That’s Soooo Cincinnati

Cincinnati seems always to make the annual fat cities list. And you can’t walk a block in this town without running into a locally owned ice cream parlor. Coincidence? Probably.

But in the hot Queen City summer, there’s nothing better than a single-dip sugar-cone treat. And the choices aren’t limited only to favorite flavors like black raspberry chip or butter pecan. If you want a good Cincinnati confection, you also have to decide what local company to patronize.

Graeters gets the most pub — appearing on Oprah and the like — but there’s the quaint little ice cream parlor Aglamesis is every bit as good, every bit as local and every bit as historic. The shop was established in Norwood in 1908 by brothers Thomas and Nicholas Aglamesis. Bringing to Cincinnati their “Old World” recipes (according to the menu), the brothers would cater to the city’s well-heeled families by delivering the goods via horse and buggy.

Now two shops continue the family business, the Montgomery Square and the Oakley Square locations. Still serving unique ice cream flavors like blueberry and banana-chocolate chip in the old-fashioned style metal dishes, the stores thrive on the nostalgia of the “good old days.” Walking in the Oakley shop recently felt oddly like walking into a scene from Pleasantville, from the soft pink décor to the high school girl tending the soda machine.

Being a short walk on a nice day away from a local confectionary, no matter what neighborhood you call home … that’s soooo Cincinnati.

This article appears in Jun 2-8, 2004.