This does not imply that Baskin Robbins's utility is limited. Some of its 31 flavors, such as strawberry banana or peanut butter and jelly, may be hard to come by elsewhere. Still, the old-timer generally does its best at the old time flavors, so try the mint chocolate chip or the chocolate (many variations) if you're exploring this relic.

If you're looking for something a little lighter than ice cream's caloric richness, try one of the Square's many frozen yogurt shops. In the last few years, three stores exclusively devoted to fro-yo have sprung up in the square, and many of the ice cream shops also offer "gourmet" frozen yogurt.

The square's most popular frozen yogurt shop is Lucious Licks on Eliot Street. Licks' menu offerings change daily, but you can usually count on a good combination of standard and funky flavors. Licks has developed something of a cult following among Harvard students, but critics often complain that its yogurt is too heavy and bloating.

Around the block is Temptations, which opened last year on the site of the old Haagen-Dazs. Temptations has more offbeat flavors than Licks does, but its mall decor is slightly unsettling. Temptations also weighs your yogurt portion, lest they give you that extra tenth of an ounce. Personally, we feel violated when someone weighs our yogurt.

TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt) in the Garage is the Square's newest frozen yogurt store. Although the shop is only one outlet in the TCBY empire, its convenient location and lower prices are fast making it a favorite among local yogurt seekers. TCBY's flavor selection is often uninspiring, but its yogurt is lighter than Licks' or Temptations,' and students often find themselves forgoing the latter's gourmet flavors for TCBY's simplicity.

So enjoy the Square. Wander around, but don't forget to bring napkins, because whatever you get, it probably will drip.