Coffee cabinet

A coffee cabinet is an ice cream-based beverage found almost exclusively in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. In this region, a milkshake is simply flavored milk, while a cabinet has flavored ice cream and flavored syrup in it, as well. A coffee cabinet, then, consists of coffee ice cream combined with coffee syrup and milk. The ingredients are mixed in a drink blender or milkshake blender.

In recent years, it has become more difficult to find an authentic cabinet, but many Rhode Island creameries still serve them, including Delekta's Pharmacy in Warren, and the Original Vanilla Bean in South Kingstown. Newport Creamery, a chain of family restaurants found almost exclusively in Rhode Island, serves cabinets under a different name known as an "Awful Awful" (known elsewhere in New England as a Frappe).

As with downcity, the etymology of this term is unknown. One common, but unsubstantiated explanation is that the soda jerk or pharmacist kept the coffee syrup in one of the polished wooden cabinets behind the counter.

An alternate etymological theory, also unsubstantiated, derives from the distinctive accent local to Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Similar to the more famous Boston accent, this accent tends to drop "r"s, but sounds a bit different. "Car" is pronounced as "cah" in Boston, but more like "caa" in Rhode Island. "Carbonate" (soda) may be pronounced more like "cabinet." It's possible, then, that the word "cabinet" may have originally referred to an ice cream soda.

See also

• Coffee milk