It’s summer, and I’m screaming! Where is the homemade ice cream?! For a quick fix, New Jersey has Baskin Robbins, which brings memories of my teenage years of scooping hard ice cream with my skinny arms, blending milk shakes, and constructing ice cream cakes by cutting the tubs of ice cream by pulling a metal wire that looked like a serial killer’s weapon. But back to happy, sweet, cooling treats: Unlike Manhattanites (until very recently when they opened their first), New Jerseyans have also had the option of soft ice cream and the indulgent concoction called a Blizzard from Dairy Queen.
When the warm weather hits, we foodies even get a little snobby about our ice cream. As with most delivered in mass quantities, quality suffers. With Baskin Robbins, some of those 31 flavors sit for a long time and harden, and the colors resemble a tie-dye shirt. I apologize to the lactose-intolerant, but I want my ice cream to have real cream in it and real nuts. Hold the preservatives please.
Because our East Coast state has limited ice cream-consumption weather, many of the stores that make their own are only open during this “season”. But, yes, some people still crave it in the winter regardless of temperature. So if you don’t have a homemade ice cream parlor near you, and you need to take your child’s softball team out after a game, by all means stop at your local DQ.
However, when it’s just you and your date, and you want to take the time to really enjoy your cone, visit one of these long-standing through-backs:
Denville Dairy has been around for about 32 years. While they offer soft-serve, diet, low-fat and sugar-free, the regular hard ice cream is most popular…and 32 flavors (they just had to top that other place that claims to have 31).
Applegate Farm has three locations – Hoboken, Nutley and Upper Montclair. This farm has been producing fresh dairy products for Northern NJ families since the mid-1800s. It has become one of the largest retail outlets for ice cream on the East Coast, according to its website. They must be doing something right.
One of my favorites is Bischoff’s in Teaneck. This confectionary staple just marked its 80th anniversary. It has the appearance of an ice cream parlor from the 50s with all the old-style candies to purchase, as well as counter stools. You can choose to sit with your friends in booth for more privacy. On a recent visit, my first of this year, I had to be sure and ask: “Do you still make your own?”
“Yes, we make all our ice cream in the basement.” It sounds so covert, but whatever the secret is, I just need to taste those ingredients, not know the quantities.
Van Dyk’s in Ridgewood is a close second, but it’s a bit hidden for those who do not venture to this neighborhood. There is no seating indoors, but most people sit down outside on the stone wall, if it’s not covered with melted drippings.
The Jersey Shore is rife with these gems, so find one, be a kid again, but this time taste the difference between home-made and mass-produced. You certainly will.
