A Bellingham Foodie Blog Restaurant Reviews Bellingham Washington 98225

I remember walking with my Mom to Bell Boulevard to go to Carvel Ice Cream. It was either there or Dunkin’ Donuts. Don’t know Carvel? They were the first American retail ice cream franchise and made the original all ice cream cake. A birthday wasn’t a birthday unless you got a Carvel ice cream cake. They came in lots of flavor combinations and sizes, but the best part was always the chocolate crunchies. The cake has 2 layers of ice cream separated by chocolate crunchies. The outside has a white cream frosting sprinkled with more chocolate crunchies. Think sweet chocolate nibs. Why am I telling you about an ice cream franchise you can’t visit in Bellingham? Well, because now you can get a very close replica at Trader Joe’s Bellingham.

I had to buy one because it was my son’s 13th birthday this week. He LOVES surprises, so we surprised him with some gifts not on his list and we surprised him with an ice cream cake. This guy LOVES ice cream. You should have seen his face! The cake has 4 layers: vanilla ice cream, chocolate CRUNCHIES, chocolate ice cream and a thin layer of chocolate cake as its base. My daughter couldn’t keep her fingers off it!

So since the closest Carvel to the west coast is in Reno, Nevada why don’t you hop on down to TJ’s and start a family tradition like the one I grew up with. Just keep the bright light out of my eyes for the birthday home movies, would ya, Aunt Edith!

PS:  You can get them in Costco Marysville and Everett, too.