Looking for a cool confection with a little kick?
You’ll find one at the Kandied Kernel shops on Old Liverpool Road in Liverpool and Route 11 in Cicero. Famous for its multi-colored gourmet popcorn products, the Kandied Kernel started selling homemade ice cream earlier this month.
“Popcorn and ice cream are both treats,” noted KK owner Melissa “Missy” Kelly, who grew up in Liverpool. “They really go hand-in-hand.”
Missy and her staff pop corn daily in offbeat flavors such as pickle juice and baked potato, so it’s no surprise that their ice cream also pushes the envelope.
Flavors range from vanilla bean to butter brickle to blueberry cheesecake. “They’re really rich,” Missy said. So far, she finds that customers can’t get enough of the peanut butter cup flavor. “That’s a popular flavor for both popcorn and ice cream,” she said.
The Kandied Kernal has also developed “adult” ice-creams such as chocolate Merlot made with red wine and Ghiradelli chocolate. The knutty pirate is vanilla mixed with white rum and almond extract. Buttershots is butterscotch and vanilla ice cream with Buttershots liqueur. Sparkling strawberry features champagne, strawberry liqueur and fresh strawberries.
Homemade from scratch
The alcohol content is negligible. In order to catch a buzz, Missy said, “You’d have to eat the entire case of adult flavors in our shop.” In any case, if you want to taste them, you’ll need to show identification to prove you’ve reached the legal drinking age of 21.
Because the alcohol in the products promotes melting, KK serves the adult ice creams in “kups” which cost $5 each. “Once we get the melting under control we’ll also serve them as cones,” Missy predicted. Covered pints are also available for you to take home.
The ice creams are all homemade. “We start from scratch with all of them,” Missy said. Even something as simple as strawberry ice cream “means we have to buy the berries fresh, then cut them all up, sugar them and refrigerate them before we make the ice cream,” she said. “It’s a process.”
The KK ice cream costs $6 per pint or two pints for $10. Cones cost $2.50 for a single dip or $3.50 for a double dip. For info, visit kandiedkernel.com, or call 439-9404.
‘American Idle’
Last Friday evening, May 15, Missy’s uncle, Fred Kelly, who lives in Liverpool with his lovely wife, Shirley, stopped by the shop at 663 Old Liverpool Road to help christen the Kandied Kernel’s expansion into the ice-cream market. Billing himself as “The American Idle,” Fred vocalized rock and roll oldies accompanied by a karaoke system operated by his son, Kevin.
“It rained last Friday, which cut short his performance because they were out on the patio,” Missy said. “So I hope to have Uncle Fred back to sing again sometime soon.”
The Kandied Kernel also has a shop located at 8124 Brewerton Road (Route 11) in Cicero, managed by Randy Fournier.
Gull flies Tuesday to Sunday
Liverpool’s Key West-style bistro, The Barking Gull, serves several scrumptious seafood dishes. Last weekend I slurped down a dozen steamed little neck clams with a crunchy side dish of tender fried calamari. Still on my wish list: the Gull clams sautéed in white wine, red peppers and diced tomatoes and the Key West clam boat.
The Gull, located at 116 S. Willow St., is open from Tuesday through Sunday; retreatrestaurant.com/pages/gull/gull.html; 457-2780.
Bullhead at Euclid
Speaking of seafood, bullhead dinners grace the menu for a short time only at the Euclid Hoten out on Morgan Road. The bottom-feeders with sides cost $14.99 this year, euclidrestaurant.com; 622-2750.
Sharkapalooza 2015
Sharkey’s Bar & Grill opens its 2015 Sharkapalooza season at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, with 3-Inch Fury rocking hard in the parking lot, 7240 Oswego Road (Route 57). Fourteen more concerts, which run rain or shine, are scheduled through Aug. 26. Next up is Kat Tale on Wednesday, May 27; sharkeysbarandgrill.com; 214-4116.
Jazz students perform June 1
Various student jazz ensembles from the Liverpool Central School District will open the 30th annual Liverpool Is The Place Summer Concert Series at 7 p.m. Monday, June 1, at Johnson Park, in the village of Liverpool.
Mark Doyle & The Maniacs with special guest Joe Whiting appear at the park on Wednesday, June 3. The free concerts run every Monday and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. through Aug. 19; liverpoolistheplace.com; 457-3895.
The columnist can be contacted at [email protected].
