Without thinking about it, I had two of my all-time favorite treats today. With dinner (which comprised a healthy salad, thank you very much), I mixed up a packet of Del's Frozen Lemonade, a gift from a friend in Rhode Island.
For dessert, I had a scoop of Blue Moon ice cream my mom dropped off the other day. I knew that Del's is unique to New England -- it's about the only thing I miss after living there for five years. What I didn't know until now is that Blue Moon is local to the Midwest, and perhaps even invented in Milwaukee.
First, the Del's: In Rhode Island, their slogan is "Stop at the Sign of the Lemon." Dozens and dozens of frozen lemonade stands dot the landscape of this tiny state, and the flavor is totally unique. It's sweet but natural tasting, with tiny chunks of lemon rind. Real Rhode Islanders don't use a straw or a spoon, but shovel the stuff in by crinkling the wax-lined cups.
I used to eat / drink Del's by the gallon in high school, and when I went back for my reunion last summer, I ordered as many as possible. The mix my friend Pam gave me tastes fairly good, but it's not quite the same. (Side note: a Del's franchise did show up in Milwaukee, and oddly enough, in Maryvale, Ariz., in the mid ‘90s, but it's gone now. I remember drinking one at Bastille Days in 1996 and thinking I had died and gone to lemon heaven.)
Then there's Blue Moon: I used to team up this ice cream flavor with watermelon sherbet at the Chocolate Factory, and come to think of it, I still do. Apparently, the flavor, which has been described as everything from Fruit Loops to pistachio, is a Wisconsin thing. According to some light and unscientific Google-based research, Blue Moon was invented in1950 by Chicago's Edgar A. Weber & Co. "It's a very Midwestern flavor, and why it's so popular with us is that you can't find it anywhere else," said Steve Sauter, founder of IceCreamSource.com.
That's about all I have to say regarding Del's and Blue Moon, but something about having them both on the same day struck me as blog-worthy. I have no wise or pithy conclusion or further juxtaposition to add here. Just two unique desserts on one very average Monday. Talkback amongst yourselves.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
