Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt
Samples: Banana Cream Pie, Birthday Cake, Butter Pecan, Salty Caramel Truffle, Midnight
Madness
Oree-Dough and Graham Central Station
Blondie Sundae with Buckeye and Peanut Butter Parfait, Caramel, Whipped Cream, Cherry
An Ohio native of the Northwest who spent his formative years with Toft’s, Friendly’s, Breyer’s or Soft-Serve before developing a taste for the finer things at Jeni’s in Columbus, it really does not seem all that strange that it took 36 years to visit Youngstown-based Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt but on Saturday the omission was finally righted, a trip to the Las Vegas Scoop Shop on the corner of Hualapai and Tropicana actually more impressive than one may of thought.
Born in 1945, techniques changed but formulas still using an old-school base with all flavors churned on site, Handel’s Las Vegas occupies a somewhat out-of-the-way corner in the western Suburbs and with nothing but tableless benches offered as seating the layout is decidedly grab-and-go only, a few patrons wavering over nearly thirty options while others opted to do some tasting.
Featuring four windows, though the midday only saw two open as a duo of young ladies provided smiles with the scoops, tastes of Butter Pecan and “Salty Caramel Truffle” reminded me of slow-spun flavors from my childhood, the Banana Cream Pie and Birthday cake trending a bit more over-sweet and artificial while a seasonal special titled “Midnight Madness” delivered all sorts of richness with Dark Chocolate Punched up by Oreos and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Affordable and sizably portioned compared to others, two scoops approximating a pint for just $4.25, it was on the cashier’s advice that Graham Central Station was paired to Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough with a mix-in from Nabisco, the former a lot like eating soggy S’mores while the later was exactly as might be expected, the texture intriguing but overwhelming sweetness difficult to ignore.
Always a sucker for a Sundae, not to mention housemade baked goods, part two of the tasting entailed a warm blondie at the base of a plastic clamshell and although whipped cream and caramel were both no better than store-bought the pairing of Peanut Butter Parfait and a treat from my Home State were as delicious as they were nostalgic, the blend reminding me a lot of Moose-Tracks – a flavor so difficult to track down in my childhood that a three hour trip to Youngstown may not have been all that bad.
THREE STARS: Noteworthy for its old school appeal, though nouveau Artisans have long left their flavors and smoothness far behind, Handel’s is well served in its suburban strip-mall location, no doubt a step-up from the Midwest to Sin City while still maintaining its nostalgia but by no means ‘destination worthy’ stuff.
RECOMMENDED: Graham Central Station, Buckeye, Blondie.
AVOID: Banana Cream Pie, Birthday Cake, Oree-Dough.
TIP: Though the address is 10170 West Tropicana Ave, a corner-pocket location at Siena Town Center partially obscures the view with more visibility seen from Hualapai Way heading South.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
