Condrell's Candies & Ice Cream

2805 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY - (716) 877-4485

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Posted By Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle on February 11, 2008 1:07 AM

If you spend a significant amount of time in Buffalo, it doesn't take long to notice the large number of candy and ice cream shops scattered about the region. Buffalonians evidently have a penchant for eating sweets, and that's good news for Roadfooders.

We were led to Condrell's by the 1992 edition of Roadfood, the only time it appeared in one of Jane and Michael Stern's books. It's recent absence surely can't be due to quality concerns, because the sundaes we tried were among the best we've had lately. We tend to think of the finest ice cream shops as those that make great ice cream, but Condrell's turns that idea inside out. They use Perry's, a very good regional brand made in nearby Akron (NY), but what stands out are the top-quality homemade toppings, and their sundae-construction imagination.

We haven't had whipped cream so thick and luxurious since the last time we indulged in the schlag at Peter Luger's in Brooklyn. The cream is unsweetened, and is applied to the sundaes in great billowing clouds that texturally resemble the ice cream itself. The impeccably fresh nuts are toasted and salted. They still make warm French chocolate sauce, the chocolate pudding/hot fudge hybrid they're famous for (as well as, of course, hot fudge itself), along with many other sauce possibilities including a wonderful homemade marshmallow topping.

Condrell's (also inexplicably called King Condrell's on the takeout menu) has an understated, not retro, 50's look. As you enter, the candy cases are to your right, and contain a wide selection of newfangled truffle flavors in addition to old Buffalo classics like Charlie Chaplins and sponge candy. A counter is located up front for takeout, and most of the space is dedicated to waitress-serviced tables for sitting and enjoying your ice cream.

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