Niederfrank’s Ice Cream

When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before the white man came, an Indian said simply, ‘Ours.’
Vine Deloria, Jr.

My fav San Diego ice cream shop!
My fav San Diego ice cream shop!

My kid was a climber.  She loved climbing on the bars and beams in gymnastics.  She loved climbing the rocks in rock climbing class.  She loved climbing the Indian that use to be in the front of the store.

 

neiderfranks0039
I noticed the Indian has been moved to the back where he is safe from climbers.  Over the years I’ve seen the owners, daughter of an owner, and various employees behind the counter.  Some things stay the same though.  The Indian and the delicious ice cream.
Menu
Menu
Menu
Menu

Staff are very nice giving me samples to help me decide which half gallons to buy.  Ice cream is delicious here.  Too good to just eat a scoop or two.  My fav is the cinnamon.  Rich, creamy base with a strong cinnamon flavor.  Was back in high school I was hooked on bbq ribs and cinnamon ice cream.  Made friend’s with a customer on my paper route and one day he took me to Jim’s Hickory Wood BBQ on El Cajon Blvd.  Strong hickory aroma from smoking and the sweet sauce made those my fav ribs in San Diego.  Those were the good old days.  Sadly Jim’s shutdown around 2000.  I searched for cinnamon ice cream for years and found this place had it.  Now I make my own bbq and I have scoops of cinnamon ice cream from Niederfrank’s for dessert.

Cinnamon ice cream
Cinnamon ice cream
Some other flavors I really love.  Passion fruit sorbet has a cold icy base with a very strong passion fruit flavor.  Perfect for a hot summer night.  Tangerine sorbet has sweet and tangy flavor just like a tangerine. Dark cherry has sweet maraschino cherries and cherry flavored ice cream for when you need to feed your cherry addiction.
My kid in gymnastics class.
My kid in gymnastics class.
When I see the Indian behind the counter I think back on the good old days when my kid climbed on everything.

 

Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
I like my ice cream frozen solid and to have it melt in my mouth.  Here are my transporting ice cream tips:
7 day cooler with thicker than normal insulation – keeps cold in better than cheap coolers
gel freezer packs – gel will be colder than ice if you crank freezer to max coldness, ice cream should be surrounded by gel packs
If traveling long distances pre-chill inside of cooler with bottles of frozen water first.

Niederfrank’s Ice Cream
726 A Ave
National City, CA 91950
(619) 477-0828

 

4 Replies to “Niederfrank’s Ice Cream”

  1. Maggie Addleman says: Reply

    Love the Mari picture! Such a cutie!

    1. She is pretty cute!

  2. Jim’s hickory wood BBQ closed doors in 1990. I should know; I was the prep cook there for about three years before Jim told us about his nightmare about ghosts coming up from our of the ground and he promptly closed the place.
    Jim’s secret: pressure cookers. He had gone off these things that under intense heat and pressure, nuked the meat until it was dropping off the bone. The hickory wood part came as a small tray where the wood chips were loaded right before closing the pressure cooker and turning it on.

    1. Glenn,

      Thanks for the secrets about Jim’s! Do you have tips on where to find similarly prepared bbq? I’ve eaten lots of bbq but none like Jim’s. Bummer the ghosts put an end to it.

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