No shortage of sundaes in Las Vegas

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2000 | 9:40 a.m.

The ice cream sundae is an American institution. Many cities lay claim to having originated this indulgent dessert, which started out as flavored syrup poured over ice cream. The precise origin is debatable, but most pundits are in agreement as to how the dessert got its name.

The sundae was invented to circumvent blue laws preventing ice cream sodas from being served on Sundays. Back then, toward the end of the late nineteenth century, the idea of sipping sodas through a straw in an ice cream parlor on a Sunday must have seemed shockingly indulgent.

So, some clever person named his new creation a Sunday, and later, the spelling was ever-so-gently tweaked so as not to besmirch the Lord's Day. Whipped cream, nuts and cherries were soon to follow. The rest is history -- and calories.

Las Vegas is a great ice cream-sundae town, even though many of the best places to eat them escape the attention of visitors. Naturally, we think of have such as Baskin-Robbins, Swensen's and similarly well-known emporia. Here are a handful of favored spots, instead, and their specialties:

Luv-it Frozen Custard, 505 E. Oakey Blvd.

This ramshackle stand is one-of-a-kind. It specializes in soft frozen custard made fresh daily, using real cream and eggs in the base.

This is a dense confection with less air per ounce than premium ice cream, like gelato. It is also lower in fat, but still retains that smooth, rich texture that makes ice cream a treat.

Fresh flavors such as lemon, cheesecake and fresh banana nut are offered daily, but the best reason to come here is for one of the city's best ice cream sundaes, the Western ($3.95).

You get a plastic cup tightly packed with a delicious vanilla frozen custard, layers of homemade caramel sauce, homemade chocolate sauce, crushed salted pecans and one forlorn maraschino cherry. It is, at once, a rich, creamy, salty, penetrating, sweet work of art, the perfect antidote to a hot day on the desert valley floor.

Leatherby's, 577 E. Sahara Ave.

If it's an old-fashioned looking ice cream parlor you fancy, this family owned clapboard structure, done up in gaudy blue and white trim and furnished with wrought iron chairs, is a throwback to a kinder, gentler America. There are 16 flavors, plus a variety of toppings, on hand. This means that hundreds of sundaes can be created.

This ice cream doesn't taste quite as creamy as premium products such as Ben and Jerry's, but it is sweet and flavorful, and the whipped cream is not from a can. Leatherby's also makes its own chocolate and caramel sauces -- sticky, rich sauces that go into the sundae called Alan's Black and Tan ($5.99).

Try yours with Swiss milk chocolate, a malted chocolate chip ice cream. Leatherby's sundaes are gigantic, spilling out from the top of a tall parfait glass, and practically impossible to eat without toppling onto the edge of your narrow plate. The best strategy is to ask for an extra plate. That way, you can catch the spillage and share it with a friend.

Black Mountain Grill, 11021 S. Eastern Ave., Henderson

The honors for the city's most indulgent sundae might well fall to the one known as the Goldbrick ($7.99). Another impressive thing to know is that you can eat it at any time of day or night, since the restaurant is open 24 hours.

Three or four participants would be advised. Picture, if you will, a glass bowl the size of a small birdbath, that is partially filled with what appears to be about four large scoops of vanilla or chocolate ice cream (your choice.)

Then try to envision a nutty, semi-hardened chocolate shell covering up the ice cream, from which hunks of homemade chocolate chip cookie and wedges of fudgy brownies protrude skyward. Finally consider that the whole shebang has been drenched in hot fudge sauce, and finished off with gobs of hand-whipped cream.

Whew!

Sammy's Woodfire Pizza, 3900 Paradise Road; 6500 W. Sahara Ave.

This restaurant has a new location on Paradise Road, with a dining room that looks like a fancy kitchen thanks to an abundance of beige tiles and copper pots. A variety of sundaes are served here, including the aptly named Messy Sundae, the Nutty Fudgey Sundae, and the blowout Crispy Apple Caramel Sundae ($6.50).

Order the last one and you'll have to eat your way through gobs of whipped cream to get at the ice cream, which is further hidden by thick caramel sauce, granola and sliced baked apple. The saucer is filled with the runoff, and the whole thing is almost dizzyingly sweet and pure bliss for an apple lover.

Coconuts, inside the Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S.

If you're on the Strip and craving a sundae, you can't do much better than a visit to the Mirage's very own premium ice cream parlor, where all ice creams are handmade in a back kitchen and weigh in at a rich 16 percent butterfat.

Expect a line, though. During the hot season, between Memorial and Labor Days, Coconuts serves between four- and 6,000 customers daily, an impressive statistic. The sundae of choice here is the Brown Bomber ($4.50), and the name fits.

Here you get one large scoop of whatever flavor you choose (the pistachio is terrific) plus two stubby, homemade tasting brownie fingers thickly frosted and laced with walnuts. Then the sundae is topped with intensely delicious Rose Brand hot fudge, a spray of whipped cream and a cherry.

Cold Stone Creamery, 2192 N. Rainbow Blvd; 1910 Village Center Dr.; 1500 N. Green Valley Parkway, Henderson

Well, one chain. Cold Stone Creamery is an Arizona-based chain that specializes in mix-ins, where a dozen or so flavors can be smooshed together with various and sundry crushed candies, nuts and fruits. Sundaes, er, make that Mondaes, here are appealing, too.

The chain's Hot Fudge Mondae ($3.49) is one scoop of ice cream, brownie pieces, hot fudge, nuts and whipped cream, and it is especially hard to resist when it is made with Sweet Cream ice cream, made from sugar, cream and not much else. All these ice creams are 14 percent butterfat, but they taste much richer.

Cool, man.