It's not a stretch to make a city synonymous with a particular foodstuff.
Think San Francisco and you instantly picture a tangy, bready stalwart, one that is said to taste better when eaten in the City by the Bay. (Answer: It's sourdough.)
Picture New York and you might get the taste for a particular pie of the savory sort, one that comes with marinara and ricotta and a few basil leaves. (You're right: It's pizza.)
Santa Barbara, while serving as a seafood bastion of the butter-dip-iest, tie-a-bib-on-iest sort, also has a corner on really excellent street-style tacos. But in the dessert realm? It's ice cream, the kind you lick while you're strolling Stearns Wharf at sunset.
McConnell's Fine Ice Creams is an American Riviera favorite, and it has had nearly 70 years to build that rep. It's a rep so strong -- quality ingredients, lively flavors, old-fashioned service -- that the company has gone on to open four more stores around the Golden State.
The fifth and latest? It's in Studio City, at 12073 Ventura Place, and to celebrate the ice-cold opening there's a scoop giveaway on Thursday, Feb. 25.
The details? Well, they're in the hours: Be there from 3 p.m. to 8 o'clock in the evening. There are 22 McConnell's-style flavors, from Salted Caramel Chip to Eureka Lemon, and each is gooey with that gourmet sweet flair that regionally based, bespoke-y ice cream bastions do so well.
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In the "doing so well" department, let us also commend McConnell's on landing on a lovely weather week, which isn't always guaranteed at the close of February.
Have you tried one of these scoops, while visiting Santa Barbara? Is it kind of emblematic of a California summer road trip to you, a McConnell's ice cream cone? A lot of people, adults and kids alike, have enjoyed them since 1949. That they've entered Southern California is just a cherry on top of the sundae (which they also serve, in addition to shakes).
Free scoop day at the Studio City McConnell's Fine Ice Creams is on Thursday, Feb. 25 from 3 to 8 o'clock.
