If buying history is any metric, then it’s our favorite, too. It’s hard to beat on a price/quality basis. I just picked up a two-pack yesterday.
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Even taking price out of the equation, I would rate Kirkland Vanilla ice as one of the best out there.
I feel like the fact that it comes in a tub the size that would make most laundry detergents blush, gives the impression that it’s low quality.
If it came in a little dainty, 1/2 pint fancy shmancy container, people would be like, “OMG, this is stuff of the nectars of the gods!”
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It’s a shame we don’t have a Costco nearby. I’ve yet to find a vanilla ice cream I like.
It would only ever be used as the base for a sundae, of course.
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I came across a Moose Tracks flavor in the Belmont line at Aldi some years ago. I remember I liked it but can’t remember specifics. I wonder where they got the idea or who makes theirs. Have you compared?
I haven’t. I’m a newbie to Aldi and have only been a couple of times, as it’s much further away from me than other markets - so buying something frozen but quickly meltable would require forethought to bring a cooler and an ice pack. LOL
However - if you look at the labels on both - they’re both calling them “Denali Original” - so maybe Aldi’s is the same thing with a store name on it?
OK, I stand corrected. Looks like MooseTracks is the originator.
And a Google says " Aldi ice cream, particularly its Sundae Shoppe and Belmont brands, is likely made by House of Flavors, a Michigan-based company."
So maybe everyone is buying from MooseTracks?
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Butter Pecan is my # 1 Fav these days. I usually keep two varieties of ice cream on hand, just in case of an emergency. The second one almost always is going to include dark chocolate, from bits to chunks. I also like a plain vanilla.
Some years ago, after losing a lot of weight and being determined to keep it off, I decided to sacrifice the higher butterfat ice creams so I stopped buying B&J. Never found a flavor of Haagen Daz I liked and don’t think I’ve ever had any Tillamook. I also eventually moved toward looking for No Sugar Added varieties, which significantly limits the possible purchases. And after the listeria outbreak of Texas/regional favorite Blue Bell a few years ago I refuse to spend any more money with them - totally unacceptable corporate ethics as far as I’m concerned. HEB’s Creamy Creations brand (yes, I know, even further from being a national brand) is a copycat - even still selling in half-gallon cartons instead of 12/13 oz. I like their NSA butter pecan and their NSA vanilla. But I came to dislike their NSA Intense Chocolate, which does have some dark chocolate bits. It’s like “Here, chill these 2 cans of Hershey’s chocolate syrup and just drink 'em.”
Never had Graeter’s but recently added the nearest Kroger, which isn’t really all that close, to my variety of stores for curbside pickup, so I will be trying some.
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tillamook butter pecan is excellent, and their oregon dark cherry is the closest thing i remember to the cherry vanilla i had growing up.
trader joe’s french vanilla is also quite good — and it’s a full half gallon — 64 ounces, not 48!
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Would you share your favorite butter pecan brand? I’ve yet to find one that comes close to the one that… picked my sundae cherry, so to speak, which is Baskin & Robbins — the first US ice cream brand I ever tried as a kid. It may well be mediocre, but nostalgia is a powerful force.
I love nuts in ice cream, as I get bored easily with monotextures — unless it’s good gelato, then all bets are off.
That’s great news, given how much I already love Tillamook! Will pick up a bucket on my next run 
I’ve discovered the marvels that are green tea and red bean ice creams.
And all of the Talenti sorbets and their pistachio ice cream. Any pistachio ice cream, actually.
And rocky road
Your mission out on a truly amazing treat
It would certainly be the first vanilla ice cream to amaze me. I usually find it a bit too… vanilla 
That’s why you have to get your hands on it
It’s VANILLA not vanilla
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I like Trader Joe’s vanilla and coffee flavors. They work well with toppings and mix-ins. My favorite ice creams are peach, maple walnut and butter pecan nut I haven’t found any brands lately that I like. They all seem pretty bland.
