I hadn’t had good ice cream in a while, and I was definitely craving some. Frozen custard is good, and I do enjoy going to Serene’s on the Boulevard for my twist fix (or sometimes a thick chocolate malted milkshake). But when my mother-in-law came back from her brothers house talking about an old-time ice cream fountain in Philadelphia that her niece told her about, we made plans to go visit.
Jill and I owed her a dinner in the city anyway, since our original plans happened to coincide with the last major snowstorm we had in February. So we made plans to go to Philly to walk around old city a bit, check out some restaurant equipment places, find a bakery or two to nosh on some goodies, get dinner, and of course to wander into The Franklin Fountain for some ice cream.
Franklin Fountain
We drove into the city across the Ben Franklin Bridge and turned onto the Eighth Street exit. A quick left took us onto Market Street and down to Second, where we found a parking spot. We got out and walked down almost to the end of Market Street, and there at 116 Market Street was The Franklin Fountain. I opened the door, and we walked inside.
A gentleman wearing a white apron, paper hat and a sharp looking black bow tie warmly greeted us. He certainly looked the part of the soda jerk. Directly in front of us was the ice cream counter, and behind the jerk (so named because of the jerking action the soda handles required back in the day, and not the attitude of the person working the counter) was the menu. It was quite extensive.
I didn’t really know where to start, nor did my companions, because there were so many delicious flavors to choose from. Most were classic flavors (vanilla bean, strawberry), but there were some contemporary ones (black raspberry, green tea) and some unusual old flavors (teaberry and hydrox cookie). While we waited, another man came in and seemed to know what he wanted. We told him to go ahead, and he proceeded to order an egg cream. I watched as the jerk mixed up a fresh drink of chocolate syrup, milk and seltzer for this customer, and boy did it look good! I didn’t even know you could order egg creams anywhere. I’d heard of them, but never had one before, but my mind was kind of set on ice cream. Oh, the sorrows of limiting oneself to one indulgence at a time…
Since we didn’t know where to turn, we asked the professional for help. The jerk told us that he would be happy to give us a sample of any flavor we wished, so we proceeded to try the teaberry (a little too much like Pepto-Bismol in taste and color), the black raspberry (very tasty, but not quite what I was looking for). The pistachio was next, and it was the real deal. Not the florescent pistachio ice cream I usually see, but a muted green color with big pieces of real pistachio nuts in it, bursting with the complex pistachio flavor that I adore. But that still wasn’t quite what I wanted. I tried the butter pecan next, and I thought I had found a winner until my mother-in-law declared that is what she would be getting! (It always feels strange to me to get something that someone else has already ordered…).
The jerk scooped her an enormous ball of ice cream and placed it onto a cone, and it looked lovely. Jill then discovered that there were sundaes that we could order as well, so we decided to split one of these. Again, there were too many delicious sounding choices, but we settled on the Mt. Vesuvius.
The Mount Vesuvius
It consisted of two scoops of ice cream (we went with rocky road and coconut), topped with hot fudge sauce, brownies pieces, a sprinkling of malt powder and finally, whipped cream. Totally ridiculous, I know.
It was as good as it sounded. The ice creams were amazing, thick and creamy… real ice cream, not full of air (overrun, to use the industry lingo). The coconut was assertive, yet subtle, while the rocky road was chocolaty and I loved the salted almond pieces and swirled-in marshmallow (which, I was informed was made right here in Vineland by Limpert Bros!). My mother-in-law declared the butter-pecan to be the best she’s ever had, and since I didn’t get a taste, it must have been that good.
A few days later, after returning home, we decided to make our own ice cream. It being strawberry season, we opted for this seasonal selection. It was easy enough with our little ice cream maker, but it does involve a decent amount of work. Next time I’m in Philly, I think I’ll make a trip over to The Franklin Fountain for another diet-bursting treat. There are so many flavors to choose from, so many other options, perhaps I’ll leave the ice cream making up to the pros and try my hand at something else from their counter.
Be sure to check out their website at www.franklinfounatin.com
I love this place, too!