Part 1: Click Here
After writing about Kow Kow around the time it opened, there have been both changes and some stagnation. I was critical of Kow Kow, giving them 2/5 stars due to pricing, bland ice creams, and minuscule toppings, concluding it felt gimmicky. To some extent, that’s still true, but there’s even more they offer that make up for it.
Where are they now? They still serve the same ice cream. It’s bland compared to most other scoop shops still, however, their specials often make up for it. Interestingly, I found that these specials often consist of ice cream from other shops, so it’s no surprise that it’s better. The specials are often unique, hard-to find-flavors coupled with equally interesting toppings. The specials are very much worth it, especially for the price, but their own ice cream with standard toppings just doesn’t make the cut even with the enjoyable texture combo of the bubble cone waffle.
What I genuinely appreciated about this shop is that they quietly support the community. Indeed, while they post their specials and flavors on social media, as of the last few months, at the very end of the post, they occasionally cite a fairly large percentage of their profits going towards community organizations of their choosing for a period of time. These often reflect recent politics and the time of the year. They don’t show off or put signs up like other places do, they do it discretely, and I believe that shows that they genuinely care and are humble.
To conclude, they still need to improve their own ice cream and perhaps even offer other types of toppings. The $8.50 is about fair now due to recent inflation, but could be more worth it if it wasn’t for the subpar ice cream and plain bubble cone waffles. However, the specials are worth getting and trying, and you may even find yourself inadvertently supporting a local organization in the process!
In the end, I have raised my overall score to 4/5 stars.
You can find my review and hunt for the best ice cream shops in Rhode Island by clicking here.
