Here you are reading the blog mmm-yoso!!! It's where Kirk, ed(from Yuma) and Cathy (as well as a few others) share posts with an underlying subject of food. Today, Cathy is sharing.
One afternoon last week, The Mister and I drove West and found a place to park near The Crystal Pier, a public pier (where you can fish) as well as a hotel at the end of Garnet Avenue, in the Pacific Ocean.
It's quite a walk down and back the 872 foot long wooden pier, quiet and beautiful.
We left the pier, walked straight ahead, past a few restaurants, took a left on Mission Boulevard and saw this building and sign next to the Fatburger.
Well, I had never heard of this place…and we had just had a nice walk, justifying an ice cream sandwich. Had to…
{It turns out The Baked Bear opened just last week, Kirbie has already posted on it}
Spacious, clean and not crowded. A nice young lady at the counter asked us if we had been there before. She then told us a common ordering method-pick a cookie flavor or two different ones, then pick an ice cream flavor…and I started to read the flavor choices on the menu board-
The first and second main sandwich choices: Cookies, brownies OR waffles!!!
When I was growing up in Detroit, one special treat my brother and I would sometimes get was a waffle ice cream sandwich at the counter at Kresge's, a Five and Dime store. (Here's a photo). Oh, I knew what I wanted.
The cookies were freshly baked, and the waffles (under the cover to the right of the cones) were already made…but…well, you'll see. Cones and cups were also available…for people who are here for the ice cream and not a sandwich.
The selection of 12 ice cream flavors. Premium ice creams, from different companies; a very nice detail. We chose butter pecan.
The soft, fresh waffle had one side already crispy toasted. That side had the ice cream placed on it and then the waffle was folded over the ice cream, then it was placed on the flat toaster (above; like a panini maker without the ridges), to get the exterior of the waffle warm and a bit crispy…and perfect.
I know people are buying the cookie sandwiches -the cookie selection was tempting- but the waffle is absolutely my idea of an ice cream sandwich.
The waffle was just enough crispy to not turn soggy and the ice cream was a very good quality of butter pecan- salty and not too sweet with crispy pecans. The waffle stayed intact and we were able to share the sandwich without a sticky meltdown. It really was perfect.
Fond memory #2: I sent my brother the above photo attached to a text message…with no words… and he immediately texted back "Kresge's!!!" Yes, he also remembered our special snack outings.
The Baked Bear 4516 Mission Blvd San Diego 92109 (858) 886-7433 website
The rest of the story (3rd memory)-
I call Mom daily. When I told her about The Baked Bear ice cream waffle, she immediately relayed a story about the horse drawn waffle cart that used to show up on Fridays in the Detroit neighborhood where she, my dad and my brother and I grew up. She told me the man would yell from the cart "Rzecz naleśnik", which is "pancakes" in Polish. She said the cart also had ice cream.
After some research, I found This Blog Post with a photo of a New York horse drawn waffle cart. It was a memory she hadn't ever shared before. I realized Food carts are not a new invention, nor are waffle ice cream sandwiches.
Happy Mother's Day.