Stacked on a cone or stuffed in a cup, real ice cream is one of those sweet treats some of us fall in love with at a young age and rarely outgrow.
The cool texture and the yummy flavors can thrill the taste buds at 8 or 80. I'm one of the hooked. I'm not an expert, but I have dipped a spoon or two in a variety of low-fat ice cream and yogurt products, including that new mysterious, and oh so trendy, Pinkberry concoction.
The bottom line, none of them tastes as good as real ice cream. I try to keep my desire for the calorie-laden frozen confection in check, but sometimes, I breakdown and I gotta have it. That's exactly what happened on Wednesday, May 2, during Baskin-Robbins 31 Cent Scoop Night.
I didn't mark the event on my calendar, but I admit it was in the back of my mind as I was driving home from the Burbank YMCA. The trigger was a long line inside the Togo's/Baskin-Robbins combo shop at San Fernando Boulevard and Alameda Avenue.
When I glanced over at the line, I remembered the promotion - 31 cents a scoop from 5-10 p.m. That was all I needed to convince myself that ice cream would be a well-deserved reward for my hard workout.
I decided to cruise down Alameda and over onto South Victory Boulevard in Burbank, where one of the flagship Baskin-Robbins sits isolated in an industrial area. I thought there might be fewer people. No such luck. It was 'party central' with bright lights, balloons, shiny fire trucks and yes, a very long line hugging the side of the building.
I parked and got in line. I was geared up for ice cream and nothing short of a major earthquake was going to deter me from getting my scoops.
The line moved quickly and soon I was at the counter ogling the ice cream flavors. The original owners, a couple of local guys named
Burt Baskin and
Irv Robbins, wanted to give folks a choice of 31 flavors - one for each day of the month.
Baskin and Robbins opened their first ice cream shops in Glendale and Pasadena back in the mid-1940s. Now, Baskin-Robbins is an international chain with 5,600 shops in 40 countries.
Also, Baskin- Robbins claims to have the recipes for more than a thousand ice cream flavors in its library, among them Pink Bubblegum, Tax Crunch and Baseball Nut - which commemorates the Dodgers' momentous move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958.
On 31 Cent Scoop Night, I went for some of my old favorites - Chocolate Mousse Royale, Pralines 'n Cream and Very Berry Strawberry. The limit was five scoops per person. I got four. Didn't want to push the calorie overload too high. At 31 cents a scoop, that came to $1.24 plus tax. Usually, one regular 2.5-ounce scoop sells for around two bucks.
Why the bargain? A number of reasons.
Shop owner
Varuzh Tirityan told me the event was a good way to "create some excitement" and be "involved with the community." At the corporate level, Baskin- Robbins widely publicized the promotion and its intention to contribute $100,000 to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. The foundation honors fire heroes who have died in the line of duty as well as assisting their families and co-workers. Also, local fire departments were encouraged to participate in 31-Cent Scoop Night.
At the Baskin-Robbins at 1201 South Victory Blvd., 26 Burbank firefighters took time out from busy schedules to chill with thousands of the locals. Some firefighters like
Omid Kianersi helped out filling orders behind the counter. Others collected donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Burbank firefighter
Tray White said they raised around $700 for MDA.
A few days ago, I asked the shop owner how many customers showed up at his Baskin-Robbins on 31 Cent Scoop Night. Proudly he rattled off the figure, 4,892. Wow! On a normal Wednesday night, a few hundred would drop by this ice cream specialty shop.
According to Baskin-Robbins' official Web site, 31 Cent Scoop Night was a success all across the nation from Newton, Massachusetts to Sandy Springs, Georgia to El Cajon, Calif.
On a personal level, the promotion was a little too successful. 31 Cent Scoop Night was my first trip in months to a Baskin-Robbins. Now, sigh, I will probably find another excuse to return real soon. Hmm - using cheap scoops to entice reluctant ice cream lovers to visit Baskin-Robbins again. It appears to be a corporate ploy and a major reason for the promotion. So when I indulge next time at the home of 31 flavors I plan to put the blame right where it belongs - on the clever folks at Baskin-Robbins who created 31 Cent Scoop Night.