Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor - Scott

Not so fun fact about me: I had never been to a Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour. Sad but true. Sure, I remember the commercials and lived through all the schoolyard hype but never had the pleasure due to a 'not so sugar-friendly' house growing up. I missed that train and they pretty much evaporated by the dawn of the 1980s. Being an ice-cream hound though, it never left my radar. A few months back, after much careful planning, they opened the first new, real, 7000 square foot Farrells in Mission Viejo. These dorks did their homework and went all out in making it 'right' or as close as possible some 30 years later.

We happened to be down in San Diego over the break and it was a no-brainer that we'd stop and hit this up on our way back. Griffin, Elise, her friend Karen (+ baby Zach), Jen and her daughters Emily, Sarah and Natalie all managed to make it with some last minute coordination. Elise and Jen are old Farrell's pros so their color commentary was key. There was a wait as the place was bursting on our Wednesday afternoon visit. Once we secured our place in line (outside), I went in to see what the hell this was all about. Player piano, check. Goofy straw hats, check. Some barker running around banging on a drum, check. Oh and a full-on ice cream bar/fountain deal that was boooooming. Great atmosphere, all good.We waited a while but it was worth it. The food, which we kinda thought would be a side-show, was actually damn good. I'd put my club sandwich against anyone's. Yes, that good, no kidding. Thick cut, peppered bacon, quality turkey and some sort of secret sauce.

All that was, of course, a precursor to the main event. Our server suggested we order dessert when the food arrived so we did. Dan has been talking up the 'pig's trough' and I did consider it but let's be serious, that's be the equivalent of 2 or 3 banana splits. That's over the top. Some dude actually did it and the 'barker' had us all salute him with oinks and jeers. Lots of birthdays were going on so the 'Zoos' were on parade. The sirens were going off and the servers were running these things around on stretchers while yelling out some rhyme/song. All this was what I came for, mostly.Full, but not too full from lunch, we all saddled up to our selections. Me, being a rookie, had little trouble in starting my own tradition. 'Parlour Tin Roof' is all me and I knew it from first glance. Vanilla ice cream, fudge and spanish peanuts all layered up and topped with whip cream and a cherry. Done. There were also some Black and Whites (choc, vanilla, marshmallow sauce) and a Gold Digger (peanuts, butterscotch, fudge) at our table. For about 10 minutes there was no talking, just eating.

Fantastic, what can I say.Check out the photos, relive the magic, and schedule a stop next time you go through Mission Viejo. As Dave says, look at it though a 9 year old's eyes and just dig it. My next visit will be with Dan when he makes good on his pledge to do 2 'Zoos' in 10 minutes.