The coolest sandwiches

We’re punting on paninis again. We’re punting because it’s the middle of summer and, in New York at least, it’s close to 100 degrees and 100% humidity every day - and I love it. 

I love it because it means we get to expand our sandwich board to include…ice cream sandwiches! “Are ‘ice cream sandwiches’ sandwiches?” some of you may be asking yourself. For us it’s a yes - I mean it’s right there in the name. Though, we did begin to wonder how ice cream found its way in between two bread-ish like substances to become a sandwich main.

The origin story is a bit murky, but the version we know best today was first introduced by a gentleman named Jerry Newberg who was a vendor for the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field in the 1940s. He sold vanilla ice cream hugged by two chocolate wafers to create an easy to manage ice cream option for a ballgame in the middle of summer. Genius. This goes down as another major Pittsburgh sandwich icon (see also: The Big Mac).

About a decade and a half earlier, in 1928, San Francisco put itself on the ice cream sandwich map by putting out a stack with ice cream wedged between oatmeal cookies and then dipped in chocolate - kind of the frozen version of a wet sandwich. This was the beginning of what Bay Areans (?) lovingly refer to as the “It’s-It.” A delicious treat for sure. The only issue is that SF is a bit chilly for frozen sandos, with the average high temperature in the summer being roughly 58 degrees. 

But the GOAT in this category has gotta be the Chipwich. This delicious slab of vanilla ice cream with a chocolate chip cookie on each side was invented by a New York lawyer named Richard LaMotta in 1978. Legend has it that he sold 25,000 Chipwiches around NYC on the first day it was introduced. This one also feels like the most often imitated or adapted, providing sandwich lovers everywhere with a solid dessert option. 

And of course we couldn’t close out without wishing you all a very happy National Ice Cream Sandwich Day (yes, this is a real thing). If you treat yourself to one, let us know about it in the MSD.

Until next week, may you avoid brain freeze.

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