This frozen treat used to be sold throughout Sacramento. Here’s where it can still be found

Uniquely is a Sacramento Bee series that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in the Sacramento area so special.

Summer has crashed into Sacramento this week. Daytime temperatures are peaking around 110 degrees, and wisps of a Delta Breeze aren’t cooling things down nearly enough at night.

In days of old, times like these made Sacramentans turn to one locally-made balm in particular: Merlino’s Freeze.

Founded in 1946, Merlino’s icy, fruit-forward desserts assuaged the sweaty throughout the second half of the 20th century at standalone stores as well as mall kiosks. Orange has always been the star flavor, a splash of tropical citrus with a texture somewhere between shave ice and snow cones. Even then-Govs. Jerry Brown and Ronald Reagan lined up for Merlino’s when Sacramento temperatures crept into the 100s, according to The Sacramento Bee’s archives.

Merlino’s has hardly been a whisper in Sacramento’s food scene since the last store closed in 2000, but perseveres at the ballpark. A popular kiosk at Sutter Health Park, home to the Sacramento River Cats (and next year, the Oakland Athletics), is the last remaining place to find Merlino’s Freezes.

See, the River Cats bought Merlino’s in 2008, eight years after its last brick-and-mortar location had shut down. While that deal permitted a few other businesses such as Mr. Pickle’s Sandwich Shop to sell strawberry or guava freezes for a time, those agreements ended within the past few years.

I can hear northeastern Sacramento County readers fuming already, so the caveat is: there’s another place to buy what is essentially Merlino’s by a different name, and you don’t need a ticket to get in. Hagen’s Orange Freeze, the “happiest place in Carmichael” according to an outside sign, uses Merlino’s original recipes to create frosty, fruity desserts and more at 2520 Walnut Ave.

Temme and Toy Hagen worked at the Merlino’s that served that address from 1965-2000, and bought the property a few years after the business’ closure. They threw their own name on it but kept the tongue-chilling treat as is.

Hagen’s Orange Freeze now serves 20 flavors, some with pieces of real fruit and some dairy-packed ones that trend more in the direction of ice cream. Customers also park themselves in Hagen’s well-worn orange booths to chow down on burgers, sandwiches and slices of Toy’s carrot cake.

What I’m Eating

Parker’s Hot Dogs of Santa Cruz has been counting down the days to July 4 — literally.

Roseville’s longtime hot dog shack has a digital clock ticking off the milliseconds to Independence Day (other holidays get their own countdowns as well). Founded by Parker Wilson as a Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk stand in 1955, the wood-paneled walls and short green stools have housed a surfy slice of Americana in Placer County since his son John Parker opened the “new” strip mall outpost in 1997.

A horseshoe counter takes up about half of Parker’s snug dining room, obscuring the steamer used to cook foot-long beef wieners en masse (they’ll fry dogs upon request). Nostalgia creeps in as “California Dreamin’” plays through the speakers and generations of family members share ice cream floats made with Häagen-Dazs and Henry Weinhardt’s Soda.

It’s hard to find a cheaper lunch than Parker’s regular dog ($5.50), its de facto yellow mustard, relish, tomatoes and white onions neatly nestled in fluffy buns like the cooks have done this thousands of times before. Presented in a red plastic tray, the dog itself was skinny, squeaky and most of all snappy.

Chili dogs ($7.50-$10.50) smothered in housemade, bean-forward chili (other items including fries and shredded beef tamales get the same treatment). A “pick-me-up” chili dog is plenty for one person, a “small” requires a fork and knife and a “platter” seems impossible for just one person to eat, unless you’re the type of person who might also try Parker’s $35 Five-Pound Chili Cheese Challenge Dog Challenge. Featured on Travel Channel’s “Man Vs. Food” in 2010, it includes fries, mountains of shredded cheddar and a 20-minute time limit.

There are spiced Polish sausages ($6.50), turkey dogs ($5.50), corn dogs ($2.70), soy-based dogs ($5.50) and “vegetable dogs” ($6) that simply substitute cheddar, cucumber, peppers, a pickle spear and celery salt for a glizzy. Non-dog items are limited, but rigid onion rings ($3.50) are a shareable with a strong crunch.

Parker’s Hot Dogs of Santa Cruz

Address: 1605 Douglas Blvd., Suite A, Roseville.

Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday.

Phone: 916-786-2202

Website: https://www.parkershotdogs.com/

Drinks: Varied selection of sodas, along with coffee, tea and hot chocolate for colder weather.

Vegetarian options: Soy dogs, and sides such as sweet potato fries or onion rings.

Noise level: Not too bad for such a tight, busy space.

Outdoor seating: Four red-and-white checkered picnic tables and another five two-tops.

Openings & Closings

▪ CharQterie opened Tuesday at 4112 E. Commerce Way, Suite 110 in North Natomas. It’s a build-your-own charcuterie concept with sandwiches, salads and other bites from Jeff and Lydia Belaski, co-founders of The Waffle Experience (now closed).

▪ Gai ‘N Rice’s closure in South Land Park will be permanent, the Thai chicken-and-rice restaurant’s owners announced on June 26. It’s been closed since October 2022 due to a fire, though sisters Sonya Chen and Kade Phian opened a substitute location in May 2023 at 2475 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 150 in Elk Grove.

▪ Melting Grill, a Korean fusion restaurant at 6700 Lonetree Blvd., Suite 700 in Rocklin, closed Sunday after a year-and-a-half in business. Slow-cooked pork belly musubi, galbi plates with garlic noodles and chadol baegi (Korean brisket) fries were hallmarks of the Blue Oaks Town Center concept.