Tag: ice cream

  • The Snelgrove Ice Cream Cone, Salt Lake City, Utah

    The Snelgrove Ice Cream Cone, Salt lake City, Utah

    For a double scoop of fun, trundle over to the Sugar House neighbourhood of Salt Lake City, where you’ll find an ice cream cone of scrumptious proportions!

    The Snelgrove Ice Cream Cone was created by the YESCO sign company and erected outside the famous Snelgrove ice cream parlor and factory, at 850 East 2100 South, in 1962. The frozen treat spun tantalisingly, whispering sweet nothings about the mouthwatering flavours found inside.

    Carmel Cashew. Canadian Vanilla. And my personal favourite, the decadent Burnt Almond Fudge.

    Snelgrove became an SLC institution. Stores opened up across the city and their tempting treats became synonymous with the Beehive State. It was the perfect place to chill out – especially on Sundaes!

    But, like a dollop of Peppermint Chocolate Spray on a hot Utahn afternoon, the good times soon melted away, leaving nothing but a sticky, sanguine mess…

    Snels Like Teen Spirit

    The Snelgrove chain was sold to the Dreyer’s group in the early-90s, and hearts broke from St George to Logan when the brand was discontinued in 2008. The shell of their flagship ice-creamatorium, once the soul of SLC, was demolished in 2021.

    I don’t want to waffle-cone on, but they were grim times.

    Thankfully, the giant gelato remains – and it’s not going anywhere. Having been deemed historic, the cone can’t be torn down, and will be here surprise and delight visitors for generations to come.

    It was a cream come true when I visited, but the dilapidated condition of the statue left me cold. A homeless guy from a nearby soup kitchen did blow me a kiss, however, which was a real cone-fidence boost.

    There’s a similar monument above the Jimmy John’s sandwich emporium at 400 South. But is has, sacrilegiously, been painted jet-black. Don’t worry, I’ve left the restaurant a one-star review on Yelp, so I’m sure they’ll repaint it any day now.

    But there is light at the end of the tunnel. A handful of new Snelgrove shops have opened up across Utah in the last few years, and there’s word that their signature statue may even be moved to a new location.

    And that, my frozen friends, is the scoop on The Snelgrove Ice Cream Cone!

    The Emperor of The Snelgrove Ice Cream

    Call the roller of big cigars,
    The muscular one who is fascinated by roadside attractions, and bid him whip
    In big blenders concupiscent curds
    Let the beavers boogie in their ballgowns
    As they are used to wear, and let the oversized cowboys
    Bring flowers in last month’s newspapers
    Let The Gonzo be seen
    The only emperor is the emperor of The Snelgrove Ice Cream.

    Munch on a taco with an iguana
    Or pose for three photos with a major miner
    Then rock out with a big guitar
    A smile shall spread across your face
    If Mike the Chicken‘s little feet protrude, you’ll come
    To know how cool Big Things are, and fun!
    Let the lamp affix its beam.
    The only emperor is the emperor of The Snelgrove Ice Cream.

  • EddieWorld, Yermo, California

    EddieWorld, Yermo, California, United States

    Heading to Las Vegas to gamble away your life savings and admire a few Big Things? Then make sure you swing by California’s SWEETEST holiday destination – EddieWorld! You can’t miss it, just look out for the 65-foot ice cream out the front.

    Rising like a lurid mirage just outside Yermo, The Big Sundae’s euphoric hues – pink and blue and canary yellow – lure in excited roadtrippers and frazzled encyclopaedia salesmen with the promise of treasures innumerable. And the cherry on top is, well, the cherry on top.

    Proudly advertised as California’s largest gas station, EddieWorld boasts 26 pumps (I counted them!) and 27,000ft of retail space (I measured it with my trundle wheel – thanks, José, for rearranging the jerky shelves and Frazil ice drink machines so I could get an accurate reading).

    There are three world-class restaurants, plenty of souvenirs, and even a shrine to popular local netball team the LA Lakers. EddieWorld also offers more soda flavours than you could shake an insulin syringe at at. Prickly pear, pumpkin crème, and gherkin are personal faves. Yes, EddieWorld’s the perfect place to scoop up a bargain!

    EddieWorld also has dozens of charging sor-bays for electronic vehicles. Cool!

    The men’s toilets, usually a tribute to the grotesque, prove to be another highlight. It’s not unusual to enter to the celebratory sounds of hoots and high-fives, as each urinal is fitted out with a high-tech electrical game controlled through a carefully-aimed stream.

    Sadly, I didn’t partake. I simply didn’t need Bigella getting on my case about having fun in public toilets with strange men again.

    On the Sundae of Life

    With its retro charm, EddieWorld’s giant gelado is a mouthwatering tribute simpler time. It may surprise you, then, that this wintery wonderland is but a few, delicious years old.

    Enigmatic entrepreneur Eddie Ringle opened the first EddieWorld gas station in Nevada in 2001. It was a moderate success, but lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. That missing ingredient turned out to be a six-storey ice cream, which became the focal point of his second gas station, served up to a famished public one warm day in 2018.

    Proving that anything is popsicle, EddieWorld quickly became California’s pre-eminent tourist attraction. It was a rocky road to success, but they made it. And don’t worry, this sundae is open seven days a week!

    When the Land of the Bigs crew turned up, Bigella wasted little time maxing out the company AmEx on lollies, soda, plushies, commemorative t-shirts and a big ol’ bucket of butter pecan ice cream.

    Not wanting to dirupt my strict paleo diet, I bypassed the sundaes in favour of a small bag of gluten free bacon and cheese flavoured crickets. They were every bit as disgusting as you’d expect, and I became ever-so-slightly ravenous as I watched Bigella guzzling her sumptuous frozen delicacies, the decadent snack dripping down her fingers in the waning Californian sun.

    Succumbing to my lust for the sugary treat, I lunged towards my comrade’s food in a desperate attempt to ladle it into my gaping maw. I instantly learned that one should never get in between Bigella and a tub of ice cream, because she responded by delivering a severe beating and dumping me, semi-conscious and bleeding heavily, at the base of The Big Sundae.

    I suppose I got my just desserts!