Bites Nearby: Emily's Ice Cream

Tomorrow may be the first day of school for students in the Nazareth Area School District, but technically, summer doesn't end until Sept. 23.

To us here at Patch, that's a good enough excuse to visit in Nazareth a few more times before the leaves begin to change -- but even then, Emily's is open year-round.

Emily’s Ice Cream, which can be found just around the corner from Dunkin’ Donuts on Route 191, has been a local institution for nearly 20 years. And while some businesses 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 [who] said, ‘You have to try this ice cream!’”

Emily’s regards itself as a specialty ice cream store, and for good reason -- all 32 flavors of hard ice cream are homemade on-premise by either Romano or the store's owner, Pat Rice.

Those 32 flavors change seasonally, Romano explained, adding that the store has offered nearly 100 different varieties since it opened in 1988.

“Whatever ingredients I have on hand I use to make different flavors,” Romano 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 fall, the store will begin offering the popular pumpkin and raspberry soft-serve flavors.

Another specialty at Emily’s is its homemade ice cream cakes. The shop makes the cakes in any flavor, not just vanilla or chocolate, and each can be filled with candy pieces, fruit or peanut butter.

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

But what caught this reporter’s eye was something lurking in the rear freezer -- a concoction called the brownie pizza. What exactly is that? It's a flat brownie base with whipped cream and a variety of toppings, like candy pieces, nuts, caramel and chocolate syrup. Count me in!

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

Emily’s Ice Cream is located at 848 Nazareth Pike, next to . The store is open daily from noon to 10 p.m. During the winter months, Emily's is open noon to 8 p.m.

Cash, Visa and MasterCard are all accepted, and gift certificates are available.

For more information on Emily's Ice Cream, visit www.​emilysicecream.​com and follow the store on Twitter