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In my hometown, there used to be a family restaurant/ice cream parlor named Bridgeman’s. The place was famous for its “diner” food and malteds. The kind of eatery where they have a counter with stools, loads of booths and an area just for eating ice cream.

They had a sundae on their menu called the Lalapalooza. We’re talking six scoops of ice cream. Two vanilla, two chocolate, two strawberry. Every kind of sauce you can image: chocolate, pineapple, butterscotch, strawberry. A whole banana. Nuts, whipped cream and the obligatory cherry on top.

One night, my grandma Rosemary took me and a friend there for dinner. I probably ate a cheeseburger and fries. Seeing that Rosie liked to spoil me, she had no problem with me ordering the Lalapalooza for dessert.

One of the incentives of finishing the behemoth: a button. The waitress would pin a button onto your shirt. You could exit the establishment head high, button glistening under the lights.

Looking back now, I’m not sure how I was able to stomach that much ice cream AFTER eating a meal. Most people would share a Lalapalooza. Going it along was intestinal suicide.

But I dug in, the spoon shoveling the dessert into my mouth. Eating quickly so as not to notice how full I was becoming. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry. Bananas, chocolate sauce, nuts, butterscotch. Mouthful after mouthful, I attacked that gigantic dish with a vengeance. With a purpose.

To leave Bridgeman’s with a button. With a smile.

Of course, I left with the trinket, a smile AND a stomach ache.

Oh, I also went to Lollapalooza in the Twin Cities during the summer of 1994. Here are some songs by some bands that played that year.

Smashing Pumpkins - Soma Soma, Mayonaise Mayonaise

The Beastie Boys - Sabotage Sabotage, Get It Together (with Q-Tip) Get It Together (with Q-Tip)

George Clinton - Atomic Dog Atomic Dog, Flashlight Flashlight

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Do You Love Me? Do You Love Me?

A Tribe Called Quest - Check The Rhyme Check The Rhyme