It’s pretty near impossible to count the number of times I’ve driven past this location. In a way I lumped it in with convenience stores that have ice cream proclaimed on their window even when that merely means a freezer case full of bomb pops. My wariness here was due to the fact that sushi and noodles share the same font point. I ventured in and found an Oreo cone.
This small family-fun business is lost in the Huron Village neighborhood west of Harvard Square in Cambridge. It seems like the sort of international hodge podge of a cafe that you would find in a college town that couldn’t support a Japanese restaurant on its own. Instead they have a little bit of everything, and lots of vegetarian specialties, and all of it is at prices that seem a decade or so behind where they usually are.
Located at the corner of Concord Ave and Walden St, there’s not a ton of space inside, but a few small tables ring the room and heck, there’s even wi-fi in case you want to be scrolling through your iPad as you eat. There’s not any outdoor seating here, and it’s a bit too far from Fresh Pond to make it there with a cone, unless you’re just finishing your last bite as you walk around.
The freezer case itself is pretty small with only ten flavors to choose from, and the selections weren’t ones that were made in the store, but brought in from elsewhere locally. It was the lighting in the case that made me think the oreo was a coffee oreo ice cream, so that was the choice that I landed on from the choices available.
The freezer case isn’t kept at sub-arctic temperatures, so the ice cream had a soft consistency that made it easy to eat through, but the cookies held in solution hadn’t all turned to mush either. The only real oddity was that there were no sugar cones, instead the cones were wafer cones as you’d expect from soft-serve, however their shape was conical like you’d expect from a sugar cone. The results were a nice treat, and best of all a cheap one with a small cone leaving change for a tip when you plunk down $2.
Wandering around this area, I found a place who makes their own sorbet that I need to return to, but more interestingly was when I stepped into Formaggio Kitchen and spied Jeni’s ice cream from Columbus Ohio in their freezer case… though at $12.95 a pint that one may get saved for special occasions.
Cone – 1scoop $1.75 2scoop $2.50 3scoop $3.25
Sundae $3.75
Smoothie $3.50
Concord Avenue Cafe
294 Concord Ave, Cambridge MA 02138
617 547 8835
Open year round
Hours Mon-Fri 7:30a-8:30p, Sat 8:30a-8:30p, Sun 9a-5p
We All Scream For Ice Cream! 
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