Friday, October 15, 2010

Autumn '10 SCOOP


To Our Patrons, Ashine and Esteemed:

The slow soak of autumn shawls city block-trotters, petticoats pinwheel in westbound winds, writhing branches on forested mountainsides en-kindle with fiery colors. These signals remind us yearly of the scarcity of warmth as the earth wheels itself into a shadow’s submersion. As we plummet into night, the value of a snug embrace, a seething cider, and a toasty pie slice rises like a moon-tugged tide. Once more, The Franklin Fountain is glad to furnish you with a romantic clime and roasted treats.

Pumpkin Ice Cream hangs once more on our flavor list! And that can only mean one thing: “The Great Pumpkin Sundae” has returned! This legendary sundae is the reward for true believers -- anyone who tastes it is catapulted immediately into a drooling nirvana. It consists of pumpkin ice cream (itself spiced with ground cinnamon and nutmeg), salted pecan halves, a buttery golden caramel sauce, barleyfield malt powder, whipped cream, and cinnamon dust. This elusive sundae is a magnificent soul-slosher. Stop by and try to become infused in its trance! Specialty “Whoopee Pies” reappear again this season -- pumpkinbread discs sandwiching gingerbread buttercream frosting. Once lunchbox treats for farm laborers, these delicious pastries now know the whimsical calligraphy of our signature. We have also introduced, for the first time “Honeycomb Ice Cream” to our menu; a honey flavored ice cream hived with homemade honeycomb candy clusters. The flavorful hidden nests are brittle toffee-like bits with a caramelized honey taste. They’re certain to make you drone with pleasure.

Recently we have assisted our friends and neighbors “Design for Social Impact” with their “Posters for the People” gallery opening at Penn State Great Valley, which featured an array of Works Progress Administration commissioned poster art straight outta the New Deal. We donated our famed Pumpkin Ice Cream to their event, affectionately nicknaming the flavor “Pumpkin for the People.” The attendees were all treated to our autumnal treat.

“Pumpkins unite! You have nothing to lose but your vines!”- The Pumpkunist Manifesto
In case any Philadelphians haven’t noticed, The Phillies have been swinging their way to the pennant with rousing success. We are featuring a few items to commemorate their victories. First off, we are debuting our “No Hit Split”, doffing our ballcaps to Roy “Doc” Halladay’s historic no-hitter in the first game of this year’s playoffs. We will serve in a banana boat three baseball-sized vanilla scoops “x”’ed with three strawberry syrup “strike” signals-- garnished atop with peanuts and Cracker Jacks. We will also be giving away FREE red and white jimmies every time the Philles win a playoff game. Additionally, we will be selling “Champ Cherry Soda” in shop, a Philadelphia soft drink founded by hot dog tycoon Abe Levis on 6th Street in 1896. Originally titled “Champagne Cherry Soda”, the name changed in 1950 after the Phillies won the pennant that year. As legend has it, the soda is supposed to bring good luck to the fightin’ Phils. So drink one today to bring the boys luck!

Once again, news of our delicious goodies has been inked in magazine type and has wiggled across airwaves. We have been featured in the October 2010 issue of “Everyday with Rachel Ray”, on page 154. There, our “Caramel Apple Pie” shake is elegantly displayed. In their own words, “The Caramel Apple Pie Hot Milkshake is a slab of warm pie sinking into a vanilla shake, draped in hot caramel and served with a spoon and a straw for mixing, eating, slurping and licking clean.” The concoction was created in the autumn of ‘07 by Ryan Berley and soda jerk hall-of-famer Elliot Landes. We have also been featured once again on “The Food Network”, this time on the show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”, this particular episode being entitled “The Best Thing I Ever Drank.” The episode featured Food Network personalities Duff Goldman and Marc Summers, who hailed Franklin Fountain drinks “The Egyptienne Egg Shake” and “The Chocolate Ice Cream Soda” to be their favorite drinks, respectively. The Egyptienne Egg Shake, a Heinbach-Berley creation, is an old-fashioned phosphate consisting of orange and rosewater syrups, a tincture of phosphoric acid, a beaten egg, sparkling water, ice, an Arabian date, and dried Blue Nile Lotus petal (when infused as a tea, the blue Nile lotus flower is said to produce a “feeling of joy that permeates the whole body, emanating from every cell".) The Chocolate Ice Cream Soda is a staple of The New York City soda fountain circuit. It is a chocolate soda, made with Fox’s “U-Bet” chocolate syrup, straight from Brookyln, and a scoop of our homemade chocolate syrup. The two Food Network personalities hemmed and hawed about which drink was superior, finally deciding that each drink held its worth based on their individual merits.

Meanwhile, on the Shane Candies front, we have been making significant headway in preparing the polished gem for its grand re-opening. We are currently restoring the building to its original lustre. Quite a bit of sprucing-up is underway, and while we don’t want to give away many details (although there are many beautiful ones), we can reveal that the interior palate of the shop will be inspired by the colors seen inside of Independence Hall. More is to come on this subject in the near future.

That’s about all for now, dear Fountaineers. Thank you once again for your patronage and attention.

Through chill and with warmth,

The Franklin Fountain