The "Mini Cone" at Pepperjack's in Laurel

Have dessert before dinner if you stop at the Pepperjack deli south of Rte 216 in Laurel.

This is your standard soft serve -- vanilla, chocolate or swirl. The beauty of Pepperjack is that they serve a tiny kid's size. About a dollar for a few inches of ice cream.

That's a snack, not dessert. I have eaten more of a Duchess milkshake while waiting at a red light than Pepperjack swirls on that tiny cone. It's a great treat to lick down even while you carry your sandwich home.

I have written before about Pepperjack's Italian sandwiches. This is one of those local joints for an ice cream on a summer night.

Pepperjacks Deli

10919 Scaggsville Road

Laurel, MD 20723

301-490-7998

NEAR: This is just south of Rte 216 and just east of Rte 29. From Rte 216, you turn south at the light for Crest Road. Then turn right in about a block when Crest deadends into Scaggsville Road. Pepperjacks is on the left a few hundred feet from that intersection.