<chuckle I wish I could figure out how to put the _link_ to an old s.s.m. post of mine (March 1998), into this post.  If you're interested in some background, go searching for The Big Scoop in Google. I was wandering around my oh-so-hip downtown Toronto neighborhood 2 months ago and spotted a sign that stopped me dead in my tracks.  It was a sign saying that a Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop was going to be opening on Queen St W. Now, some of you won't understand the impact that would have on me unless you read that older post.  But I was stunned. Many of you witnessed my smuggling antics at the end of boinks to bring Ben & Jerry's ice cream into Ontario.  For the longest time, the only place you could get it in Canada was in Montreal.  It's been available in grocery stores here in Ontario for a couple of years now.  It's being made in a factory located here in Stoney Creek due to the Canadian content laws. Meaning, there had to be a certain percentage of Canadian ingredients in the ice cream. Apparently, the Canadian government wouldn't agree to it being shipped in directly from the factory in Vermont.  Though I was overjoyed when I first saw the signs about B&J coming to Ontario, it's always been my opinion that the ice cream doesn't taste the same now that it's being made here, and they're only making a very small selection of flavors. To the best of my knowledge (which was pretty darned impressive at one point), there has never been a scoop shop here in Toronto. (There actually was one in Hamilton in the late 80's.) I think somewhere around the time it became available here, or just before, B&J got bought up by a big US conglomerate (Lever Bros maybe ? I can't remember...) and the whole home-town philosophy about the ice cream changed for the negative, in my eyes.  Then it seemed that the Vermont factory ran out of ideas for new flavors (never used Pyrite's suggestion of Single's Malt!) and began combining older ones.  I must admit that the appeal dropped, my smuggling antics stopped and I kinda quit paying attention. Mind you, that doesn't mean that I stopped eating the stuff.  I just stopped being passionate about taking on a bigger role in it all. So, since it's walking distance away, I'd wander by the little shop while it was under construction, waiting for it to open. I had to smile as I stepped inside. Something in my head kept screaming that it shoulda been me behind the counter <chuckle.  They had Phish Food listed on the board but had already run out, it had been so popular.  I've never seen that in grocery stores so hopefully, they're shipping that up from Vermont.  They had some other flavors I'd never seen before.  They had all the B&J signage and it looked like they were going to have merchandise too.  I closed my eyes and fondly remembered all my posting about B&J and how I'd have my own scoop shop one day.  And thought of many of you. The Big Scoop was one of my attempts at a Trish Roberts-like troll.  I remember all the congratulatory posts and emails I received and I felt *terrible* about having to fess up that it had all been a lie back then. Well, you may be happy to know that there really is a Ben & Jerry's scoop shop here in Toronto now.  And although I had absolutely nothing to do with it's arrival <sigh, I'll likely have plenty to do with it's longevity !! Bev thinking of all the snigglers who held the spoon while I drove.....kept watch while I wrapped pints in newsprint ! *********************************************** The Witful Turnip                               This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This turnip finally has a new patch ! Woo Hoo! What ultimately defines a relationship, is another relationship.                                                            - Carrie Bradshaw ***********************************************

<chuckle I wish I could figure out how to put the _link_ to an old s.s.m. post of mine (March 1998), into this post.   Hi Bev!  HTH:   http://tinyurl.com/2eoo3 Mikey (..mmmm...Ice cream...)

Mikey (..mmmm...Ice cream...) Bev definitely a major food group....

(..mmmm...Ice cream...) definitely a major food group....   Speaking of ice cream (..HI MIGUEL!!!), have you Kanayjins gotten any Rita's Water Ice franchises up there yet? Mikey (..highly recommended by yours truly.)

Mikey (..highly recommended by yours truly.) Bev no noted...

  Speaking of ice cream (..HI MIGUEL!!!), have you Kanayjins gotten any Rita's Water Ice franchises up there yet? We should have one in Victoria by 2014, but actually by 2054 at the very latest... I can still get Ben & Jerry's at the local 7-11, but they didn't have any for about a year. The producer or the distributor for Western Canada went broke... [still waiting for Krispy Kreme among other things] -'dreas Pardon me while I go out to get some goodies...