The Scoop: Owowcow Creamery

The deal: Owner John Fezzuoglio makes small-batch ice cream in unusual flavors like lemon ginger, rosewater cardamom, chai cream, blood-orange raspberry and merlot sorbet.

Details: Owowcow opened in 2009 at 4105 Durham Road, in Ottsville, Bucks County (610-847-7070). A second location opened in 2011 at Carousel Village at Indian Walk, 591 Route 413, Wrightstown (215-598-3248). Hours at both are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Fezzuoglio is scouting a third location in Bucks that he hopes to open this fall.

The backstory: Fezzuoglio, a Brooklyn native now living in New Hope, was a graphic artist in Manhattan when he decided to move to the country and make ice cream. "We lose farm after farm after farm to development. On a personal level, I was supporting farm markets and farmers, but I wanted to do it on a professional level" by making a locally sourced product, he said. He took Penn State University's ice-cream short course, but otherwise is self-taught.

Bucks grown and made: Most of his ingredients come from the surrounding countryside. Fezzuoglio got approved by the state Agriculture Department as a dairy manufacturing plant so he could further ensure that his treats were all natural and locally sourced.

The wait: You'd think Owowcow would be as slow and sleepy as the rural burg it sits in, an hour north of Center City. But the parking lot was full and a quick-moving line snaked through the shop during our visit one recent weekday afternoon.

What we ate: The Cashew Caramel was delicious, studded with whole cashews and laced with a thick ribbon of caramel in vanilla ice cream. Sweet Bourbon Butter Corn was tasty, too. Fezzuoglio says Chocolate Mint Cookie and Garden Berry (made from blueberries, blackberries and raspberries) are top sellers.

We'll try next time: Comparing the vanillas. Owowcow offers three: Indonesian, Tahitian and Madagascar.

About that scoop: Sized from kiddie ($3.25) to large ($6.50); pints, $6.50; sundae, $6.74; shakes $6.10; banana split, $7.90; ice cream sandwiches, $4. Can't pick one flavor? Try five flavors for $5.55.

One more thing: Bring some bucks to Bucks, because this place is cash or check only.