Phantom Gourmet: Great 8 Ice Cream Sundaes

It's hard not to get excited about a big bowl of ice cream slathered in hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry. So get ready to scream for the 8 Greatest places to enjoy an ice cream sundae.

Ashland Ale House
Ashland

Kicking off the Great 8 is Ashland Ale House. The walls of this casual family eatery are filled with sports memorabilia, while the menu contains all your favorite comfort foods, like massive burgers piled high with toppings. While the portions are larger than life, you have to save room for the Whoopie Pie Sundae – a big whoopee pie, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, warm caramel and toasted marshmallows.

Snowdaes
Lowell

Snowdaes in Lowell doesn't serve any old ice cream. They serve bowls filled with colorful shaved snow and just about every topping imaginable. When it comes to sundaes, Snowdaes offers the Shorty Special which boasts a waffle topped with vanilla ice cream, strawberries and Nutella, along with the towering Rock Snow Mountain featuring a chocolate fudge waffle loaded with chocolate snow, marshmallows, walnuts, whipped cream and chocolate and marshmallow drizzles.

Maguire's Bar and Grill
Easton

Another Great 8 winner is Maguire's Bar and Grill in Easton. For twenty years, this low key spot has been keeping customers happy with their variety of sandwiches, steamed mussels and loaded nachos. The sundae at Maguire's is really something to smile about. Here, they take a fresh-baked Belgian waffle, top it with crumbed Reese's Peanut Butter Cups that have been melted, then add two big scoops of vanilla ice cream, along with fresh whipped cream, hot fudge and even more peanut butter cups - just for good measure.

Retro Burger
Arlington

Retro Burger in Arlington is a 50's style ice cream parlor decked out in throwback garb, like vintage signs, a disco ball, even a jukebox in the corner. Like the decor, the menu is filled with classic crowd-pleasers like juicy burgers packed with fresh toppings, 10-inch hotdogs smothered in beefy chili, sautéed onions and spiced brown mustard, and plenty of shakes, sundaes and the ultimate ice cream classic: the all-American banana split.

Kool Kone
Wareham

Kool Kone on busy Route Six in Wareham is a Cape Cod institution serving up all the summer treats you crave. There are fifty flavors of ice cream, soft serve that practically screams for a cherry dip, and refreshing slush to wash it all down. But there's nothing on Kool Kone's menu quite like the Fried Banana Sundae. It's a banana dipped in a very sweet batter, then fried up golden brown. Top that with your choice of ice cream, toppings, whipped cream and a cherry.

Harry's Bar and Grill
Middleboro

Another Great 8 winner is Harry's Bar and Grill in Middleboro. This loud and lively pub has food everyone loves at prices anyone can afford, all served in a dining room that takes the airplane theme to the extreme. For a treat sure to make your taste buds take flight, order up the Shaky Bones Sundae. This peanut butter filled cake is sliced up, topped with premium vanilla ice cream and rich hot fudge, and finished with plenty of whipped cream.

Freestones
New Bedford

Freestones in New Bedford is a cozy local favorite housed in a former bank that dates back to nineteenth century. While the history of the building is huge, the sundaes are downright massive, like the gigantic cookie sundae featuring three cookies, three scoops of ice cream and heaps of hot fudge; it's practically a meal onto itself.

Cabot's
Newton

Rounding off the Great 8 is Cabot's. This Newton mainstay has been family run since 1969. Deciding which creamy creation to devour can be a daunting decision. Some customers do-it-themselves, others choose one of Cabot's custom creations. If your appetite is out of control, Cabot's offers The Great Pyramid: a mountain of ice cream weighing more than most small children. Boasting sixty pints of ice cream, twelve quarts of toppings, marshmallow, nuts and cherries, The Great Pyramid can serve about 175 people, all for the low, low price of $250.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.