These 10 ice creams will always mean real summer in NJ
Marinos Italian Ices
Depending on where you were from you either called these water ice, Italian ice, or ices but Marinos were only called ices. You could get them on the ice cream truck and they were the only prices in a cup that you could get from the ice cream truck. When you got about halfway down scraping with that flat wooden spoon thingy you could turn it over and eat the slushy part that would form at the bottom.
Good Humor Trio
You know the one I’m talking about..they still exist today but they were ubiquitous back then. That awesome NJ summer trio:
- Chocolate Eclair (which was not even CLOSE to an eclair!)
- Toasted Almonds (good in a pinch!)
- Strawberry shortcake (i mean, i always thought there was something wrong with those kids.)
Bomb Pop
It was like a popsicle except much fatter and it contained the colors red white and blue. So it was your patriotic duty to eat it. So much more satisfying than a Popsicle because there was so much more on the stick. You could lick the bomb pop for what seemed like hours, but if the day was really hot you’d have to do it really fast to prevent the color dribble all over your shirt
Candy Crunch
The miracle of ice cream technology back in the day, this ice cream contained vanilla ice cream on a stick covered with chocolate but very deep inside was an actual chocolate bar. Did the chocolate bar taste good? No. Was it the consistency of plastic? Yes. But that didn’t matter. The fact that it was there waiting for you when you were patient enough to lick the entire outside was enough to make your childhood ice cream dreams come true.
Bassetts Ice Cream
Still famous in the southern part of New Jersey, the real secret of basic ice cream and why it was and still remains the best is the high content of butter fat. As an example, your basic Ben & Jerry’s serving contains about 10 to 12 g of butter fat but Bassetts pushed it all the way up to 13 or 14. Now that is what rich and creamy really means.
Boardwalk Waffles and Ice Cream
I don’t care how many times you try to reproduce this in your kitchen, there is no such thing as the taste of true boardwalk waffles and ice cream. Whether they sandwich the ice cream between Belgian waffles or regular garden-variety waffles, it was a combination of flavors that truly meant summer and that could never be duplicated.
Kohr’s Ice Cream
You can still find Kohr’s on some boardwalks in New Jersey and one taste of its creamy deliciousness will bring you right back to the summers of your past. It was so creamy, in fact, that they called it “custard”. There’s nothing like walking down a broiling boardwalk, licking a Kohr’s ice cream, or drinking their fresh orangeade.
Sealtest Neapolitan Squares
Sealtest was the first, but many companies followed afterward. The Neapolitan ice cream brick. And unless I am wrong, Sealtest was the only one to wrap the squares individually. For the uninitiated, Neapolitan was simply a stack of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice creams put together. So you didn’t have to make that tough decision!
Leo’s Yum Yum in Medford
Forget all the new fangled ice cream mix-ins. Since 1936, Leo’s Famous Yum Yum has been serving the best ice cream and ices (or as they call it down there, water ice) in South Jersey. Maybe in all of the state. With Frank Sinatra playing in the background and it’s ice cream flavors named for famous Italian American singers, Leo’s is really something to experience. A must try is Mario Lanza ice cream, Almond dark chocolate and coffee layered ice cream. chocolate almond, no
Strollo’s Lighthouse
No list of the cool treats of summer would be complete without the addition of Strollo’s lighthouse. While the lighthouse is famous for its ices, for almost 40 years people have been enjoying their soft serve ice cream as well. Even people who don’t like soft serve will enjoy it when they’re at the lighthouse. Maybe it has something to do with the long line you have to wait on to get to it. The best stuff is worth waiting for, right?
Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.
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