August is historically the steamiest, stickiest, sweatiest month of the year–brilliant move, Founding Fathers, building the nation’s capital on a swamp–in these parts. We’ve tracked down 31 frozen treats (one a day for the rest of this month) to provide you with some temporary, and often insanely delicious, relief.
The place: Goolrick’s Pharmacy – 901 Caroline St., Fredericksburg; 540-373-9878
The prescription: Cherry Coke ice cream float. I don’t drink a lot of soda (too sugary). But on those rare occasions when I do indulge, I REALLY want to get my money’s worth. And Goolrick’s delivered. No canned goods here. Each beverage begins with three firm pumps of cherry syrup, a steady stream of Coke from the fountain, two glassy scoops of vanilla ice cream–Goolrick’s dishes vanilla, chocolate and strawberry PET ice cream exclusively–and a dollop of whipped cream. The old school syrup works like gangbusters, infusing every drop of effervescent soda with stupendously sweet cherry flavoring. Even after siphoning every bit of soda through the straw, my journey into pleasure continued with every cherry froth-covered spoonful of eggy vanilla ice cream I fished from the depths of the fluted glass.
What’s most fun about Goolrick’s, however, is watching worlds collide. “Oh hey, can I use your iPhone?” a scruffy-faced collegian sporting multiple piercings asked a buddy as he plopped down on a blue vinyl-topped swivel stool that in all likelihood predates his parents. What’s old is new again. And the truly delicious, well, it’s always in style.
–Warren
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Keep tabs on the month long Freeze Jag trek here.