Foo-Detour - Fentons Creamery

John – “To be honest, I don’t really remember this part of the movie…”

Me – "Are you kidding??? It’s the part right after Carl gives Russell the Grape Soda pin at the Cub Scout Ceremony. You know…then they go get ice cream at Fentons!”

John nodded somewhat unconvincingly as we turned off the freeway and made our way into the quaint Norman Rockwell-esque main drag of Emeryville, California.

To bring you up to speed…John and I escaped LA for about 48 hours and drove (mistake?) up the interstate for a weekend in San Francisco. We met up with our friends Jayna, Ken and their 6-month old baby, Mady, for a weekend in NorCal. After a tour through Napa AND Sonoma on Saturday, which resulted in this...

Time Check: 8:17pm

…we spent Sunday touring the San Francisco Wharf, Muir Woods and the “Full House” homes on Alamo Square. While all the sights of the City by the Bay were impressive, I had my sights set on a “Only Michael Would Make Us Go There” detour on the way home.

You remember Fentons Creamery…it’s the small ice cream shop that Carl Fredrickson and Russell visit in the closing scenes of “Up”. What you might not know is that Fentons is a real place located just down the street from Pixar’s production campus. Despite the fact that we already downed multiple samples from Ghiardelli Square and a Caramel Hot Chocolate to boot…John knew better than to deny me my ice cream fix. Plus, I knew he was excited about the trip when he insisted we play the “Up” soundtrack before we arrived at Fenton’s.

When I saw Fenton’s in the movie, I pictured a small quaint mom and pop ice cream shop tucked away in a nondescript part of town. When I saw Fenton’s in real life, I felt like I was in the middle of a Johnny Rockets where the kids took over the ice cream sundae bar. At dinnertime on a Sunday, Fenton’s was PACKED with a line of people just waiting to get inside the place.

With a six-hour plus drive (mistake confirmed) ahead of us, we opted to skip the sit-down option and get a pair of cones to go. To my surprise, Fentons actually has a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu featuring your typical burger, hot-dog and ‘old fashioned grilled sandwich’ options. But if you’re gonna make the trek (and by this point, who wouldn’t), you have to go for the ice cream. With homemade concoctions like Toasted Almond, Butter Brickle and Chocolate Marble and seasonal favorites like Pumpkin, Spumoni and Blackberry…it’s nearly impossible to try just one flavor.

That’s why I picked two! Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch and Butterfinger topped my double-scoop waffle cone, while John went for a single scoop of the Coffee Cookie Dream. After downing my cone in a matter of minutes, I was happily satisfied but not convinced I had to make Fentons a must-visit on my next trip north. And then…I saw the sundaes…

I mean…when the banana split comes with a warning like this:

"WATCH OUT! Tourists may take photos of you with this Fentons tradition! HUGE scoops, we mean HUGE, of Vanilla, Chocolate & Strawberry ice cream cradled by a whole ripe banana."

You know you are in for a treat! And if ya can’t quite finish your whole dessert, I’m sure this guy will happily slop up the leftovers.

With our stomachs full and our mission complete, it was time to hit the road back to LA. Of course, we did take a slight detour before we left…

When in Emeryville…

Fentons Creamery

4226 Piedmont Ave.

Oakland, CA 94611