Yum Yum Better Ice Cream is the formal name for a small hot dog and ice cream stand that is located behind Beef Burger in Greensboro, NC. Both are stellar examples of antiquated fast food (Southern) cuisine. During my trip to visit my parents my Dad made me promise that I would so get ice cream with him at Yum Yums (as the locals call it).

Even if I’d used my good camera this picture would look the same. White bun, pink dog in the center, a  boiled down yet meaty chili sauce with the faintest hint of heat, raw onions flecked on top, crisp slaw barely pickled with white vinegar. That’s it. That’s all you need in a Yum Yum dog. This is what it looks like later. .

But here’s the secret. When you order the dog, add a bottle of Cheerwine to the total. Sip the bottle slowly and sparingly. After you’ve digested your entree go back to the counter and order a single scoop of the lemon ice cream (made on the premises in a small room in the back) bring the cup of delectable lemony airy goodness back to your table and eat the ice cream in some sort of pattern.

Some people like to eat the center out. . .as if you were clearing flour for eggs to make pasta. I like to create an trench on the circumference. Pour the Cheerwine over the lemon ice cream.

The Cheerwine fizzes with the lemon ice cream in a way that bubbles and thrusts like a root beer float, but this is. . .tropical. . .cherry and lemon instead of burdock and vanilla. It dances instead of seducing. To give credit where credit was due, I didn’t make this up. My twin sister Anna (the muse of this blog) ran with a crew of rough and tumble Southern red-necks who would skip school to partake of these delicacies. Anna passed the legend on to me and now, dear readers, I am sharing it with you. We’re so lucky.