Classic Foods and Cocktails Invented in the San Francisco Bay Area | Eater SF

"The Bay Area’s iconic chocolate-dipped ice cream cookie sandwich was born at San Francisco’s answer to Coney Island, Playland-by-the-Beach. There, at a no-name refreshment stand, George Whitney was inspired in 1928 to sandwich a scoop of ice cream between two oatmeal cookies, and cover the whole thing in dark chocolate. The treat became an instant hit, and eventually the ice cream stand would get a sign above it that said “This is IT,” which would ultimately lead to the sandwich’s odd name. It wasn’t until the 1970s, after the demolition of Playland, that the name and recipe were sold to its current owners, the Shamieh family, who opened the company’s existing production facility south of the city in Burlingame. Demand would only grow as IT’S-ITs showed up in stores far from Ocean Beach, and now the factory produces and packs 100,000 sandwiches a day, in eight different flavors." - Jay C. Barmann