Originally Posted by
time2go1st
Mostly lived near Rittenhouse Sq., but probably would scarcely recognize the area today; most luxurious dining around there was the Barclay dining room with heavenly creamed potatoes au gratin served in a separate little chafing dish…….
-- and Bassett's French Vanilla, Rum Raisin, and Banana ice cream there, if Bassett's is still in business; their claim to fame then was the highest butterfat content of any ice cream, hardly a selling point nowadays.
Rittenhouse Square (my neighborhood obviously) remains a fashionable area, and the dining and bar scene here has really exploded in the last 5-10 years. So many options now and the streets are crowded almost every night of the week.
Bassetts is indeed still very much in business. In fact they have developed a huge business selling ice cream in China, where they have a very high end reputation. While other ice cream companies, such as Haagen Daaz may sell more ice cream in China, what makes Bassetts unique is that they still make all their ice cream in Philly and import it to China (rather than relying on a local vendor).