Cold fact: It got hot, so we got ice cream
By: Katie Wagner, Staff Writer
Source: The Princeton Packet
July 10, 2007
Cold fact: It got hot, so we got ice cream
By: Katie Wagner, Staff Writer
Source: The Princeton Packet
July 10, 2007
Downtown Princeton offers a seemingly overwhelming choice
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Andrea Arriola, left of Ricky's Candy, Cones & Chaos on Nassau Street, serves James Huff a cup of ice cream as Malika Krishna looks on. (Staff photo by Frank Wojciechowski) |
Creamy, crunchy, gooey, juicy, rich, sweet and salty — Princeton's frozen desserts have been catering to every craving, especially during a week when daytime temperatures started out in the 90s and are predicted to remain at least in the mid-80s.
A stroll down Nassau Street or in Palmer Square offers desserts ranging from a traditional chocolate or vanilla ice cream cone to an exotic sorbet made with organic fruits.
These days, the choices are not limited to ice cream flavors and toppings. Desired texture, consistency and fat content can all be considered before making a selection.
One teenage customer of Thomas Sweet Ice Cream enjoyed an updated version of one of the more traditional ice cream flavors.
Christina Radvanzki, 17, of Franklin ordered a "blend-in", which is a flavor of ice cream (soft or hard) with crushed up topping or toppings mixed into the ice cream to create a dessert that's both crunchy and smooth. Her flavor was cookies cream and her topping was peanut M&M's.
"I'm usually more of a classics kind of girl, but my dad will go for a unique flavor like blueberry," Christina said. "I like mint chocolate chip, cookies 'n' cream, vanilla and strawberry."
At Thomas Sweet Ice Cream, all the classic hard ice cream flavors are available daily, with blend-ins being popular year-round. During the summer, more customers ask for a fruit flavored soft frozen yogurt or a sweet cream with fruit blend-in, said Johnny Abernathy, the store's manager.
Thomas Sweet Ice Cream's eight frozen yogurt flavors change daily, but vanilla and chocolate are always on tap.
For ice cream lovers as adventurous as Christina's dad, Ricky's Candy, Cones & Chaos is just a block away from the 179 Nassau St. The Halo Pub, located at 9 Hulfish St., is also nearby.
While the Halo Pub offers many of the classics, it also combines traditional flavors to create new ones like Strawberry Chocolate Chip, Chocolate with Cherries, Strawberry Heath Bar, Chocolate Almond and Peanut Butter in Vanilla.
At Ricky's, there's not a trace of the classics to be found in some of the flavors sold, like Smurf, Ricky's Razzle Dazzle, Cotton Candy and Strawberry Cheesecake.
The franchisee uses 64 ice cream and sorbet recipes and the store's general manager Arturo Martinez said he is constantly working on creating more.
Ricky's Razzle Dazzle, one of the most unique and popular flavors offered, is made with mashed up Nerds candy. Strawberry Cheesecake, another of the store's most frequently scooped ice creams, is made with fresh strawberries and cheesecake.
Even Ricky's more common flavors are uncommon in taste. Ricky Rocky Road differs from traditional Rocky Road in that it's made with marshmallow pieces and walnuts rather than marshmallow flavoring and peanuts. The chocolate is made with gourmet imported chocolates.
"Most chocolate ice creams are made by adding chocolate flavoring to vanilla ice cream," Mr. Martinez said. "Ricky's chocolate is richer, because it's not produced that way."
The availability of flavors at Ricky's varies and all ice cream orders include unlimited toppings.
Frozen chocolate covered bananas with and without walnuts; chocolate covered Twinkies and new Candy Sushi Rolls, which are Rice Krispies Treats topped with Swedish Fish and wrapped in fruit roll-ups, have also been big sellers at Ricky's this summer. The Princeton franchisee is located at 140 Nassau St.
Thanks to the Bent Spoon, dieters, too, can stay cool this summer. This ice cream shop makes more than 400 flavors of sorbet and ice cream. All ice creams are made with local organic eggs and hormone free milk and sorbets contain fresh fruits that in some cases are organic or locally grown.
Amelie Derrieux and her friends were out for a cool treat Friday afternoon and she was the only one not eating ice cream. Instead, she was enjoying the Bent Spoon's peach oasis lavender sorbet.
"There are half as many calories in sorbet," Ms. Derrieux said. "It's lighter and more refreshing."
Sicilian Blood Orange, Organic Watermelon, Organic Kiwi Tangerine, Passionate Plum Cherry and chocolate are just a few of the Bent Spoon's sorbets, with available flavors changing daily and sometimes hourly.
"Our flavors change depending on what fruits and vegetables we can get fresh," said Emma Impink, a Bent Spoon employee. "People really respond positively to the fact that a lot of our stuff is local organic."
At the Bent Spoon, customers often order two sorbet flavors at a time with the most popular combination being mango and raspberry sorbet. The Bent Spoon is located at 35 Palmer Square West.