I lived out in Oregon for more than a decade before moving home to the Cape in 2022. My husband and I often planned trips here around the Fourth of July, but I could never bring myself to go to a restaurant — or really anywhere — during that holiday weekend. Relaxing with family away from the crowds was what I craved — that and a tradition we referred to as “lobsterfest.”
The menu for our fest featured brioche buns stuffed with juicy lobster meat; we followed a treasured recipe photocopied from the now-defunct Gourmet magazine. Its secrets: instead of mayo, use olive oil; instead of plain diced celery, add the stalk’s leafy greens. Dessert was always the inelegant but beloved Friendly’s Wattamelon roll — a lemon-lime sorbet “rind” surrounding watermelon sherbet and studded with semi-sweet chocolate “seeds.”
Although the Friendly’s restaurant near the Orleans rotary closed in 2005, you could still find the roll at Stop & Shop. It was hard to miss in its lurid green and pink cardboard box.
That is, until the year we moved back, when it disappeared. We had our first Wattamelon-less lobsterfest. And the next year, it was missing again.
The internet told me that Friendly’s had discontinued its dessert rolls in 2021. People were not happy. I found a slew of increasingly desperate Facebook posts and Reddit threads, along with a change.org petition signed by nearly 3,000 distressed Wattamelon-roll lovers.
Last summer, in response, Friendly’s introduced a new Wattamelon sherbet cake. The cake is much smaller than the original roll and covered in thick green fondant. This did not please the online dissidents: “Fondant on sherbet is gross! Bring back the old recipe.”
Ahead of this year’s lobsterfest, I decided to DIY my own version of the roll. How hard could it be? (asks the woman who has never made sorbet and does not own an ice cream maker).
I researched blender-only recipes. The basic ingredients were usually the same: frozen fruit, sweetener, and water or juice. But some suggested using sweetened condensed coconut milk to give the sorbet a creamier texture. I cut up half a ripe watermelon, freezing the slices on a sheet pan. Upon first blend, the frozen watermelon was more of an icy granita, but adding the coconut milk brought it around to the desired creaminess. It was sickly pale pink, so I tossed in some frozen strawberries to punch up the hue. Then I transferred the mixture to a lidded container and into the freezer to firm up overnight.
The lemon sorbet I wanted to make for a rind was more of a gamble. Quite a few recipes suggested using store-bought lemon juice and, again, the coconut milk. I blended and carefully transferred the liquid concoction to the freezer, went to bed, and hoped for the best.
The next morning, I was rewarded with rock-hard containers of sorbet. I hacked the lemon mixture into chunks and blended again until smooth. It was very tart and for a fleeting moment I wondered if it should take a boozy turn with the addition of vodka. But I forged soberly ahead and created a sort of melon armature, using techniques from ceramic sculpture.
I rolled a tea towel lengthwise and coiled it inside a lidded container to create an oval cavity. Then I topped it with a sheet of parchment paper to ensure easy removal, slopped in the sorbet about a half-inch thick, put it into the freezer to set, and turned to the watermelon sorbet.
Here, I was delighted. It was soft and scoopable right from the container. Tangy yet sweet, with delicate watermelon flavor at the fore. I filled up my lemon-flavored faux rind and put the whole thing in to chill one more time.
In a flash of inspiration, I decided that sweet matcha would be a good substitute for the green mystery powder on the original roll. So, an hour later, after I flipped the dessert onto a platter, I sprinkled matcha on top and went to find my family for the big reveal.
In the few minutes it took to gather folks, the matcha dissolved to a dark green color and took on an algae-slicked look. This was not a Wattamelon roll but a Sorbet Sea Slug. There were a few obliging bites before everyone confessed that the lemon was too puckeringly sour to eat.
The watermelon sorbet on its own, though, was delicious. My ill-fated slug used only one container’s worth, so I have plenty left over. Come the Fourth, I think I’ll serve scoops of it dusted with matcha, toast the Wattamelon rolls of summers past, and sign the change.org petition.
NOT A WATTAMELON (a.k.a. WATERMELON-STRAWBERRY SORBET)
Makes 12 servings
Half a large watermelon; roughly 4 to 5 cups sliced pulp, frozen
½ cup water
⅔ cup sweetened condensed coconut milk
½ cup frozen strawberries
Sweet matcha powder, as a garnish
- Blend the frozen watermelon, water, and sweetened condensed coconut milk on high, adding the watermelon in batches until creamy.
- Add frozen strawberries, blending until sorbet turns a deep pink.
- Transfer the mixture to a container, cover, and freeze overnight.
- Remove from freezer and let sorbet soften until easily scoopable.
- Dust with matcha if desired and serve.
