TCNJ

42 FALL 2016 42 FALL 2016 CLASS NOTES 500 flavors Errico '96 and Carbone '98 are succeeding on a national level. W hen Princeton's Morven Museum asked The Bent Spoon to reproduce a vanilla ice cream recipe from the collection of Thomas Jefferson, written in his own hand and calling for "2 bottles of good cream," co-proprietor Gabrielle Carbone '98 didn't blink. "They were recreating an entire period meal and asked us to do the dessert," says Carbone. "The coolest thing was the research involved in finding the standard measurement for a bottle during that time." The conversation, at one of the two tables in the uber-homey, lilliputian shop in Princeton's Palmer Square, shifts to another of Spoon's gelato-style ice cream flavors, this one less expected: oyster ice cream, the love child of an organic dairy case and a bucketful of fresh mollusks. "Dolly Madison gets credit for the oyster," says co-owner Matt Errico '96, eager to channel his history major. "That's a flavor she used to serve." Called the "mad scientists of Jersey ice cream" by nj.com's food writer Peter Genovese, the pair is on to something. Flavor is where the Spoon shines. Stalwarts like mint chip and cookie dough are exquisitely rendered so they are both delicate and creamy. But it is Carbone's smart, often Jersey sourced, flavors—Old Bay sweet corn, banana whip, and blueberry mascarpone—that sledgehammer a ripe farm basket in your mouth. Victoria, a Princeton sophomore, agrees. Her favorite? Blood orange sorbet. "The flavor is really explosive," says the Puerto Rican computer science major. "It tastes like home." For Sam Patterson, on site to sample flavors for nj.com's Best Ice Cream Shop showdown, it's Cortado, reminiscent of strong black coffee. "If I were going for an aggressive night, I would have Cortado and Dad's Hat," says Patterson, the latter a mashup of whisky and caramel. Carbone and Errico briefly consult on where they first met. The conclusion is Small World Coffee, a couple blocks away, where Errico cut his management teeth while at TCNJ. Their second meeting: "At school," says Carbone. "We ran into each other at the Rat," Errico adds. For the college's 150th anniversary in 2004, TCNJ recruited the just-opened Spoon to dream up a special flavor—Sesqui-mint-tennial, dark chocolate with organic peppermint oil and Newman O's cookies—to kick off the celebration. "TCNJ actually had to rent us a freezer to hold two dozen tubs for the event," says Errico. "We didn't even have one big enough. Now we can serve a couple thousand people a day for Princeton's reunion, our busiest time." Amid a parade of post-sesquicentennial visits to the shop by TCNJ people, one in particular still stands out: former TCNJ President Clayton R. Brower, a rumored lover of frozen desserts. "We were so honored," says Carbone, breaking into a broad smile. "It was so great to have him here." —Renée Olson SERIOUS SPOONING The Bent Spoon, named after the utensil in The Matrix, is everyone's darling this year. "10 ice cream shops you need to visit" GQ Best shop in New Jersey Reader's Choice, nj.com "27 ice cream shops you need to visit before you die" Buzzfeed Best shop in central Jersey, Jersey Choice poll New Jersey Monthly Best chocolate chip cookie in New Jersey Mental Floss Best in New Jersey Food & Wine

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