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No plans yet to celebrate National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day? No worries—you still have time to make them. This delightful annual celebration, honored by in-the-know people worldwide, is coming up Feb. 1, and a few local spots are ready to fulfill your early morning ice cream desires.
“When I was young, we never had ice cream for breakfast,” said Margot Tankersley, owner of Margot’s Ice Cream Parlor in San Juan Bautista. “It was more peanut butter toast and eggs. So this is something exciting and different for me. We did something special on that day before, and people seem to like it.”
According to the official website, “Ice Cream for Breakfast Day” was invented in 1966 by Florence J. Rappaport. She was looking for a way to distract her two young children, Ruth and Joe, one snowy morning when they wanted to play outside. She solved the problem of them getting too cold outside by making them cold inside—by serving them ice cream.
A 2004 Washington Post story reported that “no one knows for sure how many people” take part in the event,” and quoted Rappaport as saying, “It was cold and snowy, and the kids were complaining that it was too cold to do anything. So I just said, ‘Let’s have ice cream for breakfast.’”
The article included a few ice cream facts, such as that Madagascar is the major producer of vanilla beans, which are used in many ice creams, and that the average single-scoop ice cream cone takes 50 licks to finish. It also mentioned a competing celebration, “International Ice Cream For Breakfast Day,” in July.
Intensive research by BenitoLink could uncover no information on the international event. Still, we did find a similar event held on Feb. 18, Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, created by the Children’s Cancer Research Fund.
La Michoacana Paleteria y Neveria’s Hollister shop owner Ana Ramos-Aguilera has fond memories of growing up in the home of ice cream makers. While she never actually had the stuff for breakfast, she said she had easy access to all the ingredients.
“I would eat all the stuff we used to make the ice cream,” she said. “The pecans, the coconut flakes and everything we had back in Mexico. We used to have a vanilla Popsicle with pecans and they dipped it in chocolate, so that’s a complete breakfast right there!”
She said the annual event was a great excuse for people to treat themselves and perhaps build a family tradition.
“We have to come up with little memories for our kids and families,” she said. “It’s an excuse to have something fun, especially if you have kids or are just a kid at heart. So why not? Say, ‘Hey, this is for me. I’ll do it for me, for today is a special day.’”
While Ice Cream for Breakfast Day only occurs once a year, La Michoacana Paleteria y Neveria has regularly been serving an early morning treat: 18 mini-pancakes with a choice of one of their 40-plus flavors of house-made ice cream.
There are two variations: one with strawberry jam, chocolate drizzle, whipped cream and a choice of one topping (sprinkles, granola or coconut flakes), or the deluxe version that adds sliced bananas and strawberries.
Margot’s will open at 8 a.m. and serve ice cream waffles and paninis on National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. You can select from any of the shop’s 32 flavors, but you might consider a scoop of their newest offering, Date Casablanca, with candied date pieces and caramel. It’s amazing, and it might replace Rum Raisin as my favorite flavor.
As if you need an excuse to eat more ice cream, particularly in the morning, a 2017 study by Professor Yoshihiko Koga of Kyorin University in Tokyo claims that eating ice cream first thing in the morning made test subjects more alert mentally, as they scored better and had faster reaction times.
“I read something about that article and had ice cream that morning,” Tankersley said. “And I did feel so much better and alert. Ice cream is actually healthy. It’s got the calcium and the fats we need. So why not have it for breakfast?”
Chef David Jamrock, of the Jamrock Culinary Arts Center, has kindly provided an “Ice Cream for Breakfast” recipe for this article.
Ice Cream cream-filled crepes served over roasted pineapple with breakfast sausage
Crepes
1cup flour
½ cup milk
4 eggs
4 oz melted butter
Mix flour and milk, add eggs, then butter and put through a fine sieve.
Make thin crepes in 8-inch pan.
Roasted Pineapple
Slice pineapple; dust with sugar. Roast in a hot oven till golden brown.
Pan roast the breakfast sausage till golden brown.
Roll ice cream in your crepes, fold in to bundle, and serve over roasted pineapple and sausage with your favorite syrup.
La Michoacana Paleteria y Neveria
195 Meridian St., Suite B, Hollister
Phone: (831) 313-1888
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Margot’s Ice Cream Parlor
211 Third St., San Juan Bautista
Phone: (831) 623-9262Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m to 7 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m to 8 p.m.
(Margot’s will be opening at 8 a.m. on Feb. 1 for Ice Cream for Breakfast Day.)
JJ’s Burgers
300 Third St., San Juan Bautista
Phone: (831) 623-1748
Daily, 8 a.m to 7 p.m.
(JJ’s will be offering ice cream waffles with strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate sauce on Feb. 1 for Ice Cream for Breakfast Day.)
Chef David Jamrock, of the Jamrock Culinary Arts Center
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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