HUNGRY GERALD

Yes, ice cream. Without question and indubitably, it is the best dessert ever created by humankind. HG reflected on this as HG dove into a dessert of Chapman’s (a Canadian company) Maple Walnut. This used to be a ubiquitous ice cream flavor but is now rarely encountered. Better than the easily available butter pecan. When on Prince Edward Island, HG usually enjoys ADL French Vanilla with a splash of local maple syrup. HG’s son-in-law, the distinguished Profesore Massimo R., gifted HG with a jar of Italian pistachio cream. A small topping of this ethereal substance transports vanilla ice cream to a higher realm. During the early days of HG’s marriage to BSK (Some 53 years ago), BSK introduced hubby HG to a midwestern ice cream dessert: The Tin Roof. Vanilla ice cream with a topping of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup and Planter’s Cocktail Peanuts. HG/BSK always indulged in this on summer Sunday nights after returning to Manhattan from sun kissed beach weekends on Fire Island. The combination of creamy, sweet, salty and crunchy was extraordinary. (If you make a Tin Roof be sure to use Planter’s Cocktail Peanuts. Don’t substitute). When at home in New Mexico, HG favors Talenti Gelato (available in a nearby supermarket). Sea Salt Caramel is the best flavor. When in Paris, HG often passes on the pastry desserts in favor of legendary Berthillon ice cream. Very good, but inferior to the sublime ice cream made on the premises at Barney’s, a Rockaway Beach ice cream parlor that flourished in HG’s youth. Was it really that good or is the memory enhanced by HG’s nostalgia?

For many years the Good Humor ice cream truck was omnipresent in the United States; the jingle of its bells the un-official sign that Summer had begun (no matter if it were only April!). The trucks dispensed super ice cream bars (Burnt Almond and Coconut were HG’s favorites) and their appearance on hot city streets was an occasion for joy. In New York, Bungalow Bar was a competitor. The Bungalow Bar truck played a cheery tune to announce its appearance. However, their bars were inferior. During the Great Depression of the 30’s Good Humor trucks operated six months of the year and created employment opportunities. Working for a commission on what they sold, some Good Humor drivers made as much as $100 a week (a huge sum in those days). For some reason Ice cream bars were known in the industry as “novelties.” HG enjoyed a good number of “novelties” in his youth. In particular, HG loved the Creamsicle — orange ice enclosing creamy vanilla. Other faves: the classic Popsicle, the Chocolate Fudgesicle and the delicious Eskimo Pie. Simple summer pleasures that still exist today. One does not however. And it was the greatest, the king of all ice cream novelties. HG is speaking of the extinct Melorol — an ice cream shaped like a pipe that fitted into a special cone….Perhaps, when HG passes and heads to Heaven (where else would he go?), Melorols will still be served along with all the other treats of a disappeared and delicious past.

Have always found caramels too sweet. But, a few years ago HG discovered, in Paris, of course, caramel ice cream enriched with sea salt — fleur de sel. Super yum. Trader Joe’s now carries fleur de sel caramel candies. A treat. Haagen Dasz has a nice Dulce Con Leche ice cream. Give a bowl a sprinkle — a very modest sprinkle — of sea salt. An ice cream surprise.

Last Christmas, thoughtful SJ gifted HG with a big sack of Bazzini pistachios, Big, plump, fresh, not too heavily salted nuts. Indeed, Bazzini reigns over the pistachio kingdom.

HG has always loved pistachios. As a wee lad, he would purchase them at the famed candy and ice cream emporium, J.S. Krum, which was located on The Bronx’s Grand Concourse (and Promenade). HG loves all pistachio-studded Turkish and Greek desserts. HG loves mortadella, the Italian forcemeat that is dotted with pistachios (the best mortadella is found in Bologna, a city of hearty cuisine). A bowl of pistachios, fruit, cheese, red wine (or port) makes a nice dinner finale. Curiously, HG has never encountered good pistachio ice cream. It usually tastes like green food coloring and sub-par vanilla. It’s a puzzle, because it should be good, as good at least as Butter Pecan or Vanilla Swiss Almond and it just isn’t. So, get to work, ice cream R & D guys. The world needs superior pistachio ice cream.