
Last week we made a trip to Ferdinand’s, the ice cream shop of the WSU Creamery, which is a good spot any time of year.

Running to the entrance of Ferdinand's

Ferdinand's sign
One of the best things to get is a latte, which uses milk from the creamery and is really cheap (I think around $1.50).

Ferdinand's Front Door
From the website: “Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe, Washington State University’s gourmet ice cream shop, features old-fashioned ice cream and soda fountain treats, exclusive ice cream flavors, gourmet coffee and espresso drinks and of course, award winning Cougar Cheese.”

Fresh ice cream

My favorite: Apple Cup Crisp!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl in A Waffle Cone = Heaven

The cheese counter
Cougar Cheese is made at WSU and is surprisingly good (I am surprised mainly because it comes in a can, which is not usually the mark of a fine cheese – but really, it is excellent). You can buy cans around town, but I think Ferdinand’s is the only place you can buy the smaller portions, the curd, and the cooking cheese. This is good because the cans have 2 pounds of cheese – which is a LOT of cheese!

Cougar gold cheese and curds

The Cheese Cooler
You can also buy WSU Honey, and Cougar Gold nachos.

WSU-Produced Honey

Cougar Gold Nachos!
After you have your ice cream, go up to the Observation Room where you can see the cheese and ice cream being made.


Observing
The WSU Creamery offers educational tours, and a cheesemaking shortcourse.


Door to the Observation Room
Ferdinand’s is located in the Food Quality Building on the WSU Campus, 2 blocks east of the New Biotech/Life Sciences building. It is across from the Indoor Practice Facility.
It has a bathroom with changing table, a highchair, and a water fountain. It also has an outdoor seating area.
Park at the parking meters. Do not park on the street unless you want a ticket (trust me on this one!)

On the wall is the illustrated story of Ferdinand the Bull:

Part of the story of Ferdinand
The website gives this version of how Ferdinand’s was named: “The most popular story is that in 1938, the Washington State College Dairy Products Judging Team was trying to earn money for competitions. There was a student on that team, Rune Goranson, whose middle name happened to be Ferdinand. Also in 1938, the Disney short film “Ferdinand the Bull” was released. All this was too much to ignore and the judging team sold ice cream sundaes to raise funds and named their sales booth “Ferdinand’s”. Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe opened its doors on September 24, 1948 in Troy Hall and remained there until 1992, before moving to its current location in the Food Quality Building.”
Ferdinand’s is open Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 4:30, but check for special hours (like holidays and game days), check the website:
http://www.wsu.edu/creamery/hours.htm

- Cans of Cougar Gold