By Yana Krasnitskaya
One of my fondest childhood memories is of going out for ice cream with my grandfather. We had just moved to America from my native Ukraine, and in an effort to get to know the neighborhood a bit better, we would take long walks, which would inevitably end at the Baskin-Robbins four blocks from our apartment.
There, he’d stand watch while I practically draped myself over the display, my eyes dancing across all the flavors until I landed on the one that called to me. I probably took this step too seriously, considering that I almost always settled on either their bespoke rainbow sherbert or on strawberry and vanilla. But it was the process – the anticipation, the excitement, the impending joy – that amplified the experience and brought so much delight.
I had a similar experience when I visited Trudy’s Ice Cream in Morningside Heights last weekend.
Let me get this out of the way: I am not a dessert person. But I’ve been writing this column for a little over two months now and I couldn’t in good conscience let an entire summer go by without writing about ice cream. And it just so happened that upon entering Trudy’s charming little spot, my eyes zeroed in on the most classic of ice cream options: the banana split ($14). But before I get into that extravaganza, let me say a beat about Trudy’s, a family business with a surprisingly long history. They’ve been making ice cream since 1949 with an emphasis on simple ingredients and house-made products. The vibe is very much that of an old-school ice cream parlor, with only about 20 flavors on display, and a small but mighty offering of accoutrements: house-made waffle cones, soft serve, shakes, and of course, the aforementioned banana split.
A traditional banana split at Trudy’s consists of three scoops of ice cream topped with strawberry sauce, hot fudge, or pineapple topping; whipped cream; peanuts or sprinkles (or both); and maraschino cherries. I initially was set on a vanilla-strawberry-chocolate combination for my three scoops. But Trudy’s lets you try two flavors before ordering and when I tasted the maple walnut flavor, my plan was immediately derailed.
To borrow a phrase from my friend, who tasted it first: “It’s like eating pancakes or French toast on a Saturday morning!” And boy was she right. When you pop the first spoonful into your mouth, you get a hit of maple – a rich, creamy flavor that does invoke the feeling of dipping a fluffy pancake into syrup; this is followed by the nuttiness of the walnut, and then finished with just the lightest hint of cinnamon that keeps the flavor going way after you’ve taken a bite. It is not a subtle flavor by any means – it’s rich, it’s creamy, it’s borderline too much, but you’ll have to restrain yourself from eating the entire scoop – or at least I did. I knew as soon as I sampled it that it was going into my banana split.
For the other two flavors, I went with my mainstays: vanilla, which had a smooth, subtle flavor, and strawberry, which in my experience can be difficult to do well, but at Trudy’s, the fruit comes through beautifully. All of three scoops were sandwiched between two lateral slices of banana, then topped with strawberry sauce, three generous spoonfuls of fresh whipped cream, peanuts, and three very large, glossy looking maraschino cherries.
I had to sit down to eat this masterpiece. Luckily, the only other patrons in the shop – a family of four – had just vacated the small seating area available inside, so I settled in a plastic chair overlooking the windows to the street and dug in. This dessert did two things simultaneously: It made me nostalgic for my childhood and made me shed a tear for the stomach ache my future self would likely have as a result of this indulgence. If you’re trying to watch what you eat, please do not come here. It’s all too good to pass up. I alternated spoonfuls of the maple walnut, strawberry and vanilla so speedily, I probably looked as if someone had me on a timer. (No one did.)
The atmosphere at Trudy’s was chill, so full of joy and calm, as if the two ladies working behind the counter knew just how much pleasure their product brought to their customers. I’m certain I was not the first or last person to sit and hold vigil over a massive banana split, brandishing my plastic spoon as though it were both a weapon and my salvation.
The maple walnut one of Trudy’s rotating flavors, so if you go, you may not be lucky enough to get it. But even if you show up on a week where it’s not available, there will be plenty of flavors — both classic and unique — to choose from. Trudy’s also offers soft serve, the most popular being a swirl of vanilla with orange sorbet, which creates its own take on a Creamsicle. Or you can create your own sundae ($7 to $11) from any of the flavors and toppings. My friend got peanut butter ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and merrily exclaimed that it reminded him of eating Reese’s Pieces cereal for breakfast when he was a kid. Another friend got just two scoops of strawberry and vanilla ice cream and happily ate it as we walked home.
I, on the other hand, spent our entire walk home bemoaning the fact that I had to leave some of my banana split behind. I am not yet evolved or coordinated enough to carry that much ice cream and keep up with my New York-level speed of walking. Lucky for me though, I could bask in the memory of that deliciousness, which was transposed against the memory of my grandfather watching over my shoulder as I picked the most radioactive flavor at Baskin-Robbins.
RIP, Grandpa — you would have loved Trudy’s.
The Dish: Trudy’s Banana Split ($14)
The Restaurant: Trudy’s Ice Cream, 975 Columbus Avenue (at 108th Street). Open Monday-Sunday, noon-9 p.m.
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