Unusual edible holding implements -- you might correctly call them "buns" or "cookies" or "tortillas" or "lettuce leaves" or the like -- are not so unusual around Southern California.
Swanky sweets purveyor Coolhaus has gained followers from its offbeat ice cream flavors (hello, beer and pretzels) housed between two nontraditionally flavored cookies. Chef Keizo Shimamoto introduced the Ramen Burger, which is indeed a patty between two savory ramen discs, a couple of years back.
And every health-minded SoCaler knows the Protein Style from In-N-Out's secret menu. (It's a classic In-N-Out burger encased in a crisp lettuce holder, minus the gooey add-ons if you wish.)
Now Southern California has a fresh tasty and totally unrunofthemill-y food holder on the horizon. Make that the Alhambra horizon, at Ice Que, a shaved ice eatery currently serving up its own spin on an ice cream sandwich. The ice cream? It's good, well-made ice cream. The sandwich part? It's funnel cake formed into a bun-like shape.
Oh yes it is, lovers of the county fair classic. You no longer have to wait for summer, for the Ferris wheel to be erected or the games of the midway to open; you can get your funnel cake fix every Thursday night from 5 to 8 p.m. at the posh new dessertery from pastry chef John Park.
It's a taste that has set tongues a-waggin' around town (LAist summons the imagery of summers gone by from its unique crispy-chilly-powdered-sugar punch). After all, funnel cake is not seen on every menu, or even any menu, really, given its unique fry-it-up time considerations.
Ice Que says the treat is a Thursday-evening-only deal for now, but the funnel cake ice cream sandwich's window could grow, as ques -- er, queues -- grow at Ice Que and word spreads.
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For now, county and state fairs may carry on, midwaying and Ferris-wheeling and frying those funnel cakes. But given the fact that deep-fried pickles and deep-fried candy bars have popped up in more restaurants, could a full-spread funnel cake trend take hold?
And, if so, is any dessert lover truly safe from a shirt doused in powdered sugar and shiny fingertips? (Answers: no and no. But that's a-ok, because, hey, funnel cake!)
