Sweet ice cream o’ mine

Posted by Jerry on Jul. 28, 2009

bottom_bg

Everyone has an ice cream of his or her youth: that one brand, that one store, that one local chain that defined ice cream for you. Sure , you probably ate what ever came out of the freezer case as well–and perhaps for you whatever came out of the freezer case is your totemic ice cream and that works too. In fact it probably works even better for you because you can have your frozen madeleine moment for a long, long time, whereas those of us who clove to local brands, or worse the single shop, could well never experience the like again.

The people of Oklahoma brandish the Braum’s. Philadelphians genuflect before Bassett’s. And the villagers of Valparaiso validate the Velvet. These are three stellar products, but even the Bassett’s blue and white container does not make my heart leap up as much as the leaping calf of Richman’s.

I’m not going to tell you Richman’s was the best ice cream ever. ( A friend of my brother’s once tasted the rum raisin and then politely inquired, “Is this county dry?” ) But it was pretty sensational. In the day, the ice cream was made behind the factory at the main store, sold at a couple of branches scattered throughout the near area, and in local stores. I remember once having a pitched debate with the Sibling over which was better homemade ice cream or Richman’s. I said homemade. He looked at me wide eyed and said earnestly. “Have you ever seen the upstairs at Richman’s?”

Richman’s is still sort of with us. The satellite stores closed, but the original store still operates though the factory behind it is apparently closed. The logo and brand seem to be owned by the Philadelphia Water Ice Company. I haven’t tasted it in years, but am reliably informed that the chocolate banana is still “pretty damn good.”

So what’s your totemic ice cream?

  • RCarney
    Buebell, from Houston Texas. I'm not a vanilla icecream fan, but their french vanilla was to die for. And a place in Amish country my Dad took me for my first ice cream cones. It looked like a barn and had enormous tremendously tall counters, but that may have been because I was 3 at the time. And, of course, Richmans.
    The last time I was there, all the short order cooks in the restaurant had just walked out because they were tired of management telling them what to do and how to do it. What ensued was an I love lucy-esque comedy of waitstaffing woes as the management put their efficiency tips into practice......
  • Ali
    Hey, can you believe another vote for Graeters!? And this one from a South Carolina native. My uncle lived in Cincinnatti but played in the SC Philharmonic. He would drive down for concerts and was a bit of an ice cream dealer. He had a cooler in his car packed with dry ice and Graeters. He took orders and sold some to other members of the orchestra. He would stay with us and bring us several pints. Oh, how I loved those chocolate chunks!
  • KPCK
    Steve's Ice Cream shop in Huntington, NY was fabulous. It was a small New England chain that also opened a branch in Huntington (considering how many villagers went to high school, sailed, had ski homes and/or island homes in New England, it was a natural extension). The shop had several simple flavors of ice cream, you then picked what would be mixed in, and the shop would put your ice cream on the marble counter while mixing in your Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (for example). It was delicious, and the place to go. Just a 2 mile walk from my parents' house in Lloyd Harbor, so it was perfect for a teenager.
  • I'll second the Braum's. Predictably, I'm from Oklahoma.
  • jacobgrier
    For me it's Graeter's in Cincinnati. I didn't grow up there, but I visited yearly and Graeter's was always a special treat.
blog comments powered by Disqus