As an adult, I like knowing that it’s not a crime to polish off two popsicles in the privacy of my own home. My favorites—Stonyfield frozen vanilla yogurt bars dipped in organic dark chocolate—aren’t always easy to find in the supermarket, and Bonfatto’s Spice Cream—a gourmet ice cream infused with heat—has to be special ordered and shipped on dry ice. It is a crime, though, to exclude Cho Chos, Leiby’s vanilla soft serve, homemade waffles and ice cream or banana splits from your diet, especially if you know where to find them, and I do. Sharing is fun but optional, especially if you’re an ice cream fanatic like me; you’ll want to eat at least one all by yourself. See you there!
Pop's Malt Shoppe
If you love the look and feel of the 50s, this college town malt shop is sure to tickle your nostalgia funny bone. From its music to its décor—most notably its old-fashioned Coke cooler and penny candy jars—Pop’s is like stepping back in time. “It just has that old fashioned friendly feel,” says owner Joel Seidel.
There’s sit down room for about 40 people inside and a few seats outside for folks who like a little fresh air with their shake—which, by the way, is a secret family recipe. “Ever since I was a kid, when I would go for a shake, some places were just better than others,” says Joel. “I vowed to find out what made one shake better than another, and we have them.”
Their regular milkshakes start at $3.89, but if you prefer a thicker shake, try Pop’s extra thick malt—made with hand-dipped ice cream—for $5.49. “It’s something that you have to work at to bring it up your straw, but it’s still drinkable,” Joel promises.
Pop’s offers water ice, 24 hand-dipped ice cream flavors and Leiby’s traditional soft serve in vanilla, chocolate and twist (a combination of the two flavors). Soft serve is a silky smooth frozen confection dispensed out of a stainless steel machine. More novelty items (including chocolate chip cookie ice cream bowls, ice cream cakes and frozen bananas and cheesecake both dipped in chocolate) are made on the premises in Kutztown.
Lunch or dinner munchies: hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, fried chicken sandwiches and more are also available.
The Shoppe opens the first day of spring, normally March 20th, and closes the last day of October (or later if it’s involved in a special community event). Hours are 11:30am to 10pm, seven days a week.
Pop's Malt Shoppe 208 W. Main St., Kutztown | 484.646.9509
CeeGee's Drive-In
For home-style fast food and ice cream, it doesn’t get any sweeter than CeGee’s Drive-In in Blandon. “Our ice cream has a unique flavor,” says owner Chris Greth, describing the reduced fat soft serve used here for making sundaes and milkshakes. “It’s a little bit sweeter.”
Banana splits, made with three large mounds of soft serve, are topped with pineapple, strawberries, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry. Other sundae toppings include hot fudge, marshmallow, wet walnuts and brownies. There’s also crushed candy (including Snickers, peanut butter cups and cookie dough).
Flavor-blast in raspberry, strawberry, tropical orange, blue goo (tastes like cotton candy), caramel, butterscotch or butter pecan—injected in brightly colored ribbons of flavor around vanilla soft serve—is a favorite among thrill seekers. For chocolate lovers, there’s CeGee’s brownies and ice cream. The brownie (warm and gooey) is topped with soft serve, hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry. Also, choose from more than 20 milkshake flavors and 35 slushy and smoothie flavors.
Chris’ Coney Island style hamburgers are served with stewed onions and his hot dogs, made with onions and mustard, are always cooked to order. “Our meat-based sauce is on the sweeter side,” he says about the secret recipe. There’s room for about 50 inside and lots of room outside with picnic tables and benches on the front porch.
CeGee's opens mid-March and closes in October. Hours are 11am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and Noon to 9pm on Sunday. Cruise night (with a DJ and door prizes) is held every other Saturday from 4 to 9pm in CeGee’s parking lot.
CeeGee's Drive-In 833 Park Rd.| Blandon | 610.944.8977
Herman's Drive-In
Dick and Donna Sherry have been in the business of making homemade waffles for 22 years. They got their start on the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ, before moving their operation to Topton and buying Herman’s Drive In.
Herman’s always opens the first Thursday after St. Patrick’s Day and closes sometime in November, says Donna, who shares ownership with her daughter, Debbie, and son-in-law, Leo Desrosiers.
On Tuesdays from 6 to 8pm, Herman’s serves homemade waffles and ice cream in their dining room. The homemade batter can be made into a waffle sandwich or sundae. “It smells so wonderful when they’re being made,” says Donna. “Our customers love that we make the waffles right in front of them.”
To keep their fans coming back each week, the waffles are reasonably priced at $2.25 for an ice cream sandwich or $2.75 for a sundae topped with ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream.
Soft serve flavors: vanilla, chocolate and twist are available every day in addition to a special flavor of the week such as peanut butter, raspberry, creamsicle, coffee, mint or strawberry. Also available are fresh fruit smoothies, water ice, milkshakes and sundaes.
In addition to ice cream, Herman’s sells a variety of fun comfort foods including hot dogs, barbecues, burgers, chicken tenders and meatball sandwiches.
The dining room—with seating for about 46 people—has heating and air conditioning. An open air patio seats around 30. And it’s easy to find (it’s across the street from Brandywine Heights Middle School off Fleetwood Blandon Road). Business hours are 11am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and Noon to 9pm Sunday.
Herman's Drive-In 50 W. Weis St. | Topton 610.682.2128
Kwik Shoppe Drive-In
This iconic ice cream shop in Shoemakersville has been in the Porcaro family for 44 years. Owned and operated by brothers Nicholas W. Porcaro, Jr. and Dean Porcaro, it has seating for 38 inside and four picnic tables with umbrellas outside. At smaller tables for two, good for date night, couples here have been known to fall more in love with their ice cream than each other.
The Cho Chos, according to Nicholas, taste as good or even better than the kind you could buy at the Muhlenberg Dairy in the 60s. To get the ice cream (it tastes like milk chocolate malt) out of its container, roll the cup back and forth between the palms of your hands—pull on the stick and the ice cream should slide right out. The popular pops sell for $1 each or in packs of 10 for $10. Other popular items here include Porcaros’ famous take-home banana split cake. The cake is made in layers using bananas, strawberry topping, vanilla ice cream, pineapple topping, more vanilla ice cream, whipped icing, sprinkles, peanuts and chocolate syrup, respectively. It sells for $34 and serves 8 to 10 people.
Other frozen novelties include Rosati Italian Water Ice and frozen sundaes to go (flavors include hot fudge, caramel, peanut butter cup, peach and more). Cost for a 12 oz. cup is $4.10.
Can’t make up your mind? Try picking from more than 15 flavors of hand-scooped Turkey Hill hard ice cream. Not only do you have to choose a flavor, you also have to decide how you want it served: in a bowl, piled high on a cone or in a milkshake.
Open year round, and from 10am to 10pm during the summer, the KWIK SHOPPE also serves up award-winning barbecues, hamburgers, steak sandwiches and more.
Kwik Shoppe Drive-In Routes 61 & 662 | Shoemakersville | 610.562.8833
BY MARCIA WEIDNER-SUTPHEN | PHOTOS BY HEIDI REUTER
