Cheeseburger ice cream – what is this world coming to? Three N.J. restaurants will offer it free on National Cheeseburger Day, Sept. 18. Watch video
In recent years across the land we’ve seen ghost pepper ice cream, pickled mango ice cream and corn on the cob ice cream. Goat cheese ice cream, lobster ice cream, durian (stinkiest fruit ever) ice cream and other bizarre flavors that make most people want to, well, scream.
Now here comes The Office Tavern Grill, in Summit, Morristown and Ridgewood, with maybe the kookiest concoction ever.
Cheeseburger ice cream. And it’s free, but for one day only.
During a brainstorm session for The Office Tavern Grill’s next off-the-wall food promotion (they’ve done buffalo chicken donuts, and wings breaded with potato chips), someone suggested cheeseburger ice cream for National Cheeseburger Day, Sept. 18.
“Really stupid,” is how Kevin Felice, corporate executive chef for 40NORTH Restaurants, operators of The Office Tavern Grill, characterized the reaction during the meeting.
Hey, sometimes stupid works. Ground chuck, cheddar cheese and applewood-smoked bacon are the primary ingredients. First, the meat, heavy cream and cheddar cheese are cooked at a low simmer in a pan for an hour. That’s kept overnight in the walk-in freezer. The next day, egg yolk and sugar are added, then bacon and more cheddar cheese.
The result: an ice cream flavor sure to entice the adventurous and scandalize the purists.
A scoop of the cheeseburger ice cream is free with every burger ordered at one of the three Office Tavern Grill locations on Sept. 18. Two gallons will be available at each location.
“If you like sweet and salty, you will like it a lot,” said Jennifer Petrella, The Office Tavern Grill’s spokesperson. “It definitely tastes like cheeseburger.”
My take? The ice cream tastes strongly of beef and bacon, loaded with meaty, savory overtones. It has none of the sweet creamy richness of say, the Taylor ham ice cream at Windy Brow Farms in Fredon. The cheeseburger ice cream is assertive and in-your-face, and not for those with delicate ice cream dispositions.
The burger not only comes with ice cream but fries, so “if you want to be that guy who dips his fries into the cheeseburger ice cream, you can do it,” Felice said.
What happens if the cheeseburger ice cream becomes an overnight sensation?
“I’d probably quit my job,” Felice said, laughing. “All I have is a two-quart ice cream machine. I’m going to be in a rough spot.”
Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile. Find the Munchmobile on Facebook and Instagram.
