Dodgers can stay frosty in Philly with choice ice cream

I’ll put a Dodger Dog up against a Philly cheesesteak any day. Sorry, Pat’s. Sorry, Geno’s. They’re good; I’ve tried both (wid whiz, natch), but there’s just something about a super Dodger Dog that’s worth the price of admission.

So we’ve got the dog, and we’ve got Manny and Joe and the rest of you Boys in Blue. But they do have a tiny little edge in one area, and if you happen to be in Philadelphia this week for the playoffs, which start Thursday afternoon, it’s worth stopping for.

It’s Bassett’s Ice Cream.

Sure, we have Pinkberry and its host of fro-yo imitators, and that’s fine, if you’re into that kind of thing. Since I’ve never cared for the taste of sour frozen socks, Bassett’s is more my style.

I first tried Bassett’s ice cream at Reading Terminal Market; it was love at first bite. Of course, it happened to be over warm Dutch apple pie, so what’s not to love (never mind that the market is a festival unto itself).

Bassett’s, founded by Lewis DuBois Bassett more than 140 years ago, claims to be the oldest ice cream maker in the U.S., and if that’s so, practice makes perfect. I know vanilla is boring, but it’s the No. 1 flavor. (No. 2? French vanilla, of course.) It was rich and creamy, and I was in heaven. I’d have to rank it among my top three favorites of all time — domestically, anyway — tied for first with Gifford’s in the Washington, D.C., area and Ted Drewes of St. Louis (technically, frozen custard).

So, go Dodgers! Stay away from the cheesesteaks. But if you need a chill pill, Bassett’s it is.

— Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times Travel editor

[Photos of Bassett's at Reading Terminal Market by Jeffrey Holder]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 6:51 am by Catharine Hamm and is filed under East Coast, Gourmet, News, Tips & Advice, Sports, Spring, Summer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.