oh my gods, do people know about this?

There comes a point in the ice cream aficianado's life when she is elevated from novice to conoisseur. On the brink of womanhood, she meets one more experienced in earthly delights, who lovingly, gently pulls away her pint of Ben and Jerry's and replaces it with Haagen-Dasz. She never forgets that moment, that hot summer of velvety frozen delights.

She might place it in the back of her mind, though, compartmentalized, rationalized. What sort of place could such gauzy, meltaway pleasure keep in the grimly determined world of career and adulthood?

But if she's lucky, one day, seeking nutritious Kashi waffles in her local grocer's frozen section like a practical woman, she'll wander across the aisle and open a door. On the chilly currents of air she'll catch a whiff of hot New Mexico summer breezes. There before her will stand rows of golden Haagen-Dasz containers, glowing with calories and joy. And there, before her, a new flavor with an exotic name: Mayan Chocolate. Silky-rich, dark chocolate ice cream with warm-flavored cinnamon. She is transported to an ancient place of mystery and sensual delight. The floodgates of pleasure open again, life saturated with color and music.