Sundae Drivers

Whether covered in chopped nuts or chop suey noodles, ice-cream sundaes hold a timeless appeal—and business-building potential.

By Christine LaFave, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 5/18/2007

Like its potassium-enhanced cousin, the banana split, the ice-cream sundae is sloppy and inelegant—and oh, how it appeals to that childhood yearning for whimsy.

“It’s a fun food,” says 79-year-old Monroe Udell, proprietor of Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor in Dania Beach, Fla. Splits and sundaes hail from the same family of nostalgia-inspiring treats; updated takes on these classics—think coffee or cookies ‘n’ cream flavors—offer diners of all ages familiarity and a little sophisticated fun.

Frozen-confection aficionados debate the exact origins of the ice-cream sundae, although they agree that a banana wasn’t added to the mix until several years after the sundae debuted. On April 6, 18 92 , the first known advertisement for a sundae appeared in an Ithaca , N.Y. , newspaper. Their dates of birth aside, both desserts quickly became American classics.

“It took American excess and ingenuity to create the sundae,” writes Michael Turback, author of “A Month of Sundaes” (Red Rock Press, 2002), on The Official Website of the Ice Cream Sundae. “It’s as messy and irresistible as democracy itself.”

At Jaxson’s, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, the Kitchen Sink sundae is a paean to ice-cream excess. Served in a mock kitchen sink for $10.95 per person for a minimum of four people, it features ice creams and homemade toppings of the customers’ choosing. “We don’t really measure, we just fill it up,” Udell says.

Super Sundaes

A taste of some of the more original creations across the country…

Awesome PBJ Sundae (Friendly’s, various locations): Black raspberry ice cream with peanut butter sauce and whipped topping, approximately $3.89 for two scoops; $4.92 for three scoops.

Laura’s Strawberry Field (The Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor, Forest Park , Ill. ): Vanilla ice cream with wafer cookies, fresh strawberries, whipped cream, granola and a cherry, $4.15.

Messy Marcy (MaggieMudd, San Francisco ): Three scoops of ice cream topped with waffle bits, brownie pieces, bananas, chocolate sandwich cookies and nuts, $8 for two people. In addition to its traditionally made ice creams, MaggieMudd offers more than 25 flavors of vegan ice cream that use soy, almond, hazelnut or coconut milk as their base.

Golden Opulence Sundae (Serendipity, New York City ): Tahitian vanilla-bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in edible 23-karat gold leaf, topped with Amedei Porceleana chocolate sauce and chunks of Chuao chocolate. Further topped with candied fruits from Paris , truffles, marzipan cherries and a small bowl of Golden Passion caviar. Served in a crystal goblet with an 18-karat gold spoon, $1,000.

Less-than-precise recipes don’t equate to careless execution, though. For an ice-cream sundae to be a menu standout rather than an afterthought, two things are key: a creative twist in presentation or components and the use of high-quality, preferably house-made, ingredients.

“You really need to start with a great vanilla ice cream,” says Turback. “I think of vanilla ice cream as a blank canvas of an artist. That gives you a great base to show off the sauces that go with the sundae.” Operations that can’t make their own ice cream can still boost quality and win points with customers by making at least one topping in-house.

Appealing to patrons’ nostalgic side is a good way to generate repeat visits. Hot fudge that is just that—warm and fudgey, not cool, semisolid and/or burnt—can bring back the best memories of midsummer runs to the local ice-cream Mecca . Allowing diners to customize flavor combinations encourages a little imaginative involvement in the ice-cream experience, too.

Playful names and contemporary recipes can help pique the interest of patrons who might be blasé about a “standard” sundae (no matter how well-prepared it is). Redbones, a Southern-inspired barbecue restaurant in Somerville , Mass. , offers the down-home favorites pecan pie and sweet-potato pie on its dessert menu, but the item that gets the most comments—and the most orders—is the White Trash Sundae ($3.99).

“You just try to do something that will grab people’s attention,” says manager Dottie Pestana. Redbones’ politically incorrect creation consists of a home-assembled ice-cream sandwich that is cut into eighths or quarters and then doused at the center (“until it looks like trash,” Pestana says) with chocolate sauce and homemade whipped cream.

At 1886 Café and Bakery in Austin , Texas ’ Driskell Hotel, Pastry Chef Mark Chapman gives diners a java jolt in their dessert with the Second Wind sundae. Reflecting Americans’ dual passions for coffee and ice cream—and serving a grown-up twist on a childhood favorite—the sundae pairs cappuccino ice cream with hot fudge, biscotti, chocolate-covered espresso beans and whipped cream ($5.75).

A little self-promotion can build new buzz for an established brand, too. Wilbraham, Mass.-based Friendly Ice Cream Corp. announced in April the winners of its “Create the Next Favorite” sundae-building contest. A 10-year-old from New York and a first-year law student from Ohio won in the children’s and adults’ divisions, respectively, for their Peanut-Butterpan and Coffeehouse Turtle sundaes. The concoctions, which are appearing on Friendly’s menus through May 27, earned their creators a trip for four to Hawaii.

Those who would doubt an ice-cream contest’s appeal beyond the kids’-menu crowd might be surprised by Friendly’s numbers: There were more than twice as many submissions from adults as there were from children—39,000 versus 15,500. And given that more than 90% of American households consume ice cream and related frozen desserts, according to consumer-research firm Mintel, there is clear market potential for the humble ice-cream sundae.

It’s a sweet story for sundae scholar Turback. “When you think of something original, you have a great conversation piece,” he says. “[The sundae is] as clever today as it was all those years ago.&rdquo