1. Irvine Robbins, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins ice cream, died at the age of 90.
We used to have a Baskin-Robbins in my neighborhood when I was a kid, and I would always get World Class Chocolate. I have no idea if that’s still part of the “31 flavors” at the current stores (now owned and operated by the Dunkin’ Donuts conglomerate), but going to that B-R for the first time will forever be one of my warmest ice cream memories.
2. Melograno, still the number 1 restaurant on my Philly Top 10, has lost its lease and will move this summer.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Food and Drinq blog:
Melograno, one of the best-received of the recent crop of mom-and-pop BYOs, has lost its lease after five years.
July 28 will be its last day at 22d and Spruce Streets, says Rosemarie Tran, who owns Melograno with her husband, Gianluca Demontis.
They’re relocating to 2010 Sansom St. — same name and concept — and hope to be up and running in September, taking advantage of their usual August vacation.
Although its current neighborhood is much nicer, I can’t complain since they’re moving around the corner from me. As long as the quality stays high, I’ll be there on a regular basis.
3. Who added the extra “r” in shebert?
If you just pronounced that last word like “sherbert,” join the crowd. Thankfully, we have Anu Garg of MSN’s new On Words column to show us the folly of our ways.
The word is from Arabic, but it took a scenic route to English. It stopped by Persian and Turkish before reaching the shores of the English language. In Arabic šarbat is a drink. (By the way, the word syrup is a cousin of this word.)
Don’t worry, his daughter got it wrong too.
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