I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM

"Without ice cream life and fame are meaningless." - anonymous

July 19, 2004

YEAH! IT'S NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH! So what's the big deal? I'm going to Akron, that's what! As in Ohio. Cuz next Memorial Day (May 28, 2005) Akron will celebrate the First Annual National Hamburger Festival. Yeah, OK. That's nice. But what you may ask, does the First Annual National Hamburger Festival have to do with ice cream?

Glad you asked. Y'all know I'm a buggerdict. And I'm big into ice cream. That is, after all, part of new diet, the Modified Atkins: meat, salad and ice cream. I know Dr. Stan ain't very happy about all this, but se la vie.

But there's more to that. It just happens that one of the alleged founders of the bugger, is also one of the alleged founders of the ice cream cone. And that's the truth. Allegedly. And, youses guyses ain't gonna believe this: these same two peoples are also credited with being part of the creation of Cracker Jacks®. The short version of the story goes like this.

Frank and Charles Menches ran out of pork for their sausage patty sandwiches at the 1885 Erie County Fair. Their supplier, reluctant to butcher more hogs in the summer heat, suggested they use beef instead. The brothers fried some up, but found it bland. They added coffee, brown sugar, and other ingredients to create a taste, which stands distinct without condiments. They christened this sandwich the "hamburger" after Hamburg, New York where the fair was being held.

At the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, Frank and Charles baked waffles in Parisian waffle irons and topped them with ice cream. They then had an idea to wrap the warm waffle around a fid, a cone-shaped splicing tool for tent ropes. The waffle cooled and held its shape to provide an edible handle for eating ice cream.

Returning home to Akron, the Menches began production of "Premium" cones in their popcorn factory. The Premium Popcorn Works, Inc. was the site of their first innovative breakthrough, caramel coated peanuts and popcorn with a prize in the pack. After offering "Gee-Whiz" at the 1893 World's Fair, someone developed the idea as the snack known today as Cracker Jacks®

If you're at all interested, there is tons of info on the web. But if you're planning on visiting Akron for this great event, contact Nancy Csonka (Larry's sister) at 330/375- 2133 for assistance on this. That number is the Akron economic development office. Or, call Judy Menches-Kusmits (330/896-9001), The only thing I gotta find out is, are they gonna serve the buggers rare?

Back to ice cream. Again, there's so much info on the web that I'm extracting stuff from all over. The only facts I tried to get and couldn't was a state by state breakdown of ice cream consumption. No one seems to know where to find it. So if one of you web-surfers comes across it, please let me know.

As with buggers, I've written lots about ice cream in the past. But every other writer in town is on it this month, so I won't bore you with redunancy.

With my new diet, I eat only the good stuff. I don't bother with lousy meat, only the best. Same with ice cream. Dr. Stan told me to forget about buying the low fat (low taste) crap. If you're going to indulge, make it worth while. Besides, the crap has just as many carbs as the good stuff, so why bother? Muh personal favs are anything with lots and lots of butterfat (or milkfat), and low overrun (air). So a good gelato will usually outshine a good ice cream in taste cuz it has hardly any air, and is so creamy you'd think it has lotsa butterfat, when in fact it has about a 1/3 of the butterfat of the super premium ice creams. Now that don't mean no calories. That just means less butterfat. Still lotsa carbs and calories.

The big news at the National Restaurant show two years ago was gelato. There were a dozen or more vendors promoting the product either on a national level or on a regional level. Most of them were good; I sampled every one of 'em.

This year most of those new gelato companies either didn't show their gelato or went by the wayside. The big news was low carb ice cream, low carb gelato, and low carb pastries. They all had either a product made with Splenda or one of the other sugar substitutes. Splenda is made from something called sucralose; a calorie-free chemical that contains sugar but is not absorbed by the body. Then there are the sugar alcohols: maltitol, xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol or lactitol. These seem to be used more in candies and ice cream. There is some question whether the sugar alcohols are good for diabetics cuz they may affect blood sugar. And we're all familiar with Aspartame, the product currently found in most diet soft drinks.

Without going into all the gory details about which is better for what product, note that there are baked goods, ice cream and other frozen desserts, drink products (both hot and cold), and candies, chocolates and other confectionery items. Different sweeteners can and do have different results with different kinds of products. I visited with the nutritionist who holds the patent for one of the sugar alcohols for baked goods but not for soft drinks, ice creams or anything else. What's best for you? Do the research if you're going to bake or make something. Otherwise, if it tastes good, great. If not, pass on it. But don't assume you'll have a similar result with another brand of the same kind of product. It's all how that sugar substitute reacts with all the other ingredients in the product. I love Splenda in some things, but other products with Splenda really suck. Unfortunately, there are so many new products on the market you're going to either do an awful lot of tasting, or wait until the market gets rid of the garbage on its own. If you're diabetic, either type 1 or 2, you might check with your health practitioner first.

But I do have muh favs. I luv Gelato D'Italia (250 Detroit St, 303/316-9154); you can find their products, besides at their store, in many groceries and Italian markets. I also like most any house-made ice cream. The Cuda, G and I had lunch today at Jarre Creek Ranch in Castle Rock (810 New Memphis Ct, 303/688-8509). You'll never find it from the address; just get off at the Castle Rock Premier Outlet Mall, Exit 184, and keep going right. It's just behind McDonald's and due south of the mall. Anywho, the fish and chips are 2-die-4, but the housemade ice cream is superb.


Lots of restaurants make their own ice cream. You just gotta try them all, particularly this month being National Ice Cream Month.

The best ice cream stores in town are listed in the order they pop into muh mind: Michelle's Ice Cream (6880 S. Clinton St, 720/482-8390), ceptin of late their ice cream is way too soft when it's served. There are two Michelle's in Colorado Springs, the first one being there since 1952: 122 N. Tejon 719/633-5089). They also have great buggers, sangies, and the some of best spud salad around. Boulder Ice Cream has several locations and can be found in many supermarkets. They also make a good gelato. Magill's World of Ice Cream (8016 W. Jewell Ave, 303/986-9968) has been around for about 30 years; their product can be found in several area retail stores. They're right behind my house, so I can visit them often. All For the Better (3501 S. Clarkson St, 303/781-0230) is quite yummy. Colorado City Creamery (2602 W. Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, 719/634-1411) is big on the fair circuit, but is outstanding when you find them. Or visit their store in Colorado City. Still in El Paso County, in Palmer Lake you'll find the very good Rock House Ice Cream store (24 Hwy 105, 719/488-6917), If you're hungry, they also serve brats, dogs and other lunch items. Fort Collins is a great city to visit and to get away from the hubbub of metro Denver, and while they're visit Walrus Ice Cream Company (109 S. College Ave, 970/482-5919). Lotsa unusual flavors that find "favor" with the college crowd. Almost a bad pun. An old Denver favorite, Lik's Ice Cream (2039 East 13 Ave, 303/321-1492) has been around for centuries. And you can find a scoop or two of their ice cream in many retail stores. What hot summer evening can be comfortable without a visit to the Bonnie Brae Ice Cream store (799 S. University Blvd, 303/777-0808)? Old timers will recognize that address as being that of the former Dolly Madison Ice Cream store that was at that location for many years. We all stopped in after a fine Italian feast at the Bonnie Brae Tavern, just across the street (740 S. University Blvd, 303/777-2262). By the by, those of you trivia-types will note that the lady married to our fourth president was "Dolley" Madison (with an "e"y). And finally, the Soda Rock Café (2217 E. Mississippi Ave, 303/777-0414 is one of muh all time favs.

I didn't include other categories of frozen desserts (frozen custard, sorbet, etc.) in this column cuz, a) I'm outta space, and b) G called and sed get home for dinner. Translated that means to bring something to eat, or be prepared to dine out. So I'm outta here.

Cya.