Forget The Standard Ice Cream Sandwich
For National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, I went with something a little different—a Jewish Deli Ice Cream Sandwich. Vanilla ice cream layered between slices of rye bread, topped with yellow mustard, and plated with pickles.
It’s everything you didn’t know you wanted in a dessert: carbs, condiments, and a deli‑counter sense of confidence. Forget the cookies—this is a sandwich your grandmother might serve if she’d finally given up on tradition and decided dessert should also pair well with pastrami.
Yes, I thought this one up myself. I didn’t want to just photograph more ice cream sandwiches. I’ve been reading about the history of Jewish delis and photographing deli food, and one thing led to another. And if you’re curious, I did try it—and it tasted outstanding!
This photo is part of my commercial food photography—where I sometimes explore the less obvious corners of culinary “artistry.” See more here:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU
Memorial Day, 1934: Meltdown Created Carvel
It was Memorial Day weekend, 1934, when Tom Carvel’s ice cream truck got a flat tire in Hartsdale, New York. He pulled into a parking lot and started selling his melting ice cream to passing drivers. What could have been a loss turned into a breakthrough—customers liked the softer texture, and the concept of soft-serve was born.
That moment sparked the launch of the Carvel brand. By 1936, Carvel opened a permanent roadside stand on that same site and began developing his own equipment and franchise model. He pioneered innovations in frozen desserts and advertising—including early television commercials and animated mascots.
In the 1950s, Carvel introduced the now-iconic round ice cream cake—layered with vanilla and chocolate soft-serve, filled with chocolate crunchies, and topped with piped whipped frosting and sprinkles. It quickly became a fixture at birthdays, holidays, and family celebrations.
Photographed here as served—no props, no styling—just the cake, isolated on a black background. It’s part of my “From Bag to Background” series, and a fitting nod to an accidental origin that took place on Memorial Day nearly a century ago.
See more from the series:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
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