LAST OF YE OLDE SWEET SHOPPES STILL REIGNS IN FOREST HILLS

Ice cream parlors were quite popular some years back.  You would sit at the counter and enjoy a malted milk shake, egg cream or a few scoops of store made ice cream with hot fudge, nuts, whipped cream and cherries atop.  That swivel stool allowed you to see who was coming in as well as the wooden décor.  Tables of customers were “partying” at the tables with ice cream, rather than alcohol.  Somehow there was a nearby movie theatre where the ending of the film brought a line of “We all scream for ice cream” lovers, not just for the cold delight but a way to have a conversation after the experience. 

I can remember Jahn’s being the place to go with locations in various parts of New York City and always in a group. We would order their famous Kitchen Sink. There is the one last location in Queens, accept that serving food is the priority. 

Alas, there is one true parlor that’s still an icon.  Eddie’s Sweet Shop, located in Forest Hills, continues the nostalgia with pressed tin ceilings, antique cash registers, polished marble counters and those cast-iron swivel stools. More important is that the ice cream is made fresh on the premises. 

Eddie is no longer there, legend living on and becoming a family affair. Vito Citrano is the owner and “chef” who prepares and churns the ice cream as well as concocting the sauces and whipped cream.  Angelina, his wife, runs the shop as she focuses on the customers. Vito’s son, Brandon, and Vito’s father, Joe can be found behind the counter preparing the mouth-watering treats. 

Last week I wrote about my first time having ices from Lemon Ice King, despite my living in Queens for…let’s just say, “a very long time.”  I will now have to admit that despite passing by Eddie’s this was the first time I entered. OMG, I can certainly understand its popularity.  Aside from what I already described, the was a counter with shelves of various candies…okay it did not have the nostalgia of a Necco Sky Bar, Dots and Chuckles, but there was certainly enough to choose from.

I looked up at the list of flavors: banana, butter pecan, coffee, chocolate, coffee chip, cherry vanilla, maple walnut, mint chip, pistachio, run raisin, strawberry, tutti fruti, vanilla, vanilla chip, vanilla fudge, raspberry sherbet, orange sherbet.  Next to this were the toppings: butter scotch, hot caramel, fruit salad, hot fudge, marshmallow, cherries, chocolate sprinkles, rainbow sprinkles, assorted candies, assorted nuts, whipped cream. 

I am not a “sundae” kind of person. Just give me the ice cream and maybe a syrup.  However, I wanted to try the chocolate malted milk shake and an egg cream to bring me back “yesteryear.” For those of you that have no idea what and egg cream is, let me first say that there is no egg nor cream in it. This is an invention from prior to WWII. You pour some Ubet syrup in a glass, top it with milk and then dispense seltzer from the soda fountain, the same time stirring rapidly in order to create the foam. Vito prepares his own syrups such as chocolate, vanilla and coffee.  

Back to the ice cream. Coffee ice cream with coffee syrup – like eating an espresso! Pistachio with pistachios in it.  Raspberry, one of my favorite flavors and I could taste the raspberries in it.  Mint chip that brought me back to being a kid and that was my favorite flavor.  Cherry vanilla certainly had real cherries and another flavor high on my list. One thing I could detect is that the ice cream is, in fact, made on the premises. I also tried some of their whipped cream….OMG!  I’m not a coffee drinker but I wanted a cup of the syrup to go to make “coffee milk.”  

It’s not surprising to see a group of children occupying all of the tables as Angelina is in charge of taking care of these type of bookings.  On this particular day Learning Tree Day Camp had sent the joyous faces of the girls division, having brought the boys division the day before and done at a time prior to the ice cream shop’s 1pm opening time.  There were certainly huge smiles on the faces of the escorting supervisors, who got to hang out at the soda fountain area.  

Will you ever see Vito?….sure. Between preparations he is also at the counter scooping and such.  Next time I go…and I will be back…I am going to ask for a cup of espresso with coffee syrup and a dollop of whipped cream.  I guess it’s like having an espresso with sugar and cream….right? 

Eddie’s Sweet Shop is located at 105-29 Metropolitan Avenue. Hours are 1pm to 11:30 pm and closed on Mondays. Come on, Vito and the family need one day for a break! Street parking, accessible but with a small step. 

SARDEL PAN MAY BE ALL YOU NEED

I recently received information from a company called Sardel that tweaked my cooking attention. It read, “Along with my co-founders and brothers, Andrew and Ross, I have spent the last few years building our company, Sardel.. With the launch of our website and online shop we are excited to introduce a new brand of cookware to you today.”

“We’re proud of the high-quality, Italian-made cookware we’ve created, all of which is brought to you at an affordable price. Our hope is that our products can reflect our passion for cooking and the belief that preparing meals should be as simple and rewarding as eating them.”

“Working closely with friends and family, chefs, and our factory in Italy, we created a selection of timeless kitchen essentials—products that are beautifully classic in design, crafted with high-quality materials, and more attainable in price than the other high-end brands we have been accustomed to seeing.”

“We spoke with countless manufacturers around the world and ultimately found the perfect partner in northern Italy—a third-generation, family-run factory that helps us produce the quality products we had been searching for. Sardel would not have been possible without our manufacturer’s knowledge, dedication, and passion for creating timeless cookware.”

I tend to cook on a NuWave Precision Induction Cooktop Aside from the much shorter cooking time than my own stovetop, I have a ceiling fan in my kitchen that interferes with using a gas stovetop. The non-stick pan that comes with it tends to burn the food in the middle regardless of the chosen heat intensity as well as food sticking to the pan. I then have to soak the pan in order to remove it plus need more than a sponge to clean it. I also find that I have to clean it twice; once to remove using a liquid detergent and a second time to remove the odor of what I just prepared.

Water takes about 90 seconds to boil when I push the “sear” button.  This allows me to cook pasta or soup in this skillet pan.  Let’s continue with the description of the Sardel non-stick pan.

“When designing our products, we chose a stainless steel construction, which results in a highly versatile, durable, and easy-to-maintain product. Sardel products are also “5-ply”, which refers to the five layers of metal used to create our cookware. This combination of materials – and how those materials are layered and constructed – allows our cookware to heat evenly and adjust to temperature changes quickly, which gives you more control over your ingredients.”

They then go on to say why their non-stick pan is different. “We learned that the key to a highly effective and long-lasting non-stick pan lies in using an extremely durable non-stick surface. Our non-stick pans use a coating that is infused with stainless steel particles, creating a surface that has the toughness of a stainless steel pan and the non-stick capabilities you’re looking for. On top of that, we added even more durability by using an additional layer that has our unique honeycomb design—a naturally occurring pattern prized for its strength and resilience.”

The inside of the pan seems to have a honeycomb pattern. What’s that about? “Our stainless-steel infused non-stick coating is also reinforced with an additional “honeycomb” layer, which creates an even more effective and durable non-stick surface. Honeycomb is a naturally occurring pattern, known for its strength and durability that is often used by engineers when designing things like airplane wings and satellite walls. Why not bring this technology to your kitchen? Our unique honeycomb design creates a non-stick surface unlike anything you’ve ever used. It doesn’t hurt that it’s also easy on the eyes.”

Okay, time to order one and put it to the test. Instructions said to first wash with soapy water before using. After drying the bottom of the pan for the PIC, I decided to prepare a sliced up yellow squash with a fig jam and top it with shredded cheese. It just slid from the pan to a plate.  I used some olive oil so it might not be the real test.  

Second test involved heating leftovers that had rice, seasonings and protein.  Cooked up easily, slid on a plate and a sponge with dishwashing liquid was all I needed.  There was cumin in the dish and smelled that pan after I cleaned it. No leftover smell.  

I tend to cook with either butter or olive oil, mostly for the taste.  My final test was first placing shredded cheese in the hot pan on “high medium” first to melt and then switch to “low medium” to fry.  Easy to flip over and slid out on my plate like a crispy pancake.  I then cracked an egg placing the PIC on “low medium.” Broke the yolk and let it cook.  Easy flipping over and that, too slid out on a plate.  

My final test was a portion of fileted salmon.  No oil, no butter, just a bit of salt and squeeze of lime.  I heated it on medium high and covered.  Five minutes later, I flipped it over to sear the skin.  Let it cook a bit and yes, it simply slid onto my plate.  I love to munch the crispy skin last.  

I am careful to use those nylon utensils so as to not scratch the surface.  Using a PIC, the bottom never comes in contact with a flame. 

Sardel offers pans in both non-stick and just plain stainless steel. Pots are also available in stainless steel. For further information go to www.sardelkitchen.com     

KING OF CORONA IS LEMON ICE

There are a few iconic summer refreshing places in Queens that I have actually never visited and sampled, one of which is Lemon Ice King of Corona.  “OMG,” you say. “Did you just move to Queens? Are you an adult?”  I grew up either having “Italian ices” that were mass produced, in a cup, and eating it with a wooden disposable spoon.  Most important aspect of it was to hold out to get to the sugary formation at the bottom.  I don’t think we even cared that these were artificially flavored ices. If you wanted to “cheat” you could find your way of turning it over in the cup and attacking it. 

 

Now, I recently discovered what true Italian ices should be including real fruit and a bit of a “creamier” consistency due to it being churned.  I decided to undertake a test on whether I believed Lemon Ice King to be the best and standard for Italian Ices.

Lemon Ice King sits on the corner of 108^th Street and Corona Avenue. There is no indoor access as it appears more like a store front turned into a “stand.” I had a phone chat with present owners Vincent Barbaccia and Michael Zampano who purchased the enterprise from Peter Benfaremo, the son of Nicola Benfaremo. Nicola began the venture in 1944 from his garage as a street vendor with a pushcart of two flavors; pineapple and lemon, both incorporating real fruit.  Michael’s first job was working here behind the counter and later moving up to production.  With Peter’s return from serving in WWII the family expanded the success to it being the storefront offering more flavors.  Both Vincent and Michael grew up in this area and with the company’s great reputation thought it best to continue creating and serving this Sicilian delight. Now, there are 50 flavors. 

Okay, I didn’t try all of the flavors….I managed about a dozen and over a period of time. What makes these ices “King” is their using real piece of fruit. 

Let’s begin with the most famous lemon.  I actually had to spit out a flattened pit.  Freshly squeezed lemon juice mixed with just the right amount of sugar produced the best palate quencher going.  I’ll continue with the fruit:  orange, watermelon, tangerine, strawberry, cherry, mango and raspberry.  I wound up using these as an excuse for having my daily fruit.  

Next were the more interesting flavors of: licorice that tasted like anise along with tiny black licorice pieces in it; mint chocolate chip, of which was so good that I didn’t miss this in the form of ice cream; chocolate – passed the test of my being a chocoholic; and peanut butter, one of the most popular, has both peanuts and peanut butter chips in it. 

Expect long lines here. If you don’t want to slurp it from one of those paper cups that you squeeze and suck out every last morsel and taste, Lemon Ice King sells the flavors in pint containers…no mixing! Want to sit and slurp? The William F. Moore Park aka Spaghetti Park is just across the way for you to grab a bench. Make sure you bring napkins.   Got any questions? 718.699.5133.

I'm following up with more flavors that I tried. Pineapple - having bits of pineapple pieces, blueberry- has those small wild blueberries in it, banana - I'm guessing it's a banana puree, peach - bits of peach in it, grape - tastes like the flavor of concord grape juice, lime - great in itself but have used a tablespoon in cooking, apple - it won't keep the doctor away but definite apples in it.  Favorite of these was the pineapple....figures since they first stared out with lemon and pineapple ices. 

  Since first posting I have tried many other flavors: spumoni - pistachio, vanilla and chocolate...what a great combination; root beer - pretty good; pina colada -can taste the coconut with real flakes in it and the pineapple; strawberry banana - another great combo; O/V swirl is a combo of orange and vanilla, like having a creamsicle;