The next time you have a hankering for a few kilos of home-made ice cream, or for an adventure through Bayader’s automotive industrial district, head on over to Casper Italian Ice Cream.

The one catch is that you’d never know it was there unless someone told you exactly where to go.  So for locals, or intrepid visitors to Amman, let’s start there.

Take Queen Zein Street west, towards Airport Road (away from City Center), then keep going.  You’ll next pass King Abdullah II Street, where Queen Zein turns into Al-Sina’ah Street, but keep heading straight.  Go through two more lights, then at the next circle, just at the pedestrian overpass, make a u-turn and your first right, just at the corner vegetable market.  Follow this road straight (for those who’ve been there, you’ll pass the road on the left that leads to Desert Rose Holy Land Designs), then pass the fire station on your right, and come to a triangular traffic “circle” (you’ll recognize it, trust me).  Make a hard left here.  Follow this road and take your third left.  The road will quickly turn right and on your left you’ll see number 12, with a small “Casper” sign above the door.   Walk up to the second floor and follow the hallway around to the Casper door (written in Arabic, but look for the tiny ice cream sticker on the door).  And yes, it does feel a bit like you're heading to see the Oracle to find out your fate.  Ring the bell and enter.

The owner is Marwan and they have a wide selection of all flavors of home-made ice cream, from chocolate mousse to cheesecake to Twix and tiramisu.  The one catch is that they only sell it in tub-sizes – three kilos each – and the prices range from 12-16JD per tub, depending on the specialty.  The good news is that you can re-use the tubs for geraniums in the Spring or for apple bobbing in the Fall.

Unfortunately, also, there’s no taste-testing.  However, I think a great summertime treat might be a neighborhood block-party type taste-testing.  Let everyone get a spoonful of some of their 70 flavors.  Then when you’ve chosen your favorite, pile up the kids and head on over to Bayader for your very own personal tub (and maybe a muffler or two).  Do note that their hours are 10:00am to 5:00pm, Saturday through Thursday (closed Fridays).  Now, who wants ice cream?!?!