One of the things I like to follow in the world of Restaurants is the annual James Beard Awards, seeing which chefs and restaurants, especially in New England, are getting recognized. I’ll be honest, New Hampshire usually doesn’t get a lot of nominations (Vermont and Maine definitely do better in this respect), so when a NH place gets to the semi-finalist or finalist list multiple years in a row, I know that place is worth checking out. In this case, it was in the “Outstanding Bakery” category, and unlike the usual pastry shops and bread bakeries, this one was an ice cream place: Bethlehem’s Super Secret Ice Cream, who was a semi-finalist in 2024, and a finalist in 2025.
Bethlehem is one of New Hampshire’s smaller towns (population of around 2500), with a relatively compact downtown with a few businesses all nestled in on Main Street/US-302. Located about 500 feet down the road from one of the area’s more popular taprooms, Rek-Lis Brewing Company, Super Secret’s store is your basic modern ice cream parlor: a central freezer case of flavors, and a broad menu of ice cream flavors. But while they do have the classic chocolate and vanilla flavors, after that, they primarily dabble in the more exotic flavors, such as blueberry yuzu, Earl Grey, and sweetberry honeysuckle.
When trying a new ice cream place, I’ll often try a relatively simple, single flavor to try things out. In this case, I got a hazelnut stracciatella: hazelnut ice cream laced with thin ribbons of chocolate. This was an outstanding ice cream: smooth and silky, flavorful, and not overly sweet or cloying. It’s probably my favorite ice cream or gelato I’ve had in the area since Morano Gelato and Slick’s in Woodsville closed a few years ago. And while waffle cones are pretty common these days, good, housemade ones are more rare, and it’s obvious that that Super Secret is making their own, this was a fresh, flavorful, and extra crispy waffle cone (probably my second favorite for the region after Red Hen over in Vermont). Although I did get a bit of a dribble out of the bottom of my cone, a common problem with waffle cones, and I’m surprised more places don’t use the trick I saw long-ago at Grand Ole Creamery in St Paul, MN: add a malted milk ball at the bottom of every cone to act as a seal.
Carol, meanwhile, got a cup of ice cream, split between three flavors: Earl Grey, Blueberry Yuzu, and Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Jam. I only had a sample of each, but I particularly liked the Earl Grey, having the expected bergamot- and tea-heavy flavor, but being composed nicely to avoid any of the astringency. The blueberry yuzu was a nice combination as well, with the yuzu brightening up the flavors of the blueberry in much the way lime would. And the Strawberry Rhubard Jam Jam was a nice variant on a classic strawberry flavor, adding a bit of tang.
You know, it’s hard to accurately describe in words what’s so good about Super Secret, but it is the real deal, and quite delicious. Between the quality and the inventive flavors, I fully understand why this fairly simple ice cream parlor managed to be a twice-nominated James Beard honoree. It’s definitely worth checking out if you are in northern NH or VT.
