Bites Nearby: Emily's Ice Cream

In a few short weeks, we’ll be saying goodbye to summer, which means that we’ll have to come up with some other excuse to visit in Nazareth, open not only daily but year-round.

Emily’s Ice Cream, which is found just off of Route 191 in the same plaza as , has been a local institution for nearly 20 years: while others are feeling the sting of competition and economy, Emily’s is doing just fine.

“We have really loyal customers,” said manager Laura Romano. “I even get people from New Jersey who heard about us from a friend that said, ‘You have to try this ice cream!’”

Emily’s regards itself as a specialty ice cream store, which makes sense because ice cream is all they do. All 32 flavors of hard ice cream are homemade on-premise by either Romano or the store owner, Pat Rice.

Romano explained that those 32 flavors change seasonally; she estimates that over time the store has offered nearly 100 different varieties. 

“Whatever ingredients I have on-hand, I use to make different flavors,” she said.

This experimentation has led to esoteric favorites like coffee biscotti, Blue Eagle gelati, and Fluffernutter--peanut butter and marshmallow mixed in vanilla ice cream.

A more recent addition to the menu at Emily’s is fat-free yogurt, available in soft-serve and already selling well. Come the fall, the shop will also be offering the popular pumpkin and raspberry soft-serve flavors.

Another specialty at Emily’s is its homemade ice cream cakes. The shop makes ice cream cakes in any flavor, not just vanilla or chocolate, and includes fillings like candy pieces, fruit, or peanut butter.

“The most time our cakes spend in a freezer is two days,” said Romano. “They stay fresh… and they keep us open in the winter.” 

But what caught this reporter’s eye, lurking in the rear freezer, was a concoction called the brownie pizza: a flat brownie base with whipped cream and a variety of toppings, things like candy pieces, nuts, and caramel and chocolate syrup.

In conjunction with the ice cream cakes and “pizzas,” the store also sells mylar balloons, birthday candles, and handmade birthday cards, making it a sort of one-stop shop for birthday supplies.

Emily’s Ice Cream is located at 848 Nazareth Pike in Nazareth, next to Dario’s Pizza. The store is open daily from noon to 10 p.m. In the winter months, it is open noon to 8 p.m. It accepts cash, Visa, and Mastercard. Gift certificates are available in-store.

Check out the accompanying photo gallery for some shots of handmade cakes, ice cream sandwiches, and brownie pizzas—and then just try to resist the temptation to run down to Nazareth Pike for a cold treat.