Of course, I immediately liked their Facebook page, as you do. Here’s that peanut butter sundae (mint chocolate chip on the bottom):Ĭlose-up on the peanut butter whipped cream:Īnd because it’s so pretty, butter pecan on top of mint chocolate chip (my Baskin Robins habits live on….) After our inaugural visit, we went back three weekends in a row, once with another family of newcomers to town, and two others with out-of-town visitors from Rochester and Philly. And the flavors and offerings are pretty classic, although notably they sometimes offer flavored whipped cream (think peanut butter-chocolate ice cream topped with hot fudge and peanut butter whipped cream – YES).

The folks serving up the ice cream are as enthusiastic as you think they would be. The inside is beautiful, complete with tin ceiling and classic barstools that swivel around. It initially opened in 1923, although it sat empty from 1979-1999 (essentially my entire childhood). It’s a classic old-school ice cream soda fountain. There probably isn’t much I can tell you about Klavon’s that you don’t already know, so I won’t belabor the basics. Even though I had never heard of it, I am making a safe assumption that I’m in the minority. One especially hot summer day, while finishing a Strip District binge (think S&Ds Polish Deli, Andy’s Sushi, and random bites of cheese and meat), I realized we were only two blocks from ice cream on my must-try list: Klavon’s. So we dutifully did our usual thing, trolling Yelp obsessively. My Pittsburgh ice cream game was stuck in the ‘90s. We were a strictly Baskin and Robbins family (and only the one on Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill, may it RIP, and only mint chocolate chip, chocolate almond fudge, and chocolate mousse royale). You would think that as a kid growing up in the Burgh and eating out so often, I would have an edge on this category. Finding a go-to ice cream shop (or three) was on our short list of things to do shortly after arriving.

Klavon ice cream