(1888PressRelease)
August 17, 2007 - Pudding police Denville officer opens unique dessert store with a 'Miami Vice' flair Thursday, July 19, 2007 Denville police officer Ken McEvoy has spent most of his life dealing with vice. Now he's taking on rice. Pudding, that is. His Miami Rice Pudding Co. on First Avenue in Denville, which opened June 3, offers 35 flavors of the dessert -- 14 on any given day. "I'm addicted to the chocolate rice pudding," said Melissa Signorile of Stanhope. "It's just so good. My husband is addicted to the Miami Rice Fat Free Yogurt." The what? Miami Rice Fat Free Yogurt is a soft-serve cross between yogurt and gelato and soon will be featured with fresh fruit and in green tea flavor.
One night the 50-year-old McEvoy and his wife, Linda, were talking about what they would do after he retires from the police force. On a whim they mixed rice pudding with strawberries and liked it. They tried pineapple, then chocolate, and that's how the whole thing started.
The couple -- with partners Chris and Denise Dale and Ann and Joe Lowell, all of Denville -- came up with the concept of fusing flavors and then a name and a logo. "Me being a police officer, we were thinking 'Miami Vice,' 'Miami Vice' ... 'Miami Rice'!" McEvoy said. The logo is a grain of rice dressed like Don Johnson in the 'Miami Vice' TV show, complete with white suit and sunglasses. The partners also made the eatery into a franchise. While the Denville store is the only one in the nation now, three more are scheduled to open in Las Vegas in September. Others will appear in Florida, Michigan, Delaware, and Middlesex and Ocean counties in New Jersey. As fun as the name is, the real magic of Miami Rice Pudding Co. comes in playing with flavors.
A research and development lab in Chicago works with Miami Rice to develop balanced tastes in which the added flavor does not overpower the pudding. Most work. But not all. Guava was a failed experiment. "We unanimously voted it down," McEvoy said. "It was just terrible." Flavors featured this month-- they always rotate -- are traditional, gingerbread, Key lime, blueberry, pumpkin, chocolate chip mint, banana, pistachio, strawberry, chocolate, pineapple, coffee, cannoli, cheesecake, maple, pecan praline, coconut creme, cheesecake and tapioca. Some flavors are seasonal. Look for cotton candy later this month and candy cane during the holidays. They all come in nine sizes. Linda McEvoy has created special pudding presentations -- South Beach (traditional rice pudding, caramel, whipped cream and a biscotti cookie), Day at the Beach (chocolate rice pudding, coconut and whipped cream) and Old Fashioned (traditional rice pudding, raisins, cinnamon and whipped cream). Miami Rice also makes smoothies, floats, soft serve ice cream, yolato and sundaes. Like any business, the Miami Rice Pudding Co. ran into snags. "At first the City of Miami contested our logo," McEvoy said. "They wanted something next to the word 'Miami.'" The partners believe their product has wide, enduring appeal.
Rice pudding can be eaten cold or warm, McEvoy pointed out, and there is a form of it in every culture. "It also has half the calories and two-thirds the fat of ice cream," McEvoy said. "It is gluten free and there are no trans fats." Whipping up a smoothie for a customer, Linda McEvoy chimed in. "It's kosher, too," she said. Mazel tov, and pass the pistachio, please. More: Visit www.MiamiRicePuddingCo.com, call (866) 632-8742 or e-mail Ken ( @ ) MiamiRicePuddingco dot com
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