Sugar Philly
38th and Walnut St.
The Sugar Philly truck is hidden away on 38th Street, right next to TEP. I almost missed it, assuming it was
just another halal truck, but thank god I didn’t. The menu is simple: French macarons, crème brûlée, tiramisu cake, and macaron ice cream sandwiches. They switch up the flavors all the time, so you can always try something new.
The ice cream sandwiches though, man. On a nice Spring day (or even on a shitty one), these will hit the spot. The ice cream is homemade and full of bits: ginger in the hibiscus melon, hazelnuts in the chocolate, bloobs in the blueberry burrata, etc. We chatted with head chef Dan Tang about his creative process (as any seasoned college vet can agree with, a few drinks never hurt) and all things Sugar Philly. My personal favorite was the chocolate hazelnut, closely followed by the sour apricot with toasted marshmallow and almonds, but rumor has it the chocolate hazelnut had turned into a peanut butter chocolate espresso by the next day.
To summarize, you basically have zero reason not to come here every day since you’re pretty much guaranteed to try something new. If you're looking for a quick dessert while out and about on Walnut (or dying in Huntsman), don't miss out on these.
Capogiro
3925 Walnut St.
I went to Capogiro in pursuit of an amazing DIY ice cream sandwich with their giant cookies and creamy gelato. The choices were almost overwhelming, with a few different flavors of cookies and the vast array of gelato flavors that they have. I ended up going with peanut butter cookies and chocolate peanut butter gelato (sorry that my choice was so boring, I thought they were snickerdoodle cookies).
The combination, however boring, was still incredible. The gelato in the middle of the cookies was so cold and fresh which contrasted nicely with the drier cookies.
I only have two complaints. One, the cookies were not very soft, so when I bit down into the sandwich gelato would squeeze out the sides, and it made a huge mess. Two, the price. The two cookies, along with the gelato (of which I got the smallest and least expensive size), ran me $12 altogether.
The DIY ice cream sandwich was so delicious, but maybe next time I’ll BYO Pillsbury.
Kermit's Bake Shoppe
2204 Washington Ave.
The Funfetti Ice cream sandwich at Kermit’s is definitely inventive. Instead of sprinkles mixed into the batter to get that classic funfetti look, Fruity Pebbles are used. It’s a lighter sandwich that isn’t too sweet because of the cereal and the ice cream tastes like a cold, buttery frosting
with the slightest saltiness to it. If you’re not so into Fruity Pebbles or want something that tastes a little more like a classic ice cream sandwich, try one of Kermit’s other flavors—like the Carrot Cake or Cookies and Cream ice cream sandwich.
Weckerly's Ice Cream Sandwiches at Green Line Cafe
4239 Baltimore Ave
My friend and I walked over to Green Line Café last Wednesday after a long day of watching the sun stream through the windows of our stuffy lecture halls. They had two flavors of Weckerly’s Lucky Pig ice cream sandwiches: local rosemary and dark chocolate on crunchy deep cocoa cookies, and roasted apple laurel ice cream and wyebrook bacon caramel on lard shortbread cookies. Both were a weird blend of sweet and citrus, and the second one was (unexpectedly) better. However, the best thing about Green Line is not its ice cream but its location, right across the street from Clark Park, where my friend and I sat as we ate, people and dog watching. Definitely go there. But maybe order the exceptional iced coffee instead.
To summarize: weird flavors, weird location—but in a good way. Come with your friend who really needs to escape the Penn bubble, or when you do.
