In the United States, one of the most familiar ice cream deserts is the ice cream sundae. A typical sundae consists of a dish of ice cream topped with sauce or syrup (often chocolate, caramel, butterscotch, or strawberry-flavored), chopped peanuts, whipped cream, and a maraschino cherry.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin of the term sundae is obscure. Various American localities claim the invention of ice cream topped with syrup. Thomas Jefferson enjoyed maple syrup on a dish of vanilla ice cream, which sounds like a sundae although the name wasn't invented until later. The newspaperman H. L. Mencken reported that the sundae was invented in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, although he later admitted that this was a hoax. Other sources state that the ice cream sundae originated in Plainfield, Illinois; Evanston, Illinois; New York City; New Orleans, Louisiana; Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; or Ithaca, New York.
Of the many stories about the invention of the sundae, one common theme is the sinfulness of the Ice Cream Soda and the need to produce a substitute for the popular treat for consumption on Sunday.
There is currently a heated debate between Ithaca and Two Rivers over which city has the right to claim the title "birthplace of the ice cream sundae." Ithaca mayor Carolyn K. Peterson has received over 30 postcards since June 27, 2006 from Two Rivers residents claiming that their city is the birthplace of the sundae. The postcards were in response to Peterson's official proclamation June 26th at Purity Ice Cream that Ithaca had proof to call the sundae its own.Laura Zaichkin, "Sundae wars continue between Ithaca and Two Rivers," Ithaca Journal, June 30, 2006
Two Rivers' claim is based on the story of George Hallauer asking Edward C. Berner, the owner of Berner's Soda Fountain, to drizzle chocolate syrup over ice cream in 1881. Berner eventually did and wound up selling the treat for a nickel, originally only on Sundays, but later every day. According to this story, the spelling changed when a glass salesman ordered canoe-shaped dishes. When Berner died in 1939, the Chicago Tribune headlined his obituary "Man Who Made First Ice Cream Sundae Is Dead."
Supporting Ithaca's claim, Gretchen Sachse of Tompkins County, New York and the DeWitt Historical Society provides this account of how the sundae came to be: One hot Sunday afternoon in 1891 in Ithaca, New York, John M. Scott, a Unitarian Church pastor, and Chester Platt, Platt & Colt Pharmacy partner, created the first known sundae. Mr. Platt covered dishes of ice cream with syrup and candied cherries on a whim. The Platt & Colt soda fountain featured sundaes thereafter. The first documented advertisement for a "Cherry Sunday" was placed in the Ithaca Daily Journal in 1892 by Chester Platt.