Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery — Restaurant in Garner

PROS: Location: Location is near Yates Mill so it's a great place to visit and workout and then replenish that workout with ice cream. Lol

Taste: It's ice cream. Can ice cream be bad? Apparently this ice cream is made on premise using the dairy resources on the premises so that's cool, but the ingredients are not listed so you're not really sure what kind of additives are added.

Cows: There's something about the smell of cow manure that always feels so grounding and homely. It was lovely to eat my lunch ice cream and see the gorgeous dairy cows.

Hand Wash Stations: There is a hand washing station outside to clean your sticky hands so that's a plus esp since so many families bring their kids here.

CON: Customer Service: Was here at 6:30pm on 6/8 and every single employee working at that time needs to take a class on customer service. No one says hi. No one smiles. They're far too busy talking to each other (college students so I guess it's to be expected that their brains are focused on anything else than the task at hand) to offer any help. They are not friendly at all. The guy before me was told where napkins are but the guy who got mine threw my cup of half melted ice cream towards me the counter and walked away while yelling out the flavor. I get that they're young, but they need training on customer service.

Menu: There are a lot of options but no explanation if the cones are extra and when I asked I got a response of "uhhh, what do you mean?" How else am I supposed to explain "is there an extra charge for cones vs cups?" Isn’t that clear enough?

Parking: Not enough parking and the road is not paved and has lots of jagged rocks on it.

Seating: Sitting inside means having to swat away flies every 2 seconds bc there's a huge trash can in the center of the store with flies coming in and out of it. There's a nice outdoor porch area with just a few seats but plenty of steps to sit on and see the cows from a distance. Be forewarned though, it’s dirty and there’s lots of melted ice cream on the ground so seating is limited.

Cows Conditions: The cows on the property look great from a distance, but when they get close up you see how filthy they are and how they have so many scabs and dirty spots on them. I understand they are cows, but these cows don't look like they're actually being taken care of. It's a bit unsettling.

Price: For what you're getting, charging nearly $5.38 for one single scoop of ice cream is insane. They know they have a niche product solely bc of the cows on the premises and they're charging accordingly. It’s a joke.

OVERALL THOUGHT: It's ok to try once, but solely based on the customer service and the price gouging, I wouldn't be too quick to come back here.

Tilamook has far superior ice cream and it's far tastier and has all the real ingredients from dairy cows in...

The Randleigh Dairy Heritage Museum is an interesting and educational museum and dairy farm to visit. You do need to purchase a ticket ahead of time as they are just open on certain days.

When you arrive, drive past Howling Cow, down to the museum. In the museum you will learn about the different aspects of dairy farming. I didn't realize all the steps involved.

The museum is hands on and you can learn how food moves through a cow's digestive track; a replica life size cow that can be milked; how to churn butter and you can even hear the different moos cows make in different parts of the world. Who knew a NC cow sounds different than one in California or Japan.

The museum is dedicated to the Kenans. William Rand Kenan Jr., graduated from UNC Chapel Hill but also raised Jersey dairy cows. When he died, he left 60 cows and an endowment to the UNC system. His farm was moved from Lockport, New York to Raleigh, North Carolina with the hope of NC State recreating it to educate students and researchers. At some point that farm was sold, and the proceeds went to the William Rand Kenan Jr. Library at the Vet School and the current museum with a milking parlor.

Besides the museum, you go to the milking area; the storage tanks. Then you get to see cows! We saw some babies from a distance and then some cows at free range as they ate and rested. We couldn't touch them and did need to wear blue plastic booties over our shoes to keep the animals safe.

The tour ends with a sample of Howling...

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I am assuming the "howling" part of the name is because this is an NCSU establishment (Wolfpack).

I have had Howling Cow products at other places throughout Raleigh, and this is the first time at the creamery itself. The grounds are wonderful. There is interior seating, but the star here is the back patio, equipped with rocking chairs and the like, with a large grass area overlooking the cows/farmland. Awesome. There are several creameries throughout NC that have a farmland type view, but the patio does it for me.

I've tried several items from HC. As far as flavors, cherry vanilla and almond butter stand out to me. I had a sundae this go-round, Fireside Brownie Sundae. It had a warm brownie, whipped cream, chocolate chips, and ice cream. They are extremely rich. They offer splits, several cup and cone options, shakes, and pretty much anything ice cream related. Has a bunch of toppings to make whatever concoction you want. I really enjoy the two aforementioned ice cream flavors and like this over everything else sampled. You can also purchase bottled drinks, t-shirts, and other dairy products.

Expect plenty of patrons, a line that usually moved fairly quickly, and ample staff to handle it all. HC does NOT take cash, and I actually love this aspect.

Solid sweet tooth option and an even better atmosphere. We found prices fair and perhaps...