Dessert Storm

Move over, Baskin-Robbins. There’s a new creamery in town, and coneheads are waiting as long as a half an hour for a dip of the sweet stuff.

Creating your own flavor combinations with a walloping scoop of premium ice cream and fruit or candy mix-ins is a novel idea whose time has come, Cold Stone Creamery fans say.

The place resembles an old-fashioned ice cream parlor with checkered floors and oldies playing in the background.

Here’s how it works. First you pick an ice cream or yogurt flavor from 30 selections, ranging from vanilla to cheesecake. Then you choose a mix-in ingredient. There are 36, including cookie dough, Gummi Bears, chocolates, peanut butter, fresh fruit, nuts and pie fillings.

The ice cream is thrown on an icy slab of granite--the “cold stone”--to keep it chilled. Then the mix-in ingredients are tossed in while you watch.

Childhood dreams of banana splits or mounds of creamy delights are fulfilled with customized treats that also quell cravings for cool summer relief. It’s no wonder ice cream parlors make great places to hang out and spend an allowance.

To Corbin McVeigh of Irvine, it’s icy bliss. The 11-year-old marveled at the sugary temptations that lined the counters at the Irvine Cold Stone Creamery, a store that opened in March.

McVeigh ogled the concoction of mint-flavored ice cream, chunks of Twix candy and Oreo cookie bits being made just for him.

“It’s fun to watch them make my ice cream,” he said. “Ice cream is one of my favorite foods, next to pizza.”

At Cold Stone, those who can’t decide on a mix-in can have as many as they want.

“There are people who want seven different toppings,” said Irvine store employee Karissa Bowker, 15. “They want to have more toppings than they have ice cream.”

The premium ice cream and yogurt are made daily at the parlor. On hot Friday and Saturday afternoons, business is brisk as the sweet scent of fresh-baked waffle cones helps draw crowds.

“I’m always up for trying something new and different,” said Irvine resident Charles Won, dipping a spoon into a cup of cheesecake ice cream with chocolate brownie chunks.

“The way they prepare it is pretty unique,” Won, 17, said. “It’s great to see them put the ice cream on the cold stone and pound the ingredients into bits and chunks.”

Cold Stone Creamery was founded by Donald and Susan Sutherland in Phoenix, Ariz., in 1988 as a small, homemade ice cream shop. The Arizona couple have since sold franchises in cities throughout the United States, including Irvine, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and San Clemente. Stores are scheduled to open in Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Costa Mesa and La Habra.

The make-your-own desserts aren’t the only attraction. Drop a tip, and the servers will sing for you. Most of the songs are oldies with the words changed to suit an ice cream theme.

“Everybody in school knows about this place,” said Brittany Adams, 16, of Irvine. “A lot of my friends come just to put in some tip and embarrass me because I have to sing for them.”

When the lines aren’t long and the songs are few, Adams treats herself to her favorite creation: strawberry ice cream mixed with strawberries, brownies, Gummi Bears and hot fudge.

Bowker winced at the combination. She has seen her share of unusual flavor combos, including pistachio ice cream mixed with strawberries and peanut-butter cups.

“That’s got to be the strangest,” said Bowker, of Irvine. Still, it’s a pretty cool summer job and great exercise; kneading ice cream all day gives her forearms a workout. Snickers and Gummi bears are the hardest ingredients to mix in, she said.

Her favorite is cheesecake-flavored ice cream with graham crackers and cherries, so she isn’t too surprised when adults ask for color sprinkles and Gummi Bears.

Young and old, locals are spoiling themselves silly. Vanessa Rothweiler of Irvine, who works nearby, stops at the ice cream shop almost every other day.

“It’s fun,” said Rothweiler, 36, ordering her strawberry shortcake ice cream with peanut-butter cups and nuts. “It sounds gross, but it’s all my favorite flavors thrown together.”

BE THERE

Cold Stone Creamery:

* Irvine, 14370 Culver Drive, Suite I, (949) 857-0430

* Huntington Beach, 416 Olive Ave. (714) 374-6744

* Newport Beach, 600 E. Bay Ave. (949) 673-5030

* San Clemente, 638 Camino de los Mares, (949) 661-6425

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Get the Scoop

Other places to cool off in a fun atmosphere:

Watson’s Drug and Soda Fountain: A real old-fashioned soda fountain with red Naugahyde booths and soda jerks in white hats, Watson’s has been serving malts, shakes, sundaes, ice cream sodas and other treats for 100 years in Old Towne Orange near the circle. 116 E. Chapman Ave., Orange. Monday through Saturday, 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (714) 532-6315.

Ghiradelli Chocolate Shop & Soda Fountain: A big scoop of San Francisco in South Coast Plaza. The chocolate shop and soda fountain serves ice cream, hot-fudge sundaes with Ghiradelli’s signature sauce and other treats, including hot chocolate, espresso drinks, cookies and brownies. 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, (714) 444-1570; daily, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt: Hippie-dippie, double-dip paradise with cow-spot decor, trivia contests with ice cream rewards and trippy flavor names, such as Phish Food, Cherry Garcia and Wavy Gravy. 2701 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, (714) 556-7630; 1343 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton, (714) 738-8100; 31 Fortune, Irvine, (949) 453-9722; 5365 Alton Parkway, Irvine, (949) 733-2285.