Jersey Junction in Grand Rapids The first thing that hits you when you walk into Jersey Junction in East Grand Rapids is the spirit. Tucked away in the corner of the living room each dawn you ‘ll see an employee ( today it was Carly Dresser ) pouring hesitate batter into two waffle cone irons. According to owner Elias Olivares, they have been known to bake and sell upwards of 300 a day. In on-key “ quality operate ” fashion, I ate one without any ice cream, and they ‘re delightful all by themselves. The future thing you ‘ll notice is the atmosphere. The history of not only the parlor but the integral vicinity is proudly displayed on the walls. aerial shots of East Grand Rapids from 50 years ago show Jersey Junction ‘s location back in the days when an amusement park ruled Reeds Lake. You ‘ll see a black and white movie of the original owner wearing a duster properly next to one of the same very colored smocks framed on the wall. And if you did n’t know that the owner ‘s son is Chris Van Allsburg, writer of “ The Polar Express ” and many more beloved books, you ‘d know once you saw the information card and autographed model of the gearing on a ledge in the dine room. It would besides explain why there ‘s an actual model train zooming around your head while you ‘re ordering your double dip. The region around Jersey Junction adds to the experience. local restaurants, playful water fountains, and a short walk to Reeds Lake to watch the boaters and ducks should be factored in a well. Add to all this the fact that the entirely true remaining gaslight in Gaslight Village — the nickname for the occupation zone of East Grand Rapids — sits right outside its doorway and you ‘ve got enough of reasons to explain why the best place to grab some internal-combustion engine cream in Michigan is at Jersey Junction. Did you notice I have n’t even talked about the ice cream yet ? Among the walls of lollipops, rock candy and sweets of every sort are freezers filled with gallons of dozens of flavors of Hudsonville Ice Cream. I do n’t have to tell you how good that is. The quality of frost cream, the history of the placement, and the atmosphere of the living room all add up to one thing : Jersey Junction must be the best ice cream parlor in Michigan. Captain Sundae in Holland After writing about Jersey Junction, I ‘ll have to admit I was a act bias toward the East Grand Rapids rival. But I had never been to Captain Sundae. So, I drove to Holland to see how it would compare. I think we may be talking apples and oranges in this shell. For one, Captain Sundae ‘s original location does n’t have indoor seat. so, it does n’t have walls upon which to hang its history, though there is plenty. ( More on that late ).
When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was the big pirate ship/seating area in the back — complete with a giant anchor. This seems to be the ultimate haunt for kids. Up front is a big wooden sculpt of the Captain himself. Eat your heart out Ronald McDonald. This is n’t the first one. The original 5-foot-6, 150 ram wooden statue was stolen in 2007. ( The new one is a morsel bigger and is chained down, then do n’t get any ideas ). Plus, there ‘s a gem capsize. But not barely any turtleneck. It ‘s “ Tommy Turtle, ” the most popular of all of their ice-cream sundae. They may not have indoor seating but do n’t expect giant formative umbrellas over cycle tables. The front of the plaza is landscaped with plants and flowers around numerous wooden benches all under large trees that keep the area well shaded and protect your ice cream from melting under the hot sun. It ‘s indeed wooded and tempt, you frequently forget you ‘re following to a busy street. As for having a place to hang photos from the ice cream stand ‘s history, it ‘s all there — precisely on the outside. You ‘ll see pictures of erstwhile President George W. Bush enjoying a Tommy Turtle. You ‘ll see a gallery of Gov. Mitt Romney stopping by on the campaign lead. The “ Today Show ” even made a visit. indeed, it has the atmosphere and composition categories covered. But what about the ice cream ? Well, there are more than 50 ice-cream sundae to choose from. Many of the menu items are the result of an annual ice-cream sundae contest in which patrons submit recipe ideas. And for those purists who say Captain Sundae should n’t be in the contest because they merely offer soft serve internal-combustion engine cream ? Well, you ‘re faulty. They actually offer 25 flavors of Hudsonville and Ashby frosting cream by the scoop. You can substitute those brands rather of indulgent serve if you like in a ice-cream sundae. Tom and Karen Van Dam are the second owners of Captain Sundae and have expanded it to three locations. The original owners held the localization on the north side of Holland for 20 years. Van Dam purchased it from her erstwhile foreman. Yep, Karen worked at this placement when she was 12 years previous. She moved back to the area after college and set her sights on buying the property that provided her inaugural subcontract. A decent quirk about Captain Sundae is the pricing. You ‘ll see many items listed with an odd phone number at the end ( i.e. $ 3.13 or $ 4.53 ). Van Dam said this was implemented because many tourists and beach goers did n’t want to carry around a bunch of spare part exchange and when you add the tax to those items, the full rounds up to quarters or even dollars. good theme. We tried the Pirate ‘s Booty, Tommy Turtle and Beach Bum ice-cream sundae. Each of them was delicious and way more than we could finish. I loved how crunchy the pecans in the Tommy Turtle were. Michigan’s Best Ice Cream Parlor Who knows if either of these two will win or be in the clear 10. That ‘s up to our statewide reporter John “ Gonzo ” Gonzalez. I can tell you this : wherever you are from or visiting, you ca n’t go wrong with a scoop or ice-cream sundae from Jersey Junction and Captain Sundae. I ‘m beaming I do n’t have to decide. Check out the gallery and video recording for more information, then head out and decide for yourself.
Read more: Fruit Bowl Sundae
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