Dessert That Packs a Punch

Jaxson’s Ice Cream has received oodles and oodles of fame since its opening way back in 1956. Located in the lesser-known Dania, Florida, this place is well-known for its interesting look, and spectacular ice cream. It has been featured on the Food Network several times, and even had a headlining moment in Good Morning America. The infamous Zugat website rates it as one of the top locations in the country. So with all this fame and high reviews, I just had to give it a shot, despite being so far from Orlando. They have a nice lunch/dinner menu, but most people head over there purely and only for the sweets; from the popular ice cream to its massive merchandise shop full of candy (heh, go figure).





The location is a bit tough, since it’s in the middle of a busy street full of street lights with no turn signals. Annoying. Also, it’s located in the corner of an old plaza---connected to multiple buildings. From the outside you can tell it’s a family-friendly atmosphere, as it features a few little rides for small kids. You can order ice cream from outside or go inside to be seated. Once you step inside, the old-school flavor hits you immediately. There are license plates all over the place, and when you enter you are immediately greeted by a heavy assortment of candy---most of them I have never even heard of. It can get quite crowded and hectic. We get seated and were immediate treated to water and free popcorn.


My main draw to the place I will admit was the fact that their whipped cream is natural, made at the location. While this sounds rather picky, it shows attention to detail, and shows a love for their culinary art that you don’t find often in ice cream places. I went for the hot fudge sundae, which was their most popular item. Josh orders the root beer float. Michael orders a peanut butter equivalent of a sundae, which instead of hot fudge it’s a peanut butter topping. Kyle orders the strawberry milkshake. We wait a while as we drink our water and enjoy the scenery. Little did we know just what a challenge our dessert was going to become.


Josh’s root beer float was absolutely massive; it was absolutely intimidating and threatening. It was a huge cup of root beer, and the ice cream was sitting on top of the cup in a strategic way. To add to the mayhem was that there was a second cup of root beer just in case he needed more. Josh struggled so badly with his dessert I overheard another customer talking about us to another waitress (“Your root beer floats should come with an instruction manual”). He enjoyed his food, but was far from being able to finish the monstrosity. This place does not cut back on their ice cream, and it clearly justifies the mildly higher prices.



Kyle’s milkshake was a thick 24 oz. His milkshake was disposed of much better than the float, but it still challenged Kyle because of intense strawberry flavoring. He really enjoyed his drink though. Michael’s peanut butter sundae was a masterpiece. The peanut butter topping was extremely thick, very sugary, and had a pure taste of peanut the instant it touches your taste buds. The whipped cream and very creamy vanilla ice cream combined perfectly with the peanut butter. Michael was in temporary heaven as he barely could finish, but had such a great time trying. And, like Josh, Michael's order comes with a side of extra goodness---just in case all the sugar they infused to the dessert wasn't enough already.


My hot fudge sundae did not look intimidating, but is the very first dessert I could not finish since the unknown March Kitchen Sink disaster of Beaches n’ Cream in Disney World (Few souls know about this...let’s just say I was overwhelmingly defeated, and did not help that I had very little help). The hot fudge was spectacular (they gave me an extra cup of it...mmmmmmmmm), and like the peanut butter was very thick indeed. The whipped cream was very delicious, and is far superior to any whipped cream I’ve ever had. The vanilla ice cream was the tour-de-force of the evening though, as it was a very scrumptious mix of thick, creamy, soft, and yet fulfilling. It was only two scoops of ice cream, how could I not finish this? Well, you must come here to realize that it isn’t what it all seems—these desserts are heavy-hitters that truly delight the taste buds, but occupy the stomach much quicker than you’d assume.

Bottom Line: Jaxson’s Ice Cream deserves all its praise, deserves all its success, as it delivers one of the best dessert experiences I’ve ever had. While the location isn’t the best, once you find the place it will be a fantastic experience. We didn’t order anything from lunch nor did we try the popcorn, but in the dessert portion we are proud to say that it excels in all cylinders. The toppings, the whipped cream, the ice cream, and the overall presentation was phenomenal and if I am ever in the area again, I will definitely make a return trip here. But, don’t go here for lunch as well—because the dessert alone can really fill you up.

Jaxson's Ice Cream
128 South Federal Highway
Dania, FL 33004-3695
(954) 923-4445

Le Tub. Round Two.

There comes a time in a man’s life when he must complete a specific activity before he can truly be considered a man. This activity is entering Le Tub in Hollywood, Florida, and take on their cheeseburger. Now, I have written about this place before, but I decided to give this chance a try for three reasons: 1) I truly love their cheeseburgers, they are definitely the greatest in the planet, 2) I want to see if they can remain consistent with their magical burgers, and 3) to see if its just me that loves these morsels or if this love and enjoyment over a cheeseburger can be transferred to other people—a.k.a. my filming crew. Now, most online restaurant websites have given this place scathing reviews over its poor service and overrated burgers. So was I just nuts the first time I went? Was I lucky? Or is it a case of sheer jealousy and/or total lack of preparation for the old-school and laid-back behavior of this institution? A repeat visit to Le Tub will answer all these questions.




Le Tub is a place that skyrocketed in fame decades after its original opening because of the one-two punch of GQ Magazine and Oprah. The magazine hailed it as the location with the best cheeseburger in the entire country (and mentioning that it’s a mystery why a place with such a run-down look can contain such beauty), and the Oprah Winfrey Show paid a visit to the joint. Now, everything Oprah touches turns to gold, just ask Obama. In August 2009, I was joined by my lovely friend Brittany, as we paid a visit to the place, a year after I planned to drive four hours to give the place a try. To this day, we talk about that experience, and I am sure our friendship became 20 times stronger after Le Tub. This place is so good, it can even strengthen friendships. This time, I was joined by my brother Michael, my cousin Josh, and their very good friend Kyle (who is as unpredictable as a disgruntled comedian on PCP).


I warned them that they take 30 minutes to make the cheeseburgers, and on busy days you sometimes have to wait almost two hours to get your meal. Good things never come easy, and Le Tub is another example of this fact of life. We all ordered medium-well cheeseburgers and waited. And waited. And waited. Unlike what the nasty reviews online state, we had delightful service from a couple of delightful Hispanic women with smiles on their faces. After some waiting, the burgers arrived. They looked great, they smelled great, and the outdoor flies began surrounding our table like Vikings ready to pillage a village (Unless they are from Minnesota, and yes, I just went there. Drop your old quarterback, Vikings!).






They all fell in love, I will reveal this right now. They all said it was the best cheeseburger they’ve ever had. They mentioned its thickness, its juiciness, its size, its quality meat, and its overall impact in their world of burgers. My brother said he can never have another burger the same way again, as Kyle calls his parents to tell them that their food is no longer good, because he truly had a taste from heaven. Josh couldn’t describe his happiness, but I am pretty sure I saw tears. This time, I was armed with a camera, ready to take pictures of this epic event. Their faces were absolutely priceless, they absolutely forgot the fact that we had driven for several hours just for lunch.


I on the other hand---just kidding, I fell in love all over again. It’s just like when you run into an old ex-girlfriend and suddenly realize that you still have strong feelings for her. I compared the cheeseburger to relationships, yes I did. I had forgotten just how good they were until I took my first bite. And just like back in August of 2009, it was juicy, meaty, and spectacular in every single way possible. The burger was the main event, as the fries we had (although good) were not even necessary.


Bottom Line: So yes, Le Tub is spectacular in more than one instance, I did not get lucky, this place is legit awesomeness. Like I have stated in the past, this place is extremely old-school, and the look and laid-back atmosphere will not be everybody’s cup of tea. But if you can adjust, come here for the cheeseburger, because I can guarantee you that even if you don’t think this is the best burger ever, it will easily at LEAST be in the top 3. The location is perfect as its right next to the beach and the food is just all-around delicious. The place is mildly pricy, but totally justified when you take a bite of that burger. I recommend this place to the absolute highest degree imaginable, no questions asked.




Stop reading this. Start prepping a trip. Now.

P.S. I had a second burger—so did Josh. Also delicious.

P.P.S. I can still taste the burger, and it has been over 9 hours.




Le Tub
1100 North Ocean Drive, Hollywood, FL‎ - (954) 921-9425‎