all the way to EL to pick up a few quarts from the deep freeze. I’ve even attempted to bring this ice cream all the way to Chicago! This stuff is amazingly rich, good, and best of all, homemade! I love that they have flavors named after Big Ten schools and they also have seasonal flavors. I have usually always gone for the Maize and Blue (lemon blueberry — GO BLUE!), but I’ve also had the Sesquicentennial Swirl (green cake batter), Illini Orange Crush (orange creamsicle), Wildcat Crunch, Sweet Corn, and Spiced Pumpkin. So yummy and if you ask for samples, you definitely get them! My friends also go to the Dairy Store for the grilled cheese on the menu — you can’t get any better with homemade cheese!

A must-​go in East Lansing. Have taken every friend who visits to the store.

So good and inexpensive! Long lines on the weekend. Very nice service and fast– the slow down comes from customers not making quick decisions and sampling everything. is an hour drive too far? No! Lol

If your driving buy Lasing, and it is time for Ice Cream (wait it’s always time for Ice Cream), make sure you find your way to the MSU Dairy Store, it is worth the drive. Place is always busy, at both locations, but the wait is worth it.
Great Ice Cream!!! Always!!!

Both times I came here this summer, the line was out the door, and with good reason. The ice cream is both icy and creamy. For my first visit, I went with the sesquecentennial… Wait, I’m getting a squiggly line… Sasquatch Centennial? That’s better. Anyway, the cake batter flavor. That’s the one Unilocal told me was great. I’ll be honest. It was just ok. But the next time? My daughter got Badger Berry Cheesecake (supposedly picked fresh from a caged badger in the back) and I got the Dantonio Double Fudge Fake. You can taste the salt of Notre Dame’s tears in it. Both flavors were incredible.
What I loved most about the store? The service. I asked the server if there were peanuts in the flavors we requested. She asked if it was concerning a peanut allergy. When I said it was (my daughter is allergic), she took a new scoop and scooped from a new carton. Days removed from a bad experience at a different ice cream shop, I was incredibly impressed that they had an actual process. For my daughter, such extreme measures weren’t necessary, but I was impressed that they would take such precaution. Also, on the topic of service, the guy at the register was clearly overworked, doing 7 things at once, but when I followed suit like the 5 people in front of me and asked for a free cup of water, he didn’t flinch and made it 8 things he was doing at once. 5 Stars for the service, the Badger Berry, and Dantonio’s Double Fudge Fake.

You guys are crazy to think this place is so great. Artificial colors and flavors? Tons of corn syrup? Too sweet concoctions? Big gross cans of over salted bad-​for-​you soup in styrofoam containers? (Which is a proven carcinogen by the way). It’s all pretty bad.
I feel like it’s 1994 when I walk in there. Wish it was a place I could actually bring friends and family but it’s really an embarrassing low-​quality show. Grilled cheese is actually good (hence two stars) but soup is horrid and ice cream is mediocre at best. Wouldn’t it be cool if it was actually exquisite!?? It’s not. Sigh. Just reflects the low standards around here. I wish they would hire some awesome person to kick this place up like ten notches. You’re better off buying grocery store ice cream and skipping the line.
Oh yea– did I say they use STYROFOAM! Gah!!! On hot food!!! Jesus.

I normally write very long reviews.
This ice cream is ridiculous.
That’s it. Unilocal wants me to write more, so I will explain in a different way.
This ice cream is really really good.

I could write a book about how much I love this place.
The ice cream is the best ice cream in the world. I still cannot eat a single bite of ice cream without thinking «I wish this was Dairy Store ice cream.»
I feel the same way about their grilled cheese.
Definitely get that with the tomato soup, or broccoli cheddar soup if you’re lucky.
favorite flavors include:
Omer Tracks– this is my absolute favorite. If you like ben and jerry’s americone dream this is that but wayyyy BETTER.
Sesquicentennial Swirl (for when I want cake batter goodness)
Blue moon (classic but perfection)
Honors Coffee Toffee
Spiced Pumpkin (for when it’s fall. but you have try this in a milkshake)
Banana Choc-​Eye Cruch (also great plain or in a milkshake. If you get it in a milkshake be sure to get it with chocolate milk)

I love Sesquicentennial Swirl. I crave it and whenever I am in town I have to get a cup or cone
My wife is an Alum ’05, she really loves this place and it has become a tradition that we go after games or whenever in town
It holds a special place in our hearts

I have been wanting to try the MSU Diary Store, so my sister and I were pretty excited to get some dessert here after getting massive and delicious burgers at Peanut Barrel with our Bos!
Walking up to the clear freezer glass, I couldn’t help but think, «I want everything!». The girl working behind the counter was very friendly and helpful. She told us that their most popular flavor is the Spartan themed ice cream (surprise, surprise), which consists of cake batter/​pieces? and green cake frosting swirled with vanilla ice cream.
She also let us have a few samples of the green tea (not enough green tea flavor), pumpkin spice (too sweet), and raspberry chocolate chip ice cream. We decided to get a scoop of raspberry chocolate chip on a waffle cone & another single scoop of Spartan ice cream on a separate waffle cone (the Bo wanted this one). You may think that a single scoop may seem very little, but their single scoops are the size of two baseballs!
Spartan Ice Cream: I did like the Spartan flavor very much too. It was not overly sweet, but I would not be able to eat the whole cone like the Bo did. For cake and frosting lovers, this one is for you for sure!
Raspberry chocolate chip ice cream: This is my favorite so far. It reminded me of the «Love Potion» ice cream flavor at Baskin-​Robbins that my friends and I use to get in high school. It doesn’t have a strong raspberry flavor, and that would be my only complaint.
Can’t wait to come back to try the other flavors!

Is it me or does this store just ooze sweetness? The minute you step foot inside here, the best possible sweet, vanilla-​y scent lures you in. It might be the wafflecones, I am not sure but I do know that not one vanilla scented air freshner or candle will ever come close to smelling as good as this store.
That being said, besides the awesome smells — I could eat from this place all day every day, but I do not think that my arteries (or ass) would thank me for it. I agree with everyone that has spoken before me, there is a certain level of creaminess which I am sure is related to milk fat content which makes this ice cream outstanding.
I am a very picky ice cream eater when it comes to the scoopable kind of this frozen treat. It must be creamy, almost tongue-​coating-​ly so. It has to have a certain consistency, one where it does not fall apart in ‘layers’ (it is not a Butterfinger, after all). I prefer my ice cream fresh and without ice crystals, and absolutely without the nasty gummi-​ness that happens to some ice creams.
The ice cream at MSU Dairy Store is flavorful, not overly sweet and fresh as can be. I mean really, it pretty much goes like this: cow, milk of cow, ice cream. How much more local and fresh can you get?
Liz W’s review regarding the cinnamon variety got me excited. Sadly, I have visited this store several times now and have yet to find it. Perhaps it is a flavor on rotation, I am not sure. I have ordered and sampled green tea, chocolate covered almonds coconut and sweet corn. The sweet corn is my favorite out of the bunch, however I would not kick the coconut variety out of bed for leaving crumbs either (such as the crumbs coming from their delicious, fresh vanilla-​y waffle cones!).
Did I ever mention I hate cones? I am an ice cream in a cup kinda person, but these I have to admit are pretty darn good. Other than ice cream (but why would you want anything else?), they sell cheese, a small lunch menu and warm drinks.