Who isn’t happy when eating ice cream? This joy is what the owners of Icecreamology in Union hope to create for their customers. They sell handcrafted artisanal ice cream made in small batches inspired by the flavors of the Greek Islands.
The owners, Demetra Stratigakis and her husband Marino, grew up in Greece. They fondly recall spending summers beachside and enjoying ice cream treats. “Back then, the ones that dared to venture into the world of ice cream and gelato made the most wonderful creations; rich flavors from real fruits, real ingredients, and local sweets made with real milk from a local farm,” Marinos explains. “We haven’t had such an experience since we left Greece. We wanted to taste it again, share it with our daughter, Elli, and share it with everyone here in Union and beyond.”
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An Authentic Greek Experience
Icecreamology offers a few tables with chairs and stool seating at a counter bar facing the front window. “It has a modern vibe with a European flair to it,” Marinos says. Reminiscent of stores found on Greek islands, he says “it boasts vibrant lighting and colors with space to move around.”
The ice cream shop makes over 20 unique and familiar flavors of gelato, sorbet, and ice cream. They use real fruit for sorbet flavors and real milk for everything else. This means their items contain no preservatives, artificial flavors, eggs (except for cakes), or starch. Even their coloring is organic and natural.
Icecreamology infuses unique flavors like mastic, rosewater, lavender, saffron, and honey into their ice cream. They also blend in items such as baklava, churros, roasted pistachios, and Oreos. Many of their sauces are made from scratch, including their Nutella, peanut butter, and orange zest honey. Crunchy toppings include Old-Bay spiced caramel popcorn and Froot Loop wafers. Many menu items also come with torched marshmallow or marshmallow toppings.
Fan favorite treats include their probiotic frozen yogurt made with real strained Greek yogurt. Demetra says they might be the only ice cream shop that uses feta cheese as a topping. For instance, they use the topping with their watermelon sorbet. This is because watermelon with a side of feta cheese is a popular snack in Greece.
They also believe they’re the only ice cream shop in America that makes mastic ice cream. (Mastic is a gum or raisin that comes from a tree indigenous to the Greek island Chios.) One other popular item is the My Big Fat Greek Wedding Bundt Cake. Named after the movie, it features vanilla ice cream mixed with bits of traditional Greek walnut cake.
About the Owners
Marinos Stratigakis is also an owner and chef of Souvlaqueria, a Greek street eats spot in Union. He has launched numerous concepts on three continents over 30 years in the hospitality industry. Demetra comes from a restaurant operations background, and has worked in Greece as a food and beverage manager. Prior to opening Icecreamology, the pair were experimenting with ice cream flavors at Souvlaqueria, including baklava ice cream.
Future plans include offering delivery, and adding a secret sweet and salty menu with crepes, bubble waffles, and donut paninis.
Visit Icecreamology at 2709 Morris Ave in Union. (Click here to see them on Google Maps.) To learn more:
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All Photos: © Flavia Olm | Flavia Olm Photography (used with permission)
