by Terrance Mc Arthur

It’s October! Halloween! Autumn leaves! Pumpkin Spice!

OK . . . Not everyone likes Pumpkin Spice, but I’m a pumpkin partisan. I crave pumpkin treats, and The Great Food Search has gathered a garland of goodies!

Baskin-Robbins—775 S Bethel Ave., Ste 104, Sanger—What hath Baskin-Robbins Wrought? This fall, it’s Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream. imagine Pumpkin & Cheesecake flavored Ice Creams, with Ginger Snap Cookie Pieces & a Cinnamon Cream Cheese flavored swirl. We decided to live dangerously and ordered a cone AND a milkshake.

Bravo Farms—26005 Highway 99, Traver—Whenever I drive between Fresno or Sanger and Bakersfield, my car seems to automatically slow down at an offramp to Traver. It’s the magnetic pull of Bravo Farms! Part of that pull is the fudge, and they have Pumpkin Fudge! The creaminess! The sweetness! The decadence! How can you resist it? Why would you want to resist it?

Costco Wholesale—2270 Clovis Ave., Clovis—How many shoppers have braved the crowds to bring a Costco Pumpkin Pie to a holiday dinner? The low price can’t be the only reason. The mammoth size, the way it shimmers when you carry it to the table, the delicate taste, and the hearty crust. It’s the Holidays! Time to celebrate!

Cristal Bakery & Restaurant—704 O St., Sanger—A landmark of downtown Sanger for decades, Cristal B&R cranks out Latino pastries and more. Empanadas are always good eating, but Pumpkin Empanadas? Oh, Yeah! They may look like brown rocks, but bite into them—that tender dough gives way to that puree of fall flavor, and you want to shout “Ole!”

Dewar’s Candy Shop—2700 Calloway Dr., Bakersfield—For a five-generation family company that’s been dispensing sweets for more than 100 years, Dewar’s—the treasure of Bakersfield’s ice cream/candy dreams—seems like a child’s wonderland. At the Rosedale branch, on a mission to buy their Peppermint Chews and their Peanut Butter Chews (taffy with a flavorful filling), I saw a card advertising their new seasonal ice cream, Dewar’s Pumpkin Pie. What a combination! Pumpkin Spice Ice cream and Graham Crackers mixed with Dewar’s’ famous Marshmallow Topping. This is the stuff daydreams are made of!

International House of Pancakes (IHOP)—7119 N. Fresno St., Fresno—Even though it has been fodder for jokes (International House of Pancakes? I’d like . . . Tunisian.), IHOP has been griddling out the delicious for a long time. In search of Pumpkin dishes, I found the Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Combo—two Pumpkin Spice pancakes topped with maple glaze and a whipped topping, alongside a pair of pork sausages, hash browns, and a pair of over-easy eggs. Oh, how soft those pancakes were! The maple coated every bite, egg/meat/potato part of the combo brought childhood memories to life! It’s a Seasonal Special, so get it while you can.

Jamba Juice—614 Academy Ave., Sanger—For years, I have waited for Jamba Juice to roll out its Pumpkin Smash Smoothie. Some years, they have vanished quickly, and I was denied my desire. This year, there are two new pumpkin-ish flavors—Pumpkin Coffee and Pumpkin Pie Crunch! I’m not a coffee-lover, so I ordered the Pumpkin Pie Crunch. It’s made of 2% milk, nonfat frozen yogurt, ice, pumpkin spice flavor base, granola, blue agave, and cocowhip. Whatever you call it, it’s goooood! That nutty flavor of the spice pairs with the crusty crunchiness, and you can imagine being wrapped in a quilt, sitting on a couch in front of a fire for that ‘Welcome Home” feeling.

The Verdict—Choose? Do I have to choose? I would go to any of these places again and again. (You have to choose.) Okay. The most surprising dish of the month––the Empanadas from Cristal in Sanger. That’s my winner, but you can go and try any of these pumpkin treats—your tastebuds will thank you.

Happy eating!

Check out more food articles and more of Terrance’s Great Food Search column in our Food Fun section. And check out a KRL staff profile this week on Terrance!

Terrance V. Mc Arthur worked for the Fresno County Public Library for three decades. He is retired, but not retiring. A storyteller, puppeteer, writer, actor, magician, basketmaker, and all-around interesting person, his goal is to make life more unusual for everyone he meets.