Sunday, October 12 - Ghirardelli Soda Fountain: It's a Madhouse ... or is that a Nuthouse?!?!?!
The only thing that was going to wash the taste of that over-priced Polish sludge out of our mouths was a sweet, ice creamy delight drowning in hot fudge. Jay and I hadn't visited Ghirardelli since May 2007 ... at that time the ice cream shop had a long counter where customers placed their orders and then waited for their yummies in a confused mass of humanity that had the definite feel of a cattle pen on killing-floor day. Imagine our surprise when we walked in at 10:30 on Sunday evening to find that theyd remodeled the ordering area, installed several registers that were elevated on platforms above the clearly marked human traffic lanes, and placed big friendly menus above the registers.
All of this did make the ordering process easier, but unfortunately Ghirardelli didn't expand their seating area so I have to say that the place still had a cramped and rather sweaty feel to it.
Jay and I decided to share a sundae, and opted for
The Gold Rush a peanut butter hot fudge sundae, which was described as vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and melted peanut butter throughout, topped with whipped cream, a cherry, roasted peanut halves, and a Ghirardelli milk chocolate square for the low low price of $7.95.
Seeing that nuts were unfortunately included in this product, we were very careful to request that our dessert be prepared without them. The young lady taking our order was great and made note of the request it was even printed out on the receipt she gave me. This trivial bit of information will play an important part in the tale to come, so please stand by.
We couldnt believe how crowded the place was for a Sunday evening and wandered aimlessly in the holding pen before spotting a small corner table that had just been vacated. And then we proceeded to wait and watch as people continued to cram their way in
the line to place orders extended out the door and led Jay to exclaim at one point in his best Charlton Heston
Planet of the Apes impersonation, IT'S A MADHOUSE!!!
Plenty of ice cream folks, no need to push.
I said, "IT'S A MADHOUSE!!!
Is it just me, or do you guys think that poor man at the table behind Jay looks like he maybe had one sundae too many?
After about a ten-minute wait our dessert was delivered and we plunged eagerly into the sweet delight, ready to compare and decide for ourselves which establishment offered the better peanut butter / chocolate sundae Beaches & Cream or Ghirardelli.
The Gold Rush
It wasnt bad but it didnt hold a candle to the
No Way Jose over at Beaches & Cream. Aside from the portion size being a smaller one for the same price, they do something at B&C with their peanut butter topping that makes it a smooth, sweet, creamy joy. The peanut butter at Ghiradelli was thicker and almost gritty at times.
And hey
is that a peanut???
The first time I asked myself that question I let it go; after all, it's possible that a stray nut made its way into the topping or plunged into the ice cream when the kitchen staff wasn't looking. I spat the offending legume into my hand and stuck it on a napkin where it lay there innocently, unaware of its own, and as yet, untapped potential for wreaking intestinal havoc.
However, when another spoonful of dessert revealed an unexpected colony of peanuts that appeared to be reproducing before our very eyes, I set my spoon down on the table with a disgusted crash. My first instinct was to let Jay finish dessert on his own - he's not crazy about nuts but doesn't have the health concerns that I do when it comes to those peanutty little buggers. All it takes is one errant little peanut ...
aka earthnut, goober, goober pea, pinda, pinder, jacknut, manilla nut, or monkey nut ... set loose in my intestinal tract and there will be rumblings and crampings and emissions of the most gassy kind followed by a lengthy and painful visit to the porcelain god. And who needs that on vacation?
I was annoyed because more than half of the dessert remained and our receipt clearly showed that we had requested no "nuttiness." Taking a deep breath I flagged down one of the many table runners who were literally being worked to distraction. Politely I showed her our peanut goldmine and the receipt which clearly stated that they should have been banished from the dessert. She was just as sweet as could be, took the offending dessert and our receipt, and then re-appeared five minutes with a brand new, peanut-free sundae that quite frankly looked and tasted better than the first one.
Second time's a charm!
Yes indeed, this was much better and not just because there were no goober peas included - there was a more even mix of hot fudge and peanut butter and both were smoother and creamier than on the first go-round. Having said that, we still liked the
No Way Jose better and are looking forward to having one this October at Beaches & Cream.
Once we were finished with dessert V.2 we decided to catch a ride on one of the little ferry boats that run back and forth between Port Orleans, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, and Downtown Disney. It's a relaxing and mildly romantic way to end the evening as long as someone with a screaming toddler doesn't board your boat (luckily this time that person boarded the
other boat).
All Aboard!
And so ends the evening. Next up ... a day of firsts: Breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe and dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Upstairs Dining Room!!! Thanks for reading!
!
