Friends and Followers:
In the harsh and icy winds of winter’s season, the world is bereft of green. The landscape is blanched with a snowy down, and all is cold. But alas, springtime nears, and the grasses are verdant, awaiting the wash of sunlight that spills in diaphanous strands. Lo, the season approaches where green will rule in unanimous democratic fashion, and life will flower with loveliness.
Speaking of burgeoning beauty, we have quite a few announcements to make about our aesthetically balanced sweets and confections. Take, for instance, our returning hit, “Thin Mint Chip” ice cream. This flavor pays tribute to Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, who organized the first Girl Scout Troop one hundred years ago (This year the Girl Scouts are celebrating their Centennial, and they even had a ceremony officiated by the President of the United States.) The flavor consists of a tasty peppermint base, a season-friendly green crème de menthe swirl, homemade chocolate chips, and fragmented bits of Girl Scout “Thin Mint” cookies. It is delectable; its flavor forswears its own oath to make the world a better place.
This is the season of Celtic passion, as St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated this month on the seventeenth. We have decided to celebrate the Irish Spirit with Irish spirits. We have concocted our “Irish Whiskey and Cream” ice cream, using Berks County’s fresh cream, authentic Irish whiskey, and a housemade coffee extract. Powdered throughout the mix is both cocoa and malt. This delectable cool treat is best served with lofty oratory and a well-spoken toast, and perhaps some Joyceian stream of consciousness. It will surely warm the cockles of your heart.
We have another returning champion insofar as ice cream flavors goes– “Honeycomb” ice cream. This flavor has a honey base, made from local honey from the Philadelphia Bee Co., and crunching throughout the mixture is our own make of honeycomb candy, a crystallized wonder of exquisite tastiness that will make you buzz with delight. Your flight to our store will surely be worth it– the hivemind agrees!
We also will be debuting an Apple Blossom Sorbet, made from tart and scrumptious green apples. Its taste is delicate, sour, and biting, and we think you will appreciate its culinary knowledge. Take a bite of this forbidden fruit.
Looking for something different to try? Why not our Irish “Mashed Potato” Shake? It is more flavorful than a Shepherd’s Pie. It contains coconut ice cream well mixed, a dash of cinnamon, a snaking whipped cream ring, and a gravy puddle of hot caramel. It’s as tasty as a hearth-cooked Irish meal.
In terms of Shane Confectionery news, we would like to announce that, just as we have for every St. Patrick’s Day for a full century, once again we will be making the favorite confection of “Irish Potatoes”. These treats enjoy a rich heritage in the City of Brotherly Love. They are composed of spuds of coconut cream rolled about in rusty-hued cinnamon, and some are even dotted in pignoli “eyes”. Pick up a box today to prolong a Philadelphia tradition.
BREAKING FOUNTAIN NEWS!
The Franklin Fountain has reopened!
We have been closed for the opening weeks of March because we were elongating our marble bar, we were adding more cabinetry to the backbar, we were installing another ice cream cabinet and were adding another cash register (this specimen is a nice brass model). These additional installments will allow us to serve you more quickly and effectively, so the wait time in our trailing lines will be reduced. We hope that you appreciate our new look.
Well, that is about all for this go-around.
May the Heart’s Grace Be With You,
The Berley Brothers and Staff
P.
S.- if you are looking for more Irish-themed things to do; we suggest that you visit “The Irish Memorial” at Penn’s Landing. The Memorial was unveiled on October 25th of 2003 and was erected to commemorate the passing of the one million Irish souls who perished in the mid nineteenth century from the combined effects of crop failure and political starvation at the hands of the British. The bronze sculpture is set in a 1.75 acre park, and it commemorates the arrival of impoverished Irish coming to American harbors.