mmm-yoso is on vacation so you get to see what Cathy has been eating … in this weather.
Hi again. I know, its been, like, freezing out here in Sunny Southern California…well for 4 days in a row, last week, anyhow. I know better than to complain, but it’s something to do while the rest of the United States is having "their" Winter.
Ah, I blog about food, not weather…Oh…yes…OK. I will confess, when I was young, living in Detroit, we lived a few blocks from the Good Humor plant, and I could get all the ice cream novelties I ever wanted (toasted coconut and strawberry sundae on a stick being my favorites), Senate Sweet Shop and Sanders for banana splits with Dad…and I also went to that newfangled Baskin Robbins because they had those free cones on your birthday (always a sugar cone, always that ‘extra charge for the French Vanilla’ flavor)…and occasionally, I have a craving for one of those Original Drumsticks…but really, when it comes down to it, its the salty peanuts I want more than anything.
Today, I found myself in National City, at I-5 and Eighth Street. Go East, through the light at National City Boulevard, one more block, to "A" Avenue, make a left (north) …there it is on your left: Niederfrank’s. 100% Natural. 
It’s been there for 59 years, this coming May. 100% Natural. Ice Cream. The real thing. Quality. Small, unassuming, wonderful. As you know, I don’t have cravings for sweets…but gosh, I am here and I know I will like it…again…
There is a website with all the flavors also listed. This is what it looks like when you walk in. 
The website has photos of the current (since 1995) owners, the founder and Al Roker…they must have shown this on one of those Food Network Shows I haven’t seen (I must confess, I only watch "Good Eats" with Alton Brown, to learn stuff…and what I like to call "The Lazy Chef Show" with Sandra Lee…good God, have you seen how she makes stuff????!!? She buys it ….and then rearranges it…. and calls it ‘semi-home made’).
ANYHOW… Niederfrank’s. Everything here is made of natural ingredients, extracts, real fruits…and all is made in the building. They also provide ice cream to a few other shops and restaurants around town. Check out the website listings before you tell me the best is from someplace else….it may actually be from Niederfrank’s.
I will admit I went a little crazy today and got two scoops (Its $2.35 for one scoop, $4 for two). Coconut and Lemon Custard. Excellent! The coconut is not too sweet, has flakes of real, not toasted, not dehydrated, coconut which are chewy and flavorful. The lemon custard has a crisp fresh lemon flavor and the custard texture that I crave. They also have sundaes on the menu, but I like the pure flavors of the ice cream. It isn’t aerated…its old fashioned, real, natural. A joy. Even for me, someone who doesn’t crave sweets.
Niederfrank’s 726 "A" Avenue National City, CA 91950 (619) 477-0828 fax (619) 477-0876 Opens at 11 a.m. daily. Click here for website.
How does it compare to Mariposa in Normal Heights?
Do they make custard-based, European-style ice cream, or “Philadelphia-style” with no eggs?
The custard is “East Coast” style- the right texture, no eggs (there is only one custard on the menu). The only Ice Cream flavor I have had at Mariposa is the coconut and it has always been good and not overly sweet. The two are on par with each other. Both places are similar in quality, but Niederfranks has more flavors…and is a little more expensive. I would stop at either one if I was in the neighborhood…and I was in National City. π
nothing like full cream 100% milk fat ice cream….melt so smoothly in your mouth…….Ben and Jerry will have to do for me right now π
Oh yes, Billy, I know what you mean. If you are ever at a San Diego Trader Joe’s, the organic milk in the 1/2 gallon plastic carton is Cream Top…I don’t think it is sold in another county; I know it is made by Strauss…and the Trader Joe’s brand cream top yogurt for 79Β’ in the cherry vanilla flavor are two staples I get every single time I walk into TJ’s.
I love these old-fashioned kind of places. π
Ooo, someone else who doesn’t like Sandra Lee. I call that show the “Creepy Stepford Wife Show.” Not only do I find her annoying, but to me she looks like a bored trophy wife one might find on Desperate Housewives.
It seems like every time I flip through that show she’s mixing up some sort of booze, like Halloween-themed martinis, or Brazilian capirinas, or zesty margaritas to share with all her Creepy Stepford Wife friends. *shudder*
Alton Brown’s show is very entertaining. Did you catch the turkey frying episode? It was very educational, and because I had watched that show, I ended up being in charge of frying the turkey at my cow-orker’s Thanksgiving party.
Hi WC- Yes, its just so good to see and still be able to experience the way it was 59 years ago.
Oh, Fred, I don’t ‘hate’ Sandra, per se…I find her show more as “fluff” for my brain…mindless drivel, if you will…whereas ‘thinking’ shows are far more interesting…Alton Brown being the only one that I still learn from…science AND food in one show! Like when I realized CSI was science and a mystery in an hour…
Wow, I didn’t know that place is still around! I remember my dad used to take me there as a child to get ice cream. I dunno if they still have that life size Native American statue there. π
Oh it still is here, Brian…and I am pretty sure the Indian is in the room to the left when you walk in. I saw a lot of stuff stored in there. They only have the tables out front and one inside available. I bet the ice cream will still taste teh same to you. They still make their own cones too. Thanks for stopping by the blog.
now I need to stop by TJ for some heavy cream for so yummy clam chowder…hmmm chowder ice cream. π
Ah the infamous chowder recipe…good on these cold evenings. Look for the cream top yogurt; the container is vertically striped. Try it. If they don’t have it, Brown Cow brand has a cream top version sold in Vons/Safeway and Wild Oats.
I have a major sweet tooth. I’ll definitely check this place out!
Hi Cathy,
I’ve always wondered about Niederfranks – I’ve passed by it a lot of times but never bothered to stop. Gotta try it next time I’m in the area!
Re: Fred’s comment on Sandra Lee. I totally agree that she’s a “Creepy Stepford Wife”. She probably doesn’t even eat any of the fattening things she makes. Look at her bony body!
Hi Liz-Its *really* good. Even in this weather.
Hi Reynila-yes, do stop. Its been there since 1947, after The War ended…
As for Sandra…there is so much of ‘buy a package of this and put it into individual serving bowls and then gently spoon on this, after you open the bottle’ that I can’t help but laugh when I see her…and always, always, end it with some sort of alcoholic beverage…while making it look pretty on the tablescape.
::sigh:: Ya know, I haven’t craved ice cream since my last baby was born… SO sad… Anyhow, merely for the sake of being naughty, I take umbrage that you have refered to the coconut used as “real” inferring that dessicated coconut or toasted coconut are not real. I’m a fan of coconut pretty much any way you can dish it. <> All I am asking, is give Coconut a chance!
Oh, sorry Jo…I love coconut in all forms, but have had toasted coconut tossed into vanilla ice cream once too many times and haven’t had the nice, wet (like from the bag of Baker’s Brand)soft coconut in ice cream in a long while. These were larger pieces and you could taste coconut flavor in them as well as in the ice cream part. That was what I meant. Sorry, I was trying to make a few “diversionary” posts after the ruckus caused by another post on Thursday…
::laughing:: I was just teasing you! Coconut is a fabulous stuff and I actually am rather intrigued by the idea of that type of coconut in an ice cream. I agree that the “toasted” coconut flavor doesn’t really do well in an ice cream. Though, now that I’m pondering it, maybe it’s in the way it’s added. My favorite ice cream flavor is hazelnut the way it is made in Spain. I’ve worked on replication for years! Decades even! I think they incorporate a sort of paste made of toasted nuts. The “custard” or base of the ice cream is not as dense as our typical ice cream. The result is a very light, nutty flavor that to me, is out of this world. They do the same thing with almonds. Kudos to your diversionary tactics by the by!
Jo, I have noticed several different hazelnut pastes (and not just Nutella) from various countries at Cost Plus, Barons, and the misc ethnic/mediterannean stores, and packed in jars, tubs, cans, or tubes. Oh, darn, guess you just have to do some research…
Hi again, Jo…I did have some sort of hazelnut ice cream when I met The Mister in Italy and remember it was great….in fact all of Italy was great…the food, the people, the trip. I’m thinking I will have to renew that passport…you know, for research.
MGO- good suggestions for Jo, but she does kind of live in the middle of nowhere, although I am sure on her next venture to the “Big City” she may be looking for some of the stuff you suggested. We are very fortunate to be living here in this large city with such a diverse population and choice of grocery stores…Thanks for stopping by!
Oh, I totally remember Niederfrank’s! We’d make the trek from our house in Valencia Park to National City to enjoy the best ice cream. The alternatives were 5-cent scoops at Sav-On or Thrifty’s Drug Stores.
Does anyone remember that Niederfrank’s had an additional location where Phil’s (on Goldfinch) is/used to be?
Hi Toisan…I am happy that when Rite Aid bought out Thrifty, they kept the ice cream scoop area, as well as the ice cream in the 1/2 gallon cartons. I never bought ice cream on Goldfinch….but it may have been there when we moved here (1984).
Thanks Cathy and NGO! I appreciate the input. I must say Cathy, I’d really like to hear a more detailed description of the Italian version of the hazelnut ice cream. The last time I was in Spain was … in ’78 or so? Regardless, it’s been a long time and I would dearly love to go back.
NGO, Cathy is quite right. I do live in the middle of a culinary “Nowheresville”, so to speak. I am very glad to say; however, that there are some attempts to change this. I posted on a local BBQ spot that specializes in BBQ, you can follow my name link if your interested in reading it, the title is “Q for Spain” and it was posted on November 15th. We also have a superb coffee house, “Muddy’s”. The owner roasts his own beans. Now, thanks to Muddy’s, I may be making my own little splash in the area with biscotti. Almond to start with, but hazelnut is second in line assuming I can source at an appropriate price. However! Guess what sort of plants are native to the area (and I’m very “into” native species plants) HAZELNUTS! SO, we might be having both the hazelnuts, the biscotti, AND the ice cream, right here in our very own back yard! For now, we will just have to do with Nutella which requires a 100 mile round trip to acquire. ;o)
Cathy,
You finally rousted me out of Lurkersville! I brought home a hand-packed quart of my personal favorite flavor, Mexican Chocolate, only last month. This was always a prerequisite for any family celebration. Thanks for sharing a uniquely San Diego taste experience.
Hi Jo- it was more Nutella Cream than anything with hazelnut chunks…kind of exotic for 1985…
EJ- Thanks for coming out of the woodwork! It is a wonderful place (here and Niederfrank’s)…and all Kirk and I do is blog about what we eat…and, well, I do stop in here when in the general area…it just so happened to be at the absolute coldest time of the year, which is mildly amusing and I thought would make for a good story.
Yep. VERY exotic to us Americans! The Spanish versions are just nuts, no chocolate. Somewhat surprising actually. NOW, I want some ice cream! ::sigh::
I used to get an all-nut cake mix, made by Pillsbury, Jo. Lots of Arabic writing on it- I think it was not meant to be sold here. It was perfect. I have not much use for chocolate, unless maybe one small piece of very dark chocolate…and I am satisfied..and I don’t crave it very often.
All nut cake mix? As in nut flour versus wheat flour? That sounds very intriguing! I’m very fond of Middle Eastern nut pastries…. awww heck, who am I kidding? I’m EXTREMELY fond of pastries period. Particularly if they are NOT American (to large, to sweet, and to expensive!) Have you tried to get this cake mix lately? Or have they discontinued it?
I made it as a loaf mix, Jo. It was mostly finely chopped nuts, but I had to add an egg and some oil, so I suppose it was cake based. I saw it at one of those Grovery Outlet stores and bought all the boxes they had and used them at Christmas for pseudo-fruitcakes. The main things I remember were the Arabic writing on them and that they were Pillsbury.
Fascinating! I’ve contacted Pillsbury about a listing of their internationally distributed products. I haven’t recieved a response yet and truthfully I doubt I shall. Something of a shame actually. There are so many things and people who are “displaced”, if a product is available in one part of the world, then it should be available in all parts of the world. At least for really large concerns…
Hi Jo….lots of things are regional because of individual tastes, that would not go over in other parts of the country…a current example is that the Starbucks in the Metro Detroit area and regions are all selling Panczki (jelly donuts) in their stores from today (Feb 1) until “Fat Tuesday” (Feb 20)- the day before Lent. Just as the bakeries stop making Panczki and only make Hot Cross Buns for Lent…that whole sacrifice thing Catholics do…(methinks I have a post coming up…)…So the nut cake had probably been tested and did not sell well in America and that is why it isn’t available anywhere anymore…but at least The Mister and I enjoyed it…
I agree 100%. Still, there should be a way to “special” order certain things. By the by, I love the idea that you are contemplating a Lenten post. If you want a Euro Catholic’s thoughts, ask me! My dad is Spanish Catholic. ::laughing:: Even guilt comes in flavors! ;o)
Hi Jo, I’ll keep you in mind…but oh yes, Polish-Catholic has its own idiosyncracies, too. I just have been overwhelmed with work the last 3 days…and the blog hasn’t been a priority.
::roaring with laughter:: Not to worry, I understand that blogging isn’t the end all be all of life! ;o) Although the desire to sit and exercise my delicately dainty digits to lean mean typing machines is sometimes overwhelming…. ::giggle::
I understand the need to type, Jo. I spent this morning at Panera, without wifi, did not carry my mobile phone and tried to rest a little, before going to Vons to get the new sale stuff and then coming home now…to do more work before the Super Bowl tonight. Unfortunately, this is a kind of hectic time of year for me and so I am glad Kirk asked me to help him out when it wasn’t so busy, so I got used to, and enjoy, blogging and don’t feel totally overwhelmed right now…and I have ideas flowing constantly.
Hey, Kirk is pretty awesome and he has an incredible philosophy on blogging. You couldn’t have asked for a better mentor in the craft. By way of encouraging words, be aware that there are times when thoughts won’t flow out the fingers and when time does not allow. Let those things happen and don’t stress, particularly if you have little ones to tend. I had a difficult time getting my priorities in order particularly when we got the house. My husband, house, and kids come first. Blogging, love it as much as I do, must come behind those things. I’ve put a time budget in place to help me insure that there is time for cleaning, cooking, caring, AND writting. I have some books in process so I can’t put all my typing to my blog, but I try to rotate it around so I’m doing a little bit of coverage everywhere. My cook book is getting particularly good attention lately as I’m working to develop quite a few new recipes here of late.