Have you noticed that there’s a National Day for just about everything? Take yesterday for example. July 26 is National All or Nothing Day, National Bagelfest Day, National Coffee Milkshake Day and National Parent’s Day. Do these have anything in common or is it all random? I think it's random but, as a parent, I can attest that there were days when I would’ve felt a whole lot better if I could wash a bagel down with a coffee milkshake. But – think about this – Ice Cream gets a whole month!
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan declared July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. Americans love their ice cream. On average, we consume 23 gallons per year. Wow! That’s a lot of trips to Karen’s! The International Dairy Foods Association says that most ice cream companies are family owned and have been in operation for more than 50 years. They also contribute more than $11 billion into our economy. This makes me feel better about the extra scoop on my cone.
What are some of your favorite ice cream places? Growing up, I would love to walk to Lolly’s on Florida Avenue. It was two doors down from my grandparents. It also was where my Mom and Dad met back in 1947. Mom was scooping ice cream when Dad showed up with some of his buddies. The rest is history. I was pretty sad when the building was taken down to make way for the new bridge over the Chuctanunda. Another fun place in Amsterdam is Fariello’s on Lincoln Avenue. Established in 1925, it always felt like a step back in time with the old fashioned soda fountain and penny candy jars.
What are some of your favorite flavors? I've always been partial to caramel sea salt (any brand!). Stewarts had a flavor called Bees Knees a number of years ago that was so delicious. Ben and Jerry's always has fun flavors, too. Heads up! Here are some of the new ones to look for in the store:
Berry Sweet Mascarpone
Chip Happens
Netflix and Chilll’d
Gimme S’more
Of course, they still have the old standbys: Cherry Garcia, Chubby Hubby and Chunky Monkey to name a few.
How fun would it be to work there just to make up the names for new flavors?
Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors and if you look at their logo, you can actually see the 31!
So now that I’ve made us both really hungry for ice cream, I have an empty cone in the pantry just waiting for a couple of scoops of Boom Chocolatta Cookie Core. Enjoy!