field trip friday

Yes, I do love ice-cream.  And while so many others post photos of crocuses to show the change of season, I gauge its coming by when Dairy Queen opens its windows.  In the same way, while others look forward to a green bagel or green beer to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day every year, I can’t wait to have the celebratory Shamrock Shake.  Summer for me is marked by the moment I step foot into our local Baskin and Robbins each year.  The young boy I know that works there starts preparing the scoop of bubblegum in a cup before I even attempt to place my order.

When I look back on why I enjoy these ice-cream moments, I realize it is not as much the taste of the ice-cream, as the memories of these three places.  Dairy Queen was a place I would walk to with my grandmother as a very young girl.  My grandmother didn’t drive and we would walk to the Dairy Queen on the main road a few blocks away – all the while she would hold my hand in a death grip.  The Shamrock Shake came later….I worked at a McDonald’s when I was 16 and was so proficient at the register I was proud to attain the coveted ‘highest cashier of the hour’ award.  This meant you had the most sales of any cashier for a specific hour.  In essence, it meant that you were able to work the register and pack the food faster than anyone else.  (I won’t say how long ago that was, but prices from that time are etched into my brain, and I know the hamburgers were 30 cents back then)  It was at this job that I was introduced to the Shamrock Shake, and even if it didn’t taste all the wonderful, it held the significance of being part of my whole employment experience…… Baskin & Robbins bubblegum ice-cream was my treat when I was a kid for completing the 15 mile bike ride from my home to the closest Baskin & Robbins store.  We did not have a Baskin & Robbins in our town, so I would make the ride to the town my grandmother lived in to purchase the limited edition bubblegum flavor.  It was only sold for a short time in the summer, so in my mind, it quickly became associated with summer.

The nostalgia, not the taste, is what really drives these ice cream purchases.  Truth be known, I am actually very much an ice-cream snob.  Other than the few nostalgically motivated choices I mentioned, my ice-cream selections are pretty much exclusive to the natural variety.  My favorite being handmade and served from a little shop located in a small neighborhood by the shore.  The best flavor?  Lavender & fig.  Hard to believe the same person that would eat a Shamrock shake could truly appreciate the subtlety of lavender and fig, but it is certainly the case.

Walnut Beach Creamery’s ‘sandi annie’ ice-cream – blue vanilla, graham cracker sand, and chocolate covered pretzel goldfish

The International Ice Cream Association has vanilla, chocolate, and butter pecan as the top three ice-cream flavors – with vanilla way out in front.  This would not be true in the little shoreline community where Walnut Beach Creamery operates.  The current bestseller is cupcake.  What is your favorite ice cream flavor to celebrate the season?