Another Reason To Go To Rutherford

Only eight ice cream companies competed in New Jersey’s Ice Cream Festival, so we can hardly scoff at the places who didn’t win. And that would definitely be a mistake with Ice Cream Charlie’s, who wasn’t even a competitor. In fact, my first experience with them definitely fared better than my first experience at Applegate’s. Not to knock the “People’s Choice” Winner, of course — everyone has an off day — but Ice Cream Charlie’s was so delicious I actually went back the next day for some more. (All in the name of accurate reviewing, of course)

The little shop featuring homemade ice cream is on the southern end of Park Ave in Rutherford - the area that isn’t overflowing with restaurants. So, you might not find it at first if you’re leaving After Athens, hoping you could walk toward the dessert shop.

While it’s on a quieter part of the street, it’s by no means a hidden find. There was a crowd both Saturday and Sunday when we went. But, thanks to the hustling of high schoolers working during their summer vacation, the line moved rather quickly. The flavors tasted in my group included pistachio, rocky road, black raspberry, and pineapple orange.

First of all, the texture really made their ice cream a winner for me. Although none of us had soft-serve, each of our servings were smooth and creamy like soft-serve. I have found that this is not always the case with homemade or hand-packed ice cream, where sometimes you can feel like you’re fighting against the dark lords of the under-cup just to get your spoon in (which was my experience at Applegate’s).

Rocky road is my favorite and I expect it to be gooey with marshmallows and crunchy with almonds (none of this peanuts or walnuts crap I’ve heard about) . The version at Ice Cream Charlie’s is not sufficiently marshmallow-y, but definitely crunchy and the chocolate was really delectable. It was very rich.

My husband, much like the mayor of Bloomfield, is not a big fan of ice cream. It’s quite sad — no romantic moments sharing ice cream sundaes or banana splits dot our history — but he truly enjoyed the black raspberry and pineapple orange. Unlike the pistachio, which had full-sized chunks of the nut throughout, the fruity flavors did not have hunks of fruit inside, from what he could tell. No matter, the flavor was not sugary or false-tasting; it was very true to the real thing.

So, while I know I ought to give Applegate’s a second chance, Ice Cream Charlie’s is my favorite at the moment.

Ice Cream Charlie’s
200 Park Avenue
Rutherford
(201) 939-8133

— by Donna M.
Donna is both a Jersey native and recent transplant from NYC. She is executive editor and a co-founder of GoOutJersey.

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