It's-It Kind of Birthday

For nearly 50 years, Bay Area commuters have been greeted by an unlikely roadside mascot: a giant spinning ice cream sandwich along Highway 101 in Burlingame. Beneath it sits the factory store for It's-It, the oatmeal-cookie ice cream sandwich that has become one of Northern California's most beloved regional treats.

I grew up eating It's-Its by swimming pools, at my brother's Little League games, or really anywhere, yet somehow, I'd never stopped at the place where they were made. When I moved back to the Bay Area after nearly two decades, the sign became a familiar presence again. So, for my birthday, my partner and I decided to finally pull off the freeway. If you're not from around these parts, you may be asking yourself, "What's an It's-It?" Well, let me tell you.

The sandwich traces its roots to San Francisco's Playland-at-the-Beach, the oceanfront amusement park that operated until 1972. In 1928, George Whitney reportedly sandwiched vanilla ice cream between two oatmeal cookies and dipped the whole thing in chocolate. When asked what to call it, he supposedly replied, "It's it." To this day (nearly a century after its creation), it's still the benchmark by which I judge every other ice cream sandwich. It left such a mark on me that years later, while working as a pastry chef at the Ace Hotel in Southern California, I paid homage to it on a dessert featuring a trio of ice cream sandwiches.

As a kid, I had no idea the treat was so distinctly Northern Californian. I thought everyone had It's-Its; after all, there are so many ice cream sandwiches out there that one on an oatmeal cookie doesn't sound that avant-garde. It wasn't until I moved to New York City that I realized they simply weren't part of the cultural landscape there. It was also when I learned that Best Foods mayonnaise is Hellmann's and Dryer's is better known as Edy's, but I digress.

Leaving California taught me that an It's-It isn't just a dessert. Like Dutch Crunch bread or garlic fries at a Giants game, it's one of those regional foods you assume everyone knows until you leave home.

Although you can't tour the factory, there's something so nostalgic about being there. The staff is kind and laid-back, and the compact store is centered around a long ice cream case stocked with every flavor. There are far more options than the classic vanilla sandwich I grew up with, including seasonal pumpkin offerings and newer creations that riff on the one that started it all. In addition to the ice cream, they have a great merch section for the fan in all of us who wants to sport an OG Bay Area classic.

We left with a box to share and immediately tore into a pumpkin It's-It and a cappuccino version in the parking lot. The pumpkin actually felt like a natural fit with the oatmeal cookies, but the cappuccino remains my favorite. We split the two, as it was a day filled with lots of other goodies, and I wanted to save room.

For decades, the spinning ice cream sandwich was just a landmark flashing by my car window. On my birthday, it became a destination. Nearly a century after the first It's-It was made, the treat has outlived the amusement park that gave it birth and become one of the Bay Area's most enduring culinary icons. Still, the factory store remains a place where Bay Area nostalgia is sold one oatmeal-cookie sandwich at a time.