The pumpkin pie was just melting in my mouth. It was pretty darn cold too.
It was pumpkin pie ice cream in all its glory, made in a 1948 Bastian Blessing ice cream machine that was sitting just feet from our booth.
It was the week before Halloween. My wife, her sister’s family and I were sitting in a booth with tall wooden-backed benches in JWI Confectionery, better known as Mundt’s Candies.
Mundt’s, located in the historic rivertown of Madison, Indiana, is a throwback to days when you’d sit dreamy-eyed with your high school sweetheart whispering sweet nothings over sweet treats.
Photos of high schoolers adorn the wall from the 1950s, just as they have since the 1950s. Up front are glass and wood candy cases full of chocolates and the local Madison delicacy “fish candy.” Behind the chrome and rich wood soda fountain, a huge mirror holds signs telling the homemade specialty ice creams of the month.
We were the last customers of the evening and Mundt’s owner Maryanne Imes was in the spirit. She gave us witch’s hats, deelyboppers and glow in the dark hair to wear while she made our treats at the fountain.
My nephew Adam, an inquisitive sort who should be a reporter, quizzed Maryanne about everything in the place.
The building has served up sodas, sundaes, phosphates and homemade candy since 1917. The third floor was, and is the candy kitchen “fish candy” is made using 100-year-old brass candy rollers.
Betty and Richard Mundt retired in 1966 and, except for a special event, they simply closed the doors to their shop. They lived on the second floor and traveled the country.
Our ice cream arrived artfully presented with French wafers placed on top of sundaes like a pair of cats ears. The ears were quickly devoured and we dived into the ice cream. It was heavenly. The taste was beyond compare. Maryanne told us one of the secrets is the high butterfat content, which places the homemade treat in the “super-premium” category of ice creams.
My sister-in-law Janie’s favorite was “The Army-Navy.” The coffee ice cream sundae came with a pitcher of hot fudge and was topped with shredded white chocolate and almonds. Her kids went for banana splits. My wife and I sampled the flavors of the month, Pumpkin Pie and Raspberry Cheesecake. We definitely plan to return for the homemade Peach ice cream this summer when the region's peach crop ripens.
The menu has numerous specialty sundaes including a monster called “The ‘37 Flood.” With 10 scoops of ice creams “submerged with seven waves of toppings with floats of bananas, rafts of wafers and a crest of whipped cream, nuts and cherries and chocolate fish on top,” the sundae is named after the worst flood to ever hit the Ohio River Valley. Served in a silver bowl and with a ring of a handbell, the sundae is definitely a treat for a small group. Watch out for the delish surprise on the river bottom.
Imes, a historic preservationist, came into the picture wanting to save and restore the 1850s building. But it was her friend Peter Lassaris, a third-generation ice cream and candyman, who conned her into restoring the business as well. Under his tutelage, Marianne and her husband Tom have learned to make the homemade candies and ice cream they serve today.
I’d toss in a pitch for Madison as well. It’s an astounding 19th century town. Indeed, Charles Kurault called Madison “the most beautiful rivertown in America.”
Mundt’s is most definitely worth the drive. The homemade ice cream and candy and beautifully restored building make Mundt’s a Midwest destination.
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