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n is for neapolitan

April 21, 2010

so i used to go to school in missouri. one of the (many) things i didn't like about being in school out of state was that i had to eat inferior--and it is inferior... all of it, even your silly ben and jerry's--ice cream.

i'm a texan, boys and girls. i might rant about the stupid pollen and the hurricanes and the flatness of it, but when it comes down to it, i was born here, and i'll die here.

because as much as i hate that blasted pollen and the stupid hurricanes and the flatness, there are three really, really great things about this place:

the abundance of trees.

the beauty of the hill country.

and the bliss that is blue bell ice cream.

that one, sometimes, i missed more than any other. even my mommy. when you've grown up with this stuff, when it's the only ice cream that's graced your freezer, you start to take it for granted.

i hated having ice cream cravings at college because i always had to settle for the cheap stuff.

my roomies and i were watching television one afternoon when a blue bell advertisement came on the tube. i jumped up, all excited, exclaiming how awesome it was. but my friends blew me off like i was nuts for getting all crazy about some ice cream.

oh, but it's not any ice cream. it's the best tasting ice cream in the country.

we used to cart the stuff up to the monastery. mom would call her brothers and take requests, and we'd go to the grocery store and buy six half gallons, and then to get the dry ice and the boxes. we'd pack it up with our luggage and head for the airport. the boxes and the suitcases were dropped on the conveyor belt for the baggage handlers, and we'd board, eager for cooler climates and better scenery (because as much as i love texas, utah's rather pretty in the summer and a heck of a lot more comfortable).

there, my relatives would argue about which flavor was the best. these debates were ongoing for the entirety of our stay. and every time another half gallon was sampled, votes would change.

this is how good the stuff is, folks.

last summer, one of my college friends who lives in oregon put some status up on her facebook page about how she'd done yardwork all day, and now she was going to sit on one of her lawn chairs with a bowl of ice cream and enjoy the fruits of her labor.

i'd commented that it was too bad she couldn't have blue bell.

one of her friends who lived in new york saw that and got all excited. she loved blue bell! she'd been trying to find a natural vanilla bean that was as good.

it's just not possible. i told her she could have some shipped. (for those of you contemplating this, it's not cheap.)

this is how good the stuff is, folks.

everything else is pathetic.

so imagine my surprise when i could not find a flavor to satisfy my palette.

i brought home mocha madness. coffee ice cream, roasted pecans, chocolate chips and caramel sauce. nope. not enough chocolate.

i brought home cake and ice cream. vanilla ice cream, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate coated cake and chocolate icing. not enough chocolate. i know, right? you'd think i would've loved it (and, of course, i do, but it did not appease my craving in the slightest.)

groom's cake is my absolute favorite, but alas, it must be one of those seasonal flavors that i won't see for another month or two. it is chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, strawberry hearts, strawberry sauce and chocolate icing. it is divine. the. best. ice. cream. ever. EVER.

i went to the store today to get some smarties for a project i'm doing for a friend. i debated getting ice cream but thought better of it. the last two times, amazingly enough, had been a bust.

and yet, for some strange reason, i found myself standing before the freezers that held my beloved blue bell (which were shockingly empty...it's coming on summer already, and we can't handle heat very well, because it's blistering, sopping, sticky, boiling, sweaty, nasty, stinky, burning, my-god-i-hate-this-place kind of heat... or maybe it's because the summer flavors are coming! one can only hope). i stood there, debating...

neapolitan? no. too boring. i used to have that one all the time. mint chocolate chip? no. too minty. banana split? no. my dad had let me have a bit of his the other day, and while it is scrumptious...not enough chocolate. strawberries and vanilla? no. did you not hear me? chocolate! then yes. i snatch it up, turn and take a few steps. then no. i want chocolate!

so i go back and grab the neapolitan.

and. oh. my. gosh. i'd forgotten how much i love this stuff. it's not exactly what i'd been craving. but it's darned close.

and you, you who don't live in the red zones:


you're probably wishing you had some in your freezer.

hah! sucks to be you.

this was a matlock project. learn about that here.

32 comments :

  1. Dare I say it? I never heard of this kind of ice cream LOL. I'll have to investigate it.

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  2. Yes, I'm afraid a lot of them won't know what Blue Bell is and they've probably never heard of the little creamery in Brenham. Isn't it because Blue Bell makes their own deliveries? I believe it's just sold in Texas and maybe neighboring states.

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  3. Another Texan! Love that ice cream

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  4. I love good ice cream and next time I am in Texas Blue Bell ice cream here I come~ Unless you Texas gals would like to send me some overnight packed in dry ice! LOL! Hugs Anne

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  5. I live so very close but not close enough to try your beloved Blue Bell. But I will be on the lookout when I am in a red state!

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  6. Can you ship some to Australia for me...please!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha.

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  7. I love ice cream and have had Blue Bell a few times in my life.

    I love how you ended the post.

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  8. We have it here and I have never tried it. The Groom's Cake sounds awesome!

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  9. I haven't had Blue Bell but I love Lappert's in Maui where I went psychotic over their passion fruit sorbet. San Francisco has Mitchell's - the family dairy began in 1891 and the ice cream shop opened in 1953. They have the most wonderful selections of ice creams, including fabulous tropical flavors.

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  10. I'm more of an Edy's person, but when I went to school at OU, they sold Blue Bell in the first floor of my dorm. My fav is birthday cake...no one else does it like them!

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  11. MM must be good you ahve really told us about it. I love good Icecream

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  12. you made me want to try some :D

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  13. We have that here! I've never heard of the cake and icecream flavor or the grooms cake.

    And I better stay away from that section while I'm being a good little Weight Watchers girl.

    I'm glad you can eat those wonderful flavors in nimiety without having to go to WW's, too!

    Thanks for a nifty and tasty stop on my little journey through Alphabe-Thursday's letter "N"!

    A+

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  14. Ok, first of all, I love your snarky style. I think we need to be friends. I'm following you, gotta get me some more snark. Secondly, alas, this hypoglycemic has had to give up ice-cream, and has never even tried Blue Bell. But your post made me think I had. And had me craving. Well done.

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  15. Well doesn't that bite. Even when I lived in FL I wasn't in the red zone. When I head to NC each year, I'm not in the zone. We're going to Phoenix and surrounds in fall and we won't even come close to the zone.

    Bummer for me.

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  16. I am "in the zone"...and we do like Blue Bell IC...I cannot imagine that there is a world outside "the zone". I have spent a great deal of time in Tejas...sort of a love/hate thing...Peace and a Happy Neopolitan day...

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  17. blue bell - never of it but it certainly sounds like a treat


    thanks for your visit

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  18. Never heard of it but I wouldn't mind trying it. Great n post. Stop by to read mine if you get a chance.

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  19. I don't think I'm much of an ice cream eater. When I was in college everyone was nuts for the Penn State Creamery Ice Cream, but it was already so COLD! I usually got hot chocolate at The Creamery!

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  20. I am celebrating with you sister!!! I am one of those lucky ducks in the red zone and when I go to our local ice cream joint...Mr. T's that only carries Blue Bell and i go inside they know my order...MOCHA ALMOND FUDGE IN A CUP TO GO. I am so picky that i must bring it home and let it get harder in the freezer before I can eat it. If they do not have it, I do not get any so glad to hear about your other flavor suggestions. Ice cream Rocks!

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  21. We do have BBIC here. But I"m not eating IC of any kind on a regular basis right now. Maybe I will a couple of time this summer as a little treat.

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  22. You haven't lived till you've eaten Ciao Bella! TRUST! ITS the BEST...It is made in tiny batches with the BEST ingredients! Totally outshines any other:)

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  23. not in a red-zone, sadly...always on the lookout for a great ice cream. i'm one of the few who doesn't love ben and jerrys...i think it has too much stuff in it--takes away from my creamy ice cream experience. I love neopolitan ice cream...my mom would buy it when we were kids because we couldn't agree on a flavor. I also just saw a commercial for neopolitan klondike bars. Maybe it's making a comeback---but alas--was it ever gone? :)

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  24. I want... ah well, will have to make it to the Southern states someday...

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  25. it is the best. no question. even just plain vanilla is amazing. i feel so terrible for people who live outside the red zone. i'm visiting from sits!

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  26. I have heard of it, but never had it....the grooms cake sounds yummy....I love ice cream!

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  27. We love that Blue Bell ice cream here in Georgia, too! I loved reading this piece and really like your style. Keep it up.1

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  28. I had Blue Bell ice cream when I lived in NC for a short time. It is good! The chocolate grooms cake sounds heavenly.

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  29. I like Blue Bell OK.

    As a kid, I always hated Neopolitan: I loved chocolate. I liked vanilla. But the strawberry felt like a tainting. An abomination.

    Happy SITS day!

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  30. Ulti-Neo (our name for it) is good but I'm a big Moollennium fan (ever since they came out with it). Prior to that I was a loyal Great Divider.
    But better than Blue Bell is Ted Drew's. But you can't buy TD in any grocers....and the only state it's sold in is Missouri...and only in St.Louis. It is a super rich, super smooth (no trace of ice crystals), fabulous tasting frozen creamy custard. I say that only because there is no close comparison of TD to any ice cream.....even Blue Bell. Ted Drew's is a frozen custard....so good you might just be willing to sell your children, grandma, the dog and the house for. I think they now are selling across state linse, sold over the internet and shipped on dry ice.
    Another best for Missouri is Imo's pizza....nothing like it anywhere in the whole world...and can only be found in their parlors in the St Louis area. And then there is Gooey Butter cake.....only 2 (in St. Louis) select bakeries makes this in it's true perfection.

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  31. They call it "the best tasting ice cream in the country"; I say it is the best tasting ice cream in the WORLD! Unfortunately, I am not allowed to bring dairy products into Australia, or else I would pack some up each and every time I visit home just as you describe.
    As for my favorite, I agree that it is too difficult to choose. Here's a list of personal faves - Christmas Cookie (I think that's the name), Southern Blackberry Cobbler, Cookies N Cream, Banana Pudding, Rainbow Sherbert, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Homemade Vanilla with Hershey's syrup on top!!!
    Now, I'm salivating........

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