Walt Itgen’s Ice Cream / Lunch Counter – Valley Stream NY

2018 Update: Thanks to Retro Roadmapper Billy Florio, we've learned that Itgen's is under new management! He writes:

"Walt Itgen's Ice Cream Parlour on Rockaway Avenue in Valley Stream, Long Island has become a landmark of the village. Walter Itgen Sr came to America from Europe after World War II and settled in Malverne, where he first opened his ice cream shop.
He moved it to Valley Stream in 1967, into a building which has housed an ice cream shop/soda jerk since the 1920s (it was previously Teddy's and briefly Paul's when it was owned by the future owner of Mitchell's in Valley Stream). His shop was known for its homemade ice cream and chocolates (and they are very very good), and Itgen was recognized by Chocolatier industry organizations for the quality of their specialties.

Walter Sr continued to run the shop with his two sons Michael and Walter Jr until this past December (2017) when an offer came in to buy the business from the family. The Itgens sold, noting a recent decline in business.

The new owner plans to continue on with the business and even has kept Michael and Walter Jr onboard to make the ice cream and chocolate, but we'll see if there are any changes."

Original 2016 Post:

Walt Itgen’s Ice Cream Parlour (or parlor as we regular folks would call it) is a family owned and operated lunch counter / candy  counter / ice cream shop open since 1967 in Valley Stream NY.

We stopped by here on the way back home from a weekend on Long Island, and should you be flying not driving, it is just 5 miles away from JFK airport so you too can experience traveling back in time.

Mod Betty fell hard for their cleverly named offerings  - such as the Budget Stretcher lunch special ("The German" / ham, saurkraut & gravy on a roll)  and their famous Cooling Gorilla (fruit juices combined over ice.)

I can't help but think the "Sock-It-To-Me" Sundae has been on the menu since the days of Rowen & Martin's Laugh In :-)

As if responding to Mod Betty's initial concern about the front window awning looking a little bit worse for wear, when we entered Itgen's we were pleased to discover the owner in deep conversation with someone about replacing said awning! 

It was good to know for the future that they serve breakfast lunch and dinner, and the menu notes:

Itgen's House of Home Cooked Meals
Almost Better Than Mother's and More Reasonable
Always a Fresh Vegetable

However, we were there for one last riotous indulgence of a vacation Sundae before we headed back home to the land of diets.

And our calories were well spent!

The homemade French style ice cream was rich (because of the eggs) and the taste of the fresh whipped cream and dense hot fudge (also homemade) sent Mod Betty back in time to the ice cream shops of her childhood.

Had my purse been any bigger, and if I were "that sort", I may have tried to leave with this MCM inspired painting under my arm.

But I've left it there so all of you can enjoy it when YOU visit Walt Itgen's!