It began one hot summer evening with a craving for pralines 'n' cream, that food of the gods Baskin-Robbins produces under the guise of caramel-streaked and pecan-studded ice cream. The only problem: My local Baskin-Robbins had closed. This in spite of the fact that, according to the International Ice Cream Association, Americans are buying full-fat ice cream in record numbers.
It would have been easy enough to find another Baskin-Robbins, but I realized that our neighborhood franchise had been the '90s version of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, a place where if you hung out while you ate your cone you'd probably see someone you knew. It was really the ice cream parlor experience from my childhood I was craving, not a particular flavor. A bright, fun place that sold not one thing that could possibly be construed as Good for You or anything less than pure indulgence.
The problem is that traditional ice cream parlors are a dying breed. More and more prepackaged ice cream is sold in supermarkets, and that has helped kill them off. And maybe they were too sweetly innocent to survive as a hangout for today's teens. What we have now, for the most part, are specialty ice cream franchises like Baskin-Robbins or places like Friendly's that have good ice cream but are really restaurants.
Still, there are a few ice cream parlors left. I started off looking for shops where the ice cream is homemade and good. Ice cream and ice cream concoctions had to be pretty much their only business, which left out places like Baugher's in Westminster and Windy Valley in Lutherville. And I wanted a bit of nostalgia and enough style to encourage customers to linger there.
I found one.
But by bending the rules a little (I didn't compromise on the good ice cream part), I came up with the following list, where No. 7 is fine and No. 1 is nirvana in the ice cream parlor universe.
1) Moxley's Ice Cream Parlor, 25 Allegheny Ave., Towson; 410-825-2544
Moxley's is not only the area's finest ice cream parlor, it must be the only ice cream parlor in the world named after a dog.
There's not a lot of nostalgia here -- unless you remember great homemade ice cream. Moxley's has '90s style (pale blue walls with writing on them, mirrors and marble-topped tables) and hot music (Ricky Martin). But what has the customers lining out the door is the homemade ice cream. How do flavors like cantaloupe, ghost white chip, coconut, banana, eggnog and coffee chocolate chip sound?
Moxley's basics are fine, too. As owner Tom Washburn says, "Half of it is coming up with new flavors, and half of it is just doing the strawberry right."
Unfortunately, one of the new flavors he's come up with is jalapeno, mostly to prove this is truly made-on-the-premises ice cream. "No chain will ever carry jalapeno," he jokes. (He threatens to make Old Bay ice cream next.)
Try Moxley's mint chocolate chip milkshake next time you're stressed out. It's a great tranquilizer. And note those chocolate chips -- they taste better than a gourmet chocolate bar.
2) Something Sweet, The Avenue at White Marsh. 410-933-1800
You have to love someone who worked in life insurance for 12 years and then quit to open an ice cream parlor. That someone is Amy Shimp, owner of Something Sweet. True, she's hedged her bets a bit by selling lots of old-fashioned candy as well as ice cream; but her place is still an ice cream lover's delight. Try the Manor Mania sundae made with a warm brownie, your choice of Lee's ice cream flavors and, of course, hot fudge and whipped cream.
The clean, bright space is decorated with soda fountain furniture, lots of pink and a bit of cheerful neon.
3) Uncle Wiggly's, 6911 York Road. 410-377-3373
The owner is Robert Wigglesworth; hence the name. Without much to work with, he's created a very nice place to eat ice cream. The shop is painted peach, lavender and yellow, with Edy's brown and white stripes a frequent motif. Outside is a pretty little area with tables and fairy lights in the trees.
This is the only ice cream parlor I know of that serves Edy's, an admirable brand. It comes in almost every conceivable flavor here, from cappuccino crunch to pumpkin pie. Have your choice in one of the gourmet cones. Covered in jimmies and chocolate and the like, they're a specialty of Uncle Wiggly's.
The bad news: There's no chocolate ripple. You'll have to settle for malt ball 'n' fudge, which would be better with just vanilla ice cream and fudge swirls and no malt balls.
4) Storm Bros. Ice Cream Factory, 130 Dock St., Annapolis. 410-263-3376
On this beautiful afternoon in June it seems as if everyone in Annapolis is eating ice cream. There's a Ben & Jerry's up Main Street and Aromi d'Italia nearby sells wonderful gelato, but I choose Storm Bros. because it feels like an ice cream parlor and prices are excellent ($1.45 for a cone, $2.90 for a sundae or milkshake).
Ignore the name. The ice cream is made off premises. (In fact, it's Hershey's.) I'm perfectly happy with a simple cone of peanut butter ice cream (vanilla with salty swirls of peanut butter), which was a childhood favorite. It's every bit as good as I remember.
Others will go for more exciting flavors like Moose Tracks (with Reese's Pieces and a hard chocolate swirl) or Muddy Sneakers (white chocolate, toffee chocolate chips and caramel).
Storm Bros.' blue and pink cotton candy ice cream, by the way, is in the running for Most Dreadful Flavor along with Uncle Wiggly's bright blue bubble gum and Moxley's jalapeno.
5) Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Shoppe, St. John's Plaza, Ellicott City. 410-480-2856
This brand-new spot has only minimal seating, but I've included it because you can get all the classic treats made with Lee's. It's hard to beat the ice cream produced by this fine local company. Who else would come up with a flavor called Berger's Cookies?
If you want just a cone, you couldn't do better on a hot summer day than Lee's strawberry-banana. The old-fashioned milkshakes made with hand-dipped ice cream are also highly recommended.
The girl behind the counter had never heard of an ice cream soda made the old-fashioned way, with vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and club soda. (So much for the shoppe's name.) But she was willing to try, and with a few directions produced an excellent one.
6) MaggieMoo's, 821 S. Broadway. 410-276-4556
MaggieMoo's doesn't even have tables. So what is it doing here? I compromised my standards because there are few places nicer to sit and eat ice cream than the Fells Point square just outside its doors.
MaggieMoo's rich ice cream is made in back, and flavors range from Udderly Cream to Cinnamoo Heath Bar. That last isn't bad, in spite of the name. The cinnamon ice cream is deliciously crunchy with its bits of chocolate-covered toffee.
The real reason to go to MaggieMoo's, though, is the iced marble slab. On it, the counter help fold your choice of mix-ins, from pecans to Gummi bears, into a scoop of ice cream. You feel as if you've created your own flavor. (The only other place I've seen this done is an ice cream shop in California.) Try the mint chocolate chip ice cream with bits of crushed mint M & Ms mixed in. Dynamite.
7) Caramels, 700 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville. 410-486-2365
As far as I can determine, this is the only kosher ice cream parlor in the area. The name alone makes Caramels worth the trip; and the ice cream, made on the premises, is very good.
Caramels has a limited number of flavors, but that's OK. It's a small place.
The star of the show is chocolate eclair, made with a creamy french vanilla, fudge swirl and crunchy, chewy cookie bits. You can get all the classic goodies here, from a hot fudge sundae to a Coke float, plus specialty coffee drinks. But Caramels slips in the standings because while there are tables, it doesn't have much in the way of ice cream parlor atmosphere.
Ice cream factoids
* The five best-selling flavors in the U.S. in order are vanilla, nut, chocolate, fruit, Neapolitan and candy mix-in. (Vanilla tops the list because it's the base for sundaes and milkshakes.)
* Just as specialty coffees are hot, so are coffee and mocha-flavored ice creams. Sales jumped 19 percent in 1997 and have increased steadily since then.
* In 1998 the fastest growing ice cream flavors in the U.S. were caramel, liquor flavor (like rum raisin), peach and coffee/mocha.
* Americans are indulging themselves again. Sales of nonfat and low-fat brands of ice cream are slipping, while full-fat premium brands sales have increased.
* One of the biggest trends in ice cream is "co-branding." Well-known names in candy, cookie, fruit and flavoring are teaming up with ice cream companies to produce flavors that have double name recognition, like Baskin-Robbins' new Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.
* Some of us are still economy-minded. Sales of private label products are up. (They bear the logo of the store where they're bought and usually cost a bit less.)
Source: the International Ice Cream Association