Baskin-Robbins’ 32nd Flavor?

(Photo by Ray Johnson)

Baskin-Robbins touts itself as “your neighborhood ice cream store” and I couldn’t wait to meet the “newest member” of their family, the vanilla soft serve ice cream cone. But trying to arrange a meeting, I mean, tasting, had me going all over the neighborhood. The website says that “new smooth and creamy Vanilla Soft Serve is a sweet treat that’s so delicious you’ll want seconds” – but there was a major problem with getting firsts.

From 1427 Sheepshead Bay Road to 1815-1817 Avenue U to 2928 Avenue X (at Nostrand Avenue) – in each of the three Sheepshead Bay Baskin-Robbins stores that I visited, I observed water being wasted, unmanned counters, neglectful employees, non-working cash registers, and soft serve ice cream machines in disrepair.

At the Avenue X store, the server said the soft serve dispenser was working, but the stuff she plopped onto the cone was more of a loose vanilla shake. This sloppy mess was not swirly and twirly or at all like the soft serve cone pictured on the website. I couldn’t figure out how to eat the warm, drippy cream, so figured I wouldn’t put down my cold, hard cash to pay for it.

At this particular location, as I stood at the counter waiting for the disappointing cone to be made, I noticed something I’d not seen in any of the other stores – condensation on the freezer that had become moldy! The picture above may be a little difficult to see, but that is mold growing on the ice cream storage freezer. Reflected on the glass, you can see the posted sign informing customers: “Yes. We’re kosher.” Something tells me that mold and mildew growing near the frozen ice cream bins is anything but kosher. Is this Baskin-Robbins’ 32nd flavor?

In May, I clipped a coupon that promised a free soft-serve ice cream cone. All summer, whenever I happened to be near a Baskin-Robbins and had some time, I went in and ordered a soft-serve cone, but it was not available. After numerous attempts, the coupon had long expired, but I was still interested in trying a vanilla soft serve, so I persisted. The summer passed by and I wasn’t able to actually get a taste of the soft-serve ice cream until September!

Following the advice of Ayurvedic science that discourages eating cold foods in cold weather, I usually wait for the summer to indulge in my favorite frozen treats. It’s a good thing I wasn’t depending on Baskin-Robbins to support my summer indulgence and I was glad that I could still head on over to L & B Spumoni for one of the classic, delicious orange creamsicle cones – because, while the Baskin-Robbins vanilla tasted good, it wasn’t necessarily worth the wait.