Bits of Nostalgia

This week I was able to “bring joy to the table” in the form of special food items from my growing-up years in San Francisco.

One was a lemon from a tree my father planted in the backyard of our San Francisco home over 50 years ago. I was visiting our family home and saw that the lemon tree was full of fruit. I asked if I could take one.  “Of course,” was the answer. Yesterday morning, I used that lemon to create a cup of hot lemon honey water; I sipped it slowly and smiled with warm thoughts of my dad.

My next little bit of joy was also a San Francisco original. It was an “It’s It” ice cream sandwich. This confection was first created in 1928 and sold at Playland-at-the-Beach, an easily accessible destination for me and my friends as we were growing up. I remember the Fun House with its distortion mirrors and long up-and-down slides that we whisked down on our burlap “seats,” the Big Dipper roller coaster, the magical merry-go-round and the overall atmosphere of quirky jubilance as we walked through the booths and rides right near Ocean Beach.

And I also remember those “It’s It” circular treats–vanilla ice cream in between two oatmeal (healthy!) cookies dipped in dark chocolate (healthy again). A friend recently gave my husband and me several of them. We prudently split our first one. It was a messy split, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the great combination of soft melting ice cream, crunchy cookie and crackly chocolate; plus, we could feel semi-righteous having had only half.

The “It’s It” company’s website (www.itsiticecream.com) tells a little of its history and describes the various ice cream flavors and configurations available. We have tasted the traditional vanilla (very good) and strawberry, and I see that there is cappuccino (!) and even pumpkin among other flavors. “It’s Its” are available in many western states and you can even order them and have them shipped to your home.

SO…there you have it. Two little hits of edible joy from the past brought into the present. Nostalgia at its tasty best.

P.S. I can’t end this week without a big “Thank you, Warriors,” for providing us fans with a season of exciting and heartfelt basketball. We shared in your triumphs and in your sadnesses and losses. You are Warriors, indeed.