Before you die, you need to visit the Brooklyn Cafe in Minard Road, Shawlands, and give big licks to one of their traditional ice creams.

Don't just take my word for it, although I can certainly think of worse things to be doing when the Grim Reaper presents his calling card.

The Brooklyn's ice cream is to die for, according to Scottish screen writer Sergio Casci.

Sergio won a Scottish Bafta for his first feature film American Cousins, which drew on his own Italian connections. The wee shop with worldwide reputation

THE Colpis know their product is special... but even they were surprised to hear Scots were pining for their ice cream on the other side of the world.

"My grandson was in New Zealand and he heard an interview on the radio with ex-pats." explained Rudi Colpi.

"He was astounded to hear they missed our ice cream more than anything else from Scotland,"

Rudi, whose father Rudolfo founded the family business in 1928 explained that exiles who stay closer to home go to great lengths to convey their ice cream tubs safely into their freezers.

"Scots who now live in London come in with their carriers and ice packs to take our ice cream back home.

"We have a regular customer from North Berwick who comes in to buy half a dozen two litre cartons a time," says Rudi, who is 76 and still runs the show in partnership with his son, Martin, 43.

The Colpis have outlets at Milngavie and at the Clyde shopping centre, where they have a typical Italian gelaterie. They also supply shops and delis.

They have stuck to the recipe that Rudolfo bequeathed them and that's what keeps the customers loyal. Well-known fans of the far too more-ish ice cream include golfer Sandy Lyle, Lord Gordon of Strathblane, the founder of Radio Clyde, and broadcasters Alan Douglas and Viv Lumsden.

"There are very few of us still making ice cream as we did in the old days," says Rudi.

"Everyone uses powdered milk in the manufacture now whereas we only use full-cream milk straight from the farm every day. It's a lot more bother and a lot more expensive but it's worth it.

"You have to look at the weather each morning to decide how much fresh milk you're going to need that day."

Rudi's father was just 14-year-old when he first came over from the village of Padivarma near La Spezia in the Ligurian area of northern Italy to work in the Bay Cafe in Gourock, where he picked up the art of making Italian ice cream.

During World War One, he returned to Italy to join up when the country came out on the side of Britain, France and Russia.

After the war, he returned and in 1928 he saw his chance when a new cinema opened in Main Street, Milngavie.

He opened his first shop selling ice cream, sweets and cigarettes.

The ice cream may be traditional but Rudi is grateful they no longer have to use the old methods.

"We had a very large container filled with milk sitting on a gas stove burner and we had to stir the other ingredients in and keep stirring."

But it's a dying art, he says. "There must only be a fraction of the old Italian cafes there used to be and so many have given up manufacturing their own ice cream."

He puts a visit to the Brooklyn at number 38 on a list of 100 things to do before the inevitable.

"Buy a double nougat with raspberry sauce and sprinkles," he suggests (the Brooklyn has proudly printed his words on their menu cards).

"Walk to Queens Park, round the duck pond and back again, by which time you should be ready for another one."

The Brooklyn can also boast some famous fans such as TV and radio kids' favourite Glen Michael, newsreader Kirsty Young, and TV presenter Carol Smillie are all fans.

Members of the band Texas used to pop in for an ice cream when they were in the recording studio round the corner.

The Brooklyn has been in the Pelosi family since 1931 and is now run by 43-year-old David.

There are several theories about the name. Take your pick.

"It might have been the American influence because a lot of Canadian and American soldiers came over between the wars importing the soda fountain and doughnuts," says David.

"But Brooklyn was the main destination for Italian immigrants to American and Glasgow was the main stopping-off point. Also Brooklyn is near the Queens District and we have Queen's Park next to us."

It was David's grandfather Domenico who started it all, although David never knew him.

"All I know is that he was a very hard worker and very good to his staff and customers."

Domenico arrived in Bangor, Wales, from the village of Picinisco in the mountains south east of Rome in the early years of the 20th century.

"He came from a big family and some of his brothers came over too. They worked in small businesses such as monkey organ grinding," says David.

The brothers eventually moved to Scotland. Domenico noticed that the Italians running ice cream businesses needed something to boost their sales in the winter.

Domenico soon found himself running one of the first confectionery and tobacco wholesalers.

He opened a cafe in London Road, Bridgeton, in 1917 and the Brooklyn in 1931.

His eldest son Arturo started an ice cream factory and today his granddaughter Carol, David's cousin, runs the Pelosi Ice Cream Company based in Rutherglen, which supplies the cafe with the milk mix which they freeze on site.

"Milk and sugar are the main ingredients," says David with a grin. He's giving no more away.

David's father Dolfi (Adolfo) was one of Domenico and his wife Antonetta's five sons.

He ran the Brooklyn in partnership with his brother, Michael.

But Dolfi died in 1979 and when Michael died David's mother, Jean, had to take on the cafe with the help of her children.

David started working in the cafe in his teens and began building it up to the restaurant it is today.

"At that time, it was very much an old-fashioned cafe with ice cream and lots of different sweets," he says.

"We get lots of people coming in and reminiscing about how they met their future wives or husbands at the skating at Crossmyloof where Morrisons is now.

"That was a very big draw from all parts of the city and the Brooklyn Cafe became quite a meeting place for them.

"Supermarkets take more and more away from us every year. But if you were to weigh even the gourmet supermarket ice cream and ours, you would find that ours would be much heavier a litre."

The cafe suffered a major setback when the bridge was closed for a year and Minard Street went from being on a main artery to a near dead-end.

"People got out of the habit of coming and it wasn't till the beginning of this year we started to feel we were back on the right road," says David ruefully.

He is his own best customer though. David and his wife Jenny have four children under five, including twin boys of 18 months, and once the kids are all in bed, and they have time to themselves, they head for the freezer.

"We'll have an ice cream and something with it - jelly babies, chocolate or toffee sauces, strawberries, raspberries.

"You can put bananas in it or cookies." David adds. "All you need is imagination."