PTown's Best Ice Cream? Lets Find Out, Part One: The Odyssey Begins

Lewis Brothers makes the only homemade American ice cream in PTown.

By my count, there are at least 11 spots in PTown where you can get an ice cream cone. Or perhaps  you'd like yours served in a cup, maybe drenched in butterscotch?
There's also a lot to be said for a hot fudge sundae served on a fresh brownie with the works: whipped cream, marshmallow fluff, chopped nuts and a cherry.

Whether your favorite is soft-serve,  sorbetto, sherbet, gelato, frozen yogurt or good old American ice cream, PTown has got you covered.
Even if you're dairy-free, I promise, there are fabulous frozen treats out there, just waiting for you.
There's even a little scoop shop that takes Fido into consideration, serving up their special ice cream treats made for dogs.

This summer, on these pages, we're going to visit every ice cream parlor, and every other hangout that serves ice cream in PTown, returning to each one that merits another visit, to sample more varieties, and to taste as many flavors as I can manage over the summer. I generally don't eat much ice cream, but in the interest of seeking out the best of Provincetown, I'll bravely volunteer for this assignment. Of course, I'll have to begin taking much longer walks to counteract the effects of my research...

We'll begin our adventure right in the heart of Provincetown, where the Lewis brothers make the only homemade Anerican ice cream in town, despite signs on other Commercial Street shops that say theirs is homemade. There is homemade gelato as well as sorbetto in town, but those are Italian varieties, and when we visit those spots in coming weeks, we'll find out how the Italian style is different from American ice cream, but for now, let's get started on our odyssey, with the Brothers Lewis, found at 300 Commercial Street.

Since the summer of 1999, Lewis Brothers Ice Cream, at the corner of Commercial and Standish streets, has been making their own ice cream, right there in their shop. Throughout the day they're churning out three-gallon tubs of universal favorites like the strawberry shown in my cone above, along with their own, unique varieties like their "mudslide." That's one of their adult flavors, and yes, those are made with a bit of alcohol, so beware any variety that sounds like a cocktail. It probably is. And it's delicious!

Since they make it right there, the brothers can control every aspect of creating their fine confections, so they can produce flavors ranging widely from the mild side, like the subtle taste of their green tea flavor, to the wild side: Their ginger ice cream is a bit pungent, made with tiny bits of fresh ginger, and it's one of my all-time favorite flavors.

Lewis Brothers is a very popular spot, even in chilly weather.

Lewis Brothers has a killer caramel sauce and several other toppings for your sundae, including real, homemade whipped cream.
20 kinds of toppers like sprinkles, M&Ms, crumbled Oreos or Butterfingers, gummy bears, chopped nuts and just about any others you can think of are available, too. And don't forget the cherry on the top.
Chocolate or vanilla soft-serve are 95% fat-free, as are the orange or rainbow sherbets. Frozen yogurt, in vanilla or peach, is 100% fat-free. Sugar-free ice cream comes in vanilla or butter pecan, and there are fruit smoothies and frozen fruit purées for folks who are dairy-free, so that seems to cover all the bases for those with dietary needs.
Large groups can go out together for ice cream at Lewis Brothers, confident that there's truly something for everybody in this great little shop. Anyone for an old-fashioned banana split? Wait for me!

Today is National Chocolate Day!

National Chocolate Day is celebrated annually in the United States on October 28th.

Although it doesn't hold the status or the official designation from our government to

to be celebrated as a true, national holiday, with paid time off from work, banks and public

buildings closed, and no mail delivery, perhaps it should be celebrated that way. 

We should all have the day off to celebrate the occasion as we please, and as conscience

dictates, with relatives flying in for a family gathering, and a feast of dozens of chocolate

treats made from cherished family recipes handed down through generations.

Chocolate Day is at least as relevant as Columbus Day… Who's with me?

The photo above and the text below are taken from nationaldaycalendar.com,

where you'll find something to celebrate just about any day of the year.

Although there's no guarantee of what you'll find in local restaurants tonight, here are 

a few examples of chocolatey favorites I've had in spots still open this time of year…

Tin Pan Alley's pot du creme, sort of an ultra-dense, dark chocolate mousse.

Lobster Pot's brownie sundae, drizzled with chocolate or caramel sauce (or both)

The Mews provides instructions involving use of a steak knife to eat its
"Extreme Cookies and Cream" ice cream sandwich, often shared by two or more.

Far Land's chocolate cake, with thick, fudgy frosting between three rich layers.

I've forgotten what Angel Foods calls this fudgy, cakey, nutty treat.

The Central House at the Crown & Anchor once offered a chocolate
caramel tort with chocolate gelato on chocolate cooky crumbs.

Provincetown Fudge Factory makes a gazillion varieties of beautiful candies,
and fudge in flavors both simple and exotic, like Bailey's Irish Cream.

Post Office Cafe's triple chocolate cake actually puts 7 kinds of chocolate on
the plate, perhaps the closest you'll ever come to actual "death by chocolate."

Vorelli's chocolate madness cake - chocolate cake crumb crust, layered with

chocolate mousse blended with Heath brownie chunks and chocolate truffles.

The Purple Feather makes chocolate cakes, candies, gelato, and don't forget
the chocolate covered bacon,  dipped in either dark or milk chocolate.

This post is for my sister Carolee, who is the biggest chocoholic I know.

Happy National Chocolate Day!

Best Dessert Ever? Taste this 'Best Bite' Before the Summer is Gone

The lemon curd cheesecake parfait with blueberry compote at
Devon's Food Bar is in stiff competition for Best Dessert Ever.

This creamy lemon curd cheesecake parfait, with a wild Maine blueberry compote, whipped cream and a toasted graham cracker crumble, is the best dessert I've had all summer, and that makes it a Best Bite. Find it at Devon's Food Bar, at 31 Bradford Street, in PTown's West End.
Chef Melissa Ettinger thought up this euphoric delight one afternoon as a dessert du jour at this little culinary hotspot at the corner of Bradford and Pleasant Streets, but everyone who tasted it insisted that it be given a permanent home on the nightly dessert menu, and I haven't been able to make myself order anything else since. That smooth, lemony tartness is perfectly accented by the fruity sweetness of those plump, wild blueberries.
I've been wanting to try the flan with fresh berries, but I'll have to order it to start my next meal there, because I already know I'll be unable to resist the parfait for dessert. There are also a few other things on the menu I want to get to before they wind down for the summer, in about three weeks.
This is the time of year when you get a last chance to squeeze in some of the things you've wanted to see, do or taste before they are gone with the season. I went out the other night to see two shows that I realized were ending in just a few more days, and had dinner with a friend at a restaurant I've been trying to get to all summer. Next on my list is an actual day off, spent at the beach.
Don't let the summer get away from you. Go for a swim at the breakwater, see a couple of shows, get out for a memorable meal or two, and taste this sublime dessert before this glorious summer is gone.

Holy Cow… Vegan Gelato!

Raspberry-blueberry, pineapple and strawberry flavors of
vegan gelato have led to truly exotic varieties like avocado.

Wow! I Dream of Gelato does it again. They've come up with the impossible… vegan gelato that is so creamy, so scrumptious, so completely satisfying that you would never know that it's made with absolutely no milk or cream.
Ricky is a genius in the kitchen. He can't help himself. He's always creating something new. Now he has worked out a recipe to blend fresh fruit with coconut milk to create a gelato so smooth and tasty, you won't be able to tell this vegan variety apart from his fabulous array of regular gelatos. You'll be ordering these new vegan style confections just to taste all the fantastic new flavors he has come up with.
He started out with a simple standard like strawberry, tinkering with the recipe until he had it absolutely perfected, and then he began to refine other fruits into this wonderful Italian ice cream. Next he branched out into chocolate, and now there's even a vegan coffee gelato. Now, every time I visit Ricky's shop, he has a new, exotic flavor for me to try. The avocado variety is nothing short of amazing!
Find I Dream of Gelato tucked away in the Aquarium Marketplace, at 209 Commercial Street. Choose a couple of flavors, and carry your guilt-free treat out to the deck on the edge of the water, where you can enjoy your sumptuous dessert along with the glorious view out over magnificent Provincetown Harbor.