FOODIE

Savoring Sweet Treats At Herrell’s
ByTricia and Danny/ foodie@longislandernews.com

There’s a new ice cream joint in Town and us Foodies ventured over just as it opened last weekend in hopes of finding a cool treat to help us cool off in the hazy summer heat.

Herrell’s, located at 46L Gerard Street in Huntington village – the site of the old Rita’s Ices, is a family-owned business brought to Long Island from Massachusetts by South Huntington resident Rick Meuser. Steve Herrell, the founder of Herrell’s, was a family friend of Meuser, and every time Meuser and his family traveled to Massachusetts they made a point of stopping at Herrell’s because the ice cream was so desirable.

Meuser, an attorney in the music industry, decided that Long Islanders didn’t know what they were missing and jumped at the opportunity to spread the joy of Herrell’s smooth and creamy frozen treats.

Described by Meuser as the “Santa Claus of ice cream,” Herrell developed an innovative technique of preparing homemade ice cream by mechanically altering a commercial ice cream freezer. The same technique is employed at Herrell’s in Huntington, where Meuser’s wife Cathy, daughters Caitlin and Christi and family friends will dish out the scoops.

Playing into the stereotype that journalists indeed live on java, we opted for the coffee ice cream topped with delicious hot fudge. Appropriately java-colored, it impressed us with its smooth, Arabica flavor that we’d expect to find in a good cup o’ Joe. However, this comes in a cup o’ ice cream. Think of it as an iced mocha that you’d eat with a spoon, but much, much thicker – and a bit less caffeinated, to be sure.

Herrell’s’ famous hot fudge (original, peppermint and almond) can even be savored at home. Available in 10 oz. containers that feel much heavier, they come with scented covers that conceal a topping with a rich, gooey consistency. It wowed our taste buds with its mocha flavor, even though neither of us are big hot fudge fans.

Next on the list we tried the malted vanilla ice cream. For you vanilla fans out there, it’s one of Meuser’s favorites, and for good reason. It has an intense, creamy flavor that isn’t as sweet as other vanilla ice creams we’ve had. For the record, that’s a good thing. The vanilla flavor has a much richer, adult taste and the scoops lacked that excessive sweetness so often discovered in ice creams wanting true flavor.

The cookie dough was another good bet, especially in one of Herrell’s’ fresh, crunchy, wafer-textured waffle cones. The ice cream inside the thin cone was smooth, thick, soft and brimming with vanilla flavor. The large chunks of cookie dough are expertly blended, crunchy and grainy as if you broke the stuff off of the bar. Topped with Kit Kat chunks and crushed Butterfingers, the cone was a heavenly experience matched by few other dairy concoctions.

If you want your toppings mixed in – Herrell’s offers over 25 candy, nut and fruit toppings – order a “smoosh-in,” where the topping of choice will be mixed into the ice cream in front of you by your server.

Along with ice cream, Herrell’s sells frozen yogurt, sorbet and a number of tasty milkshakes that can be made with frozen yogurt instead of ice cream or with skim or soymilk instead of whole. Ice cream sodas, root beer floats, sorbet spritzers and New York Egg Creams are just a few of the other treats available off of Herrell’s’ menu.

Herrell’s’ smooth, distinctive flavors will definitely have us coming back for more until we try them all – Herrell’s has more than 30 flavors that will be featured on a rotating basis. These include special holiday flavors such as the pumpkin ice cream that we’ll be waiting on the edge of our seats to savor.

Herrell’s Ice Cream
46L Gerard Street
Huntington village
631-673-1100
www.herrells.com

Cuisine: Ice cream, frozen treats and baked goods
Atmosphere: Family-friendly
Price Range: Inexpensive
Hours: Sunday-Thursday noon to 11 p.m.
Friday & Saturday noon to midnight

Main Menu