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Cambridge offers an ice cream store for everyone. Each shop has its own specialties, each consumer has his or her own tastes, and no reviewer can pick the absolute best.

Still, Herrell's on Dunster Street must come near the top of everyone's list.

This refurbished bank comes complete with tables in the vault and makes a strong showing in all important categories--location, quality, price, variety, atmosphere and hours.

The ice cream here has a creamy texture and intense flavor second to none. The flavors are somewhat limited, because the owners want you to pay extra for a smoosh-in. Still, cookies and chocolate, and chocolate chip have been appearing on the menu recently with some frequency. And Herrell's can get fancy even without adding a lot of heavy candy--try chocolate pudding or malted vanilla.

You pay for the location and the quality. Prices are towards the top of the local range. In the winter, you can save with a frequent buyer program. In the summer, hard-core ice cream eaters can save money by bringing a friend and share a pint--a hand packed carton of any flavor costs less than two small ice cream cones.

Herrell's ice cream is the basis for its reputation, but its menu also boasts several types of yogurt for the faint-at-heart-ice-cream-eating-wannabees. Don't overlook the chocolate whipped cream or the carrot cake, either.

Steve Herrell started Steve's before he started Herrell's. In the real world, Steve's is pricey. But you're not in the real world, and a regular scoop of ice cream is $1.75.

Steve's thing is chunks. Big chunks of chocolate, fruit, whatever--it'll be in your ice cream, or yogurt.

Toppings are possible on everything. There's all kinds of fruits, plus oreo cookies and peanut butter cups. It's 50 cents per dry topping and 60 cents for a wet one. Toppings are practically a must on Steve's yogurt, which retails at $1.75 for a regular scoop and $2.50 for a large.

For yogurt, there are nine basic flavors (strawberry, chocolate, vanilla and the other usual suspects), and then the people at Steve's blend in things to create flavors like, say, carrot cake.

The ice cream is rich, and, on quality alone, (gaspl) is the equal of sainted Herrell's. But Steve's has too many distractions. Under the same roof there's the Church Street Cafe, a well meaning sandwich place that gives you a mediocre lunch for about six bucks. And the atmosphere isn't there. Some nights, in fact, you'll forget you're in Harvard Square because there's no line.

To break the Herrell-Steve's price barrier, head down Cambridge Street to Inman Square, where a stop by Christina's Homemade Ice Cream shop will put you back in touch with the people. A kiddie cone at Christina's is about the same size as a single scoop at Herrell's, comes in more daring flavors, and is about 50 cents cheaper. Larger portions and sundaes are, well, LARGER.

Walking out to Inman Square will burn off the calories from the ice cream, and it's worth the trek to Christina's to enjoy the old-fashioned ice cream parlor ambience and the very Cambridge bulletin board full of "community notices." Besides, even the most dedicated Herrell's fan needs a break once in a while.

Flavors include white chocolate, reverse chocolate chip, and the increasingly popular cookie dough. As usual, yogurt is an option.

Less homey and more corporate is the one national chain which has found a permanent home in the Square. Baskin-Robbins. This narrow shop on Mass. Ave near the Hong Kong restaurant, is close by for Union dorm residents.