Aside from those couple days when an inch or so of snow has fallen and slowed things down, most of this January could be pretty easily confused with March. It’s not just me, I can tell that since all of my plants are starting to sprout spontaneously. That meant it was time for a ice cream trip and we head to Hingham where I found my way to a Chocolate Malt cone.
March will mark eleven years in business for this shop nestled right in the heart of Hingham Square. Prior to being here, this space had been occupied by a TCBY. When it closed, Krissy Donahue was managing the place, she and her husband then put Nona’s into these two storefront spaces. Ice cream, sherbet, nonfat frozen yogurt, and ices are all handmade here.
The room seemed like a gathering place on this Saturday afternoon, it was warm enough that people were craving some ice cream, but not so warm that people were ready to walk the streets with a cone. As a result the seemingly ample seating in the front of the store was all filled up. There were benches out on the sidewalk though with Tim and Tom along we wound up wandering through the old graveyard looking at three hundred year old headstones.
The options for flavors seemed at first as though things were at little basic, but even with a limited menu in the winter there were a lot of fun options. I tasted the ginger, which had a nice flavor and pieces of candied ginger in it, and Tom had a bowl of it, but I went with the chocolate malt and Tim had the coffee oreo, which I may have had if he hadn’t ordered it right before me.
The chocolate malt made for a pretty cone… the extra density that the malt provides usually does help things hold together. However, gravity took over pretty quickly so I had to go on attack mode to keep from making a massive mess of things. The chocolate is rich and smooth, but not too dark, and well, malt is going to merit comparison with a frappe, and it fares pretty favorably. The biggest issue was that somehow i ate the thing like i was sucking down a frappe too.
Hingham Square doesn’t have much there, though it’s pretty amazing to see the train tracks run under it all. The water is visible from the hills of the cemetery, and shows just how much of a classic New England town this is. And the Snug is a heck of a place for a pull from the tap (thumb’s up on the Wachusett milk stout and the monte cristo).
Cone – kiddie $2.39 small $3.39 medium $4.05 large $4.45
Sundae – small $4.55 medium $5.10 large $5.50
Frappe – regular $4.55 malt $4.75 thick $5.05
Nona’s Homemade Ice Cream
Open year round
Hours (winter) Sunday-Thursday 11a-9p, Friday & Saturday 11a-10p
We All Scream For Ice Cream! 
Awesome ice cream (try the coffee Oreo), nice service (thanks Christine) and the chocolate sprinkles are The Bomb!