Rehoboth Foodie

One of my fondest memories as a tiny, not-yet- fully-formed Foodie was gliding to the beach in the back seat of the gigantic black and white Buick in anticipation of a fun breakfast. (I was an equal-opportunity anticipator; happily looking forward not only to breakfast, but also lunch, dinner, pizza and/or Taylor Pork Roll on the boardwalk, and maybe a funnel cake.)

Whether it was the long-gone Schumann's in Wildwood, N.J. (in the shadow of the glittering and futuristic Satellite Motel); English's Diner or the Majestic Hotel Coffee Shop in Ocean City, MD; Lyle's in

Blink and you'll miss it. The Gelato Gal has situated herself out on the west side of Coastal Highway where Rehoboth Avenue meets Rt. 1, just south of the big white Coldwell Banker building. Jot down these directions, because the gelato there is truly unlike any I've ever had (your Foodie has slurped a lot of gelato in his time).

Truth be told, I went in there with the intention of finding

There's just not that much really good candy out there. Sure, there's Mary See's from San Francisco, but you can only get it locally over the Christmas holidays (even then it's at Dover and Christiana Malls and King of Prussia Mall--not all that local). And of course, there are the creamily sublime caramels and dark chocolate-dipped apricots from Harbor Candy in Ogunquit, Maine, but you better not order them any other time than

Imagine cool and creamy soft-serve "ice cream," right here in Rehoboth Beach, with no more calories, carbs and whatever than a single, solitary banana. Period. No sugar, no dairy, no "Splenda" nonsense...nothin'. Just a banana. Period. (Did I say that already?)

Well, Annie's Banannies on First Street, just a couple of doors to the left of the Frogg Pond, has it. Magical machines (like big powerful juicers, but horizontal--go figure) turn a frozen banana into a cold and creamy white soft-serve that tastes like...well, a banana. Toppings include all kinds of fresh fruit including strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, mango and crunchy stuff like walnuts, ginger snaps (!) and a lot more. (The Foodie gets the mango and walnuts.) If you've been dreaming of a soft-serve treat without all the fat and/or artificial stuff, then Annie's Banannies is the place to go. They are very nice in there and will happily let you watch the magical process. Yum.