The Sour Cherry Frozen Custard at The Shake Shack in NYC
When it gets hot outside, what do you most want to put in your mouth and swallow to cool you down? Do you go out of your way to get that favorite treat? How far will you drive? Is it sweet? Bitter? Icy? Acidic? Does the glass show lazy bobbles of oversized tapioca sitting at the bottom? Do you forgo dinner for salad?
Summer is an emotional memory. For me it was salt water fishing and clamming with my grandfather, all day at the beach on Long Island, hot humid days and the sheer joy of hearing the ice cream truck, Good Humor bars and Italian Ices in little green wax paper cups. Sweet cold things. Salty skin, riding waves until dusk, water fights at camp, deep sleeps and mosquito bites.
Pistachio Soft Serve at Coney Island, NY
I associate going to the beach with French fries and ice cream. Somehow these mundane items tasted more delicious than anything. Even now, after I've swum and lounged all day at the Russian River, what I crave most is salty, crunchy French fries with ketchup, followed by ice cream.