KSU Dairy Bar

Best ice cream in town, hands down, not even a competition! All their flavors are outstanding but I’m partial to the mint chocolate chip. Every time I come here, I end up buying at least 2 cartons of ice cream to take home. Whenever we have visitors, we make sure to take them here. Delicious!

Oh my goodness is this place amazing! Try to imagine the milkshake that would be served in heaven and that is what you will get served here over at «Caul Hall», which I believe is the Kansas State University academic name for the location.
These milkshakes, which come in your traditional flavors, are the equivalent of a fine French cheese, but on the sweet end of the that spectrum.
My father, who attended KSU, has brought me to this hidden gem a few times when we have been in Manhattan, Kansas. Before I had ever been here, my father had always told me about how extremely fresh and delicious these milkshakes were, i.e. the milk practically came straight out of the udder nearly hours ago! I was skeptical of all his ranting about and thinking that it was just another ploy to get me to enjoy something else KSU; however, these milkshakes are not to be doubted! They actually do taste as if they have been in the udder of a cow minutes ago. I know that may sound a bit odd, but, the taste is far from odd! They are indeed the milkshakes that are served not only at KSU but also in heaven. Plus they are pretty darn inexpensive!

The KSU Dairy Bar is one of the best ideas that I’ve seen from an Agriculture Dept. on any college campus. The Farm to Table movement has exploded over the last few years, this concept brings the idea to the campus where students, facility and anyone can get fresh local produce and dairy products that are all raised and farmed by KSU students around the local area. A favorite of the students and locals alike is the homemade ice creams that you can have with fresh made cons and sandwiches. I’d highly recommend the fresh meats that are also available there and are great tasting for home cooked meals. Overall I definitely recommend this spot to anyone that wants a taste of the local KSU farm.

Mmmmmmm … Chocolate coconut + waffle cone!
If you love coconut this is for you — generous amount of coconut. Chocolate flavor isn’t overbearing — just right! Love.
Line moved quickly and staff was polite, efficient, and courteous!

This is the Call Hall Diary through K-​State. It is tucked away in an academic building and could be easy to miss. Part of the Call Hall sign is covered up with bushes. The ice cream is home made and they had about 20 flavors available. $ 3 for a single scoop (which was more like three scoops in a large waffle cone). I had the blueberry cheesecake ice cream, it was very creamy and soft ice cream. I wished it had more cheesecake to it but it was good. Others had the cookie dough and wished there was more cookie dough. They also had things like farm fresh eggs ($ 3 for a dozen) and various meats and dairy products. Lots of old time charm, and great hidden gem.

Definitely more on the menu that I need to try out, but so far it’s been tasty. Lots of selection for dairy goods and freshness to boot. My guess is that things might taste a little different each time around, but these students are getting it right all along the way!

Since my cousin spent 10 months at Kansas State University for part of her vet school, we decided to go visit her at the school in Manhattan, Kansas. She took us to the KSU Dairy Bar/​Call Hall since this is apparently a must try when you’re in the area. KSU has an agricultural program, and some of the students help run this Dairy Bar. They have cows on campus, and they use the milk to make the ice cream they serve here, and also sell a variety of different dairy items, eggs, etc. We tried:
–2 Scoops, Butter Brickle & Butter Pecan ($ 3.93,
): One of my favorite ice cream flavors in the Central/​Southern states is butter brickle, which has small pieces of toffee or something mixed in. This version was very creamy, which I liked, and their butter pecan was also very good. I would order both again, although I liked the butter brickle a little more.
I also tried the Purple Pride (Blueberry) flavor, and that was very good as well– there was a lot of good blueberry flavor.
Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to the KSU Dairy Bar, and would definitely come again if in the area. The students who work here are really nice. The line can get quite long on game days, so make sure you come early! Parking is easy since they have a big lot in front.

This is a great place to get steaks for a barbecue. Awesome meat selection! It’s all frozen solid, though, which kinda sucks.
Homemade ice cream? Yes, please!
Cheese curds, milk, eggs, oh yeah!
Parking kinda sucks, but it’s worth making a trip here.

After living around the corner for a few years from the Nebraska Dairy Store in Lincoln, I never took true advantage of what I could buy there. Now that the secret is out, Call Hall is where to go. Run by students, this place produces its own ice cream and dairy products, and sells meat and eggs among other fresh treats. I bought a «bucket» of quail eggs on the cheap. There are all sorts of meats here, including interesting cuts of lamb. However, the star of the show is the ice cream. There are lots of happy kids running around here because of it. There are usually at least 8 flavors available. Most recently I tried the chunky vanilla, which has crushed sugar cookies in the vanilla.
This is a must-​stop when in MHK and the prices are low. Support the students and leave with a smile on your face! There is free parking for dairy store visitors in the Call Hall lot.

This place is and always has been the best experience for dairy snacks and superior farm products in … the world.
Everything comes from Kansas State University agricultural teaching farms and barns and labs. Everything is student made and student managed and student served, with notable exceptions of the professors and grad students attaching their education to the process.
If there is an upside to totalitarian Leninism, this is it.
Draw backs: Be prepared to wait in line For EVER, even in summer. As is customary on campus of KSU, parking is non-​existent, bus routes/​schedules are unpredictable, and the place is often filled to capacity with various social groups like 4H, LGBTQA Alliance, et​.Al.

Oh. My. Gosh.
This place serves, hands down, THE BEST ice cream I have ever had. Ever.
And I have sampled plenty. I’m talking better than Bluebell and it even edges out Braums ice cream. I know, I never thought that was possible either, but we went to the Dairy Bar yesterday and now I’m a believer! So glad we brought two half gallons home and I can tell you that we will absolutely be regular customers.
We also brought home some cheese curds, which tasted pretty much like chunks of cheese to me. I won’t be repurchasing those, but will absolutely be eating lots and lots of KSU ice cream while we live here! Go try some, you won’t regret it.

Vanilla chunk and peppermint stick are really good. Cheese curds! Quality meats for purchase in the freezer– including unconventional stuff like oxtail and goat. A pleasant place tucked into a corner of K-​State campus. A wave of cool air comes over you when you enter, and there’s that intoxicating smell of ice cream. And if you roam the halls of the dairy building there are some pretty interesting and funny pictures of graduating classes, dating back to the early days– plenty of flat tops.

$ 4.25 hot lunches make it a great place to stop if you live or work in the north part of campus. I enjoyed lunch every weekday while I was employed at K-​State.
Staff could use an upgrade. Some of them can be a little rude.
Other than that, great place to eat!

This is the best ice cream in town! It’s made right on campus with our own dairy. They also have a large freezer of reasonably priced meats (beef, pork, lamb, chicken), diary and eggs. They also have cheese curds. It’s closed on Sunday, unfortunately.

Yummmmm! What a gem of a place!
Delicious, creamy ice cream and yummy cheese curds.
They have fresh eggs and meat as well— plan ahead and bring a cooler if you are visiting, so you can stock up. Very low price for high quality food.

This place is awesome. Not only do they have delicious Call Hall ice cream, but they have eggs, milk, cheese, butter, meat, meat and more meat. I wish I knew of something like this in California. It’s so awesome that all the products offered in the store come from the school.
When I came here, I had the lemon ice cream. It was so creamy and delicious. It tasted like lemon curd… Yum!

Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream. That should be enough but I guess I better add some more comments.
The Call Hall (It’s located in Call Hall and everyone I know calls it that, not the KSU Dairy Bar.) is a great K-​State tradition. The ice cream is insane. You can feel the little globs of fat as they melt on your tongue. If I had any complaint, and it’s a minor one, it’s that some of the flavors could be bumped up a notch. Don’t be shy about asking for tasting samples. You can buy quarts to take home or grab a scoop in a cup or cone. Even better, do both!
Because we raise our own cattle and have a fresh supply of meat on hand, normally I don’t buy their meats. The exception are their bratwursts, sausages and hot dogs. Perfect for a summer grill with friends.

This place has some of the best ice cream on the planet! The 16% vanilla is to die for; it is so creamy. With some Bailey’s Cream it makes a fabulous sundae (no, they don’t serve Bailey’s at the Dairy Bar). The 16% vanilla is only sold in half-​gallons so you’ll have to settle for 14% vanilla if you want a scoop from the counter. If you do buy a cone or cup, I recommend you get no more than 2 scoops; I ate 3 and almost died doing it! LOL

Oh yeah… if you want cheap eggs, quality meat, and nomnomnom ice cream, this is it!
Pretty neat, if you keep in mind that this is a store where KSU sells their own quality meats and dairy from the animals at KSU. Good stuff and I fully support it!
Eggs here are cheaper than regular grocery stores at 2.5 dozens for $ 2.79! Nice. Meats are quality, but frozen, so make sure you have time to thaw them.
We ended up trying some toffee vanilla and raspberry ice cream. Servings were generous and the ice creams were creamy, fresh, and super filling. Totally satisfied my sweet tooth. Awesome. Downside is that it seems like their ice cream is sometimes inconsistent, since my friend said that it was grainy one time.
If you can swing by here, try it out! Lots of goodies to oogle at and eat.

This is the open-​to-​the-​public store/​café of the Animal Sciences & Industry department at Kansas State University.
They make a bunch of ice cream flavors — super fluffy texture, more creamy and fatty than sugary — really tasty.
And also = meat! Lots of meat! Smoked, jerkied, cut up, twirled about (perhaps…) meat. Good prices, but it’s all rock solid frozen, so plan your bbq for the next day.
There are a few other offerings: nuts, two and a half dozen of eggs for two dollars called a…(wait for it)…Two Buck Cluck!!! Ha! Love it. Also cheeses, nuts, milk and some other good stuff.
At the ice cream bar there’s also other snacks for sale, including a a biscuit and gravy dish with chipped beef. Speaking of which, you can buy the ubiquitous-​around-​Manhattan «EAT BEEF» license plate thingy.