Ice Ice Baby: Superstar Vanilla Ice strolls into Sixty Six resturant in Thomasville

{Contributed photo}

Customers and waitstaff recount him as “Cool as Ice.” When rapper, film and reality star Robert Matthew Van Winkle, known professionally as Vanilla Ice, casually strolled into the Sixty Six Thomasville restaurant, servers immediately rushed to their cell phones to compare photos.

Sixty Six Grill & Taphouse, located at 1037 Randolph St., describes itself as a “lively restaurant.” Manager Jessica Rodriguez said the menu includes a mixture of selections from burgers to brisket to Mediterranean. Ice is reported to be a vegetarian, according to Wikipedia. The details of his meal order are being highly guarded by the restaurant staff.

“We knew immediately. They pulled up pictures and it looked just like him,” Rodriguez explained. “Let’s just wait. Let them eat.” The team described Ice as “really nice” and “humble.” After paying his bill, the celebrity offered to take group photos with the waitstaff.

It was reported that Vanilla Ice was heading to perform at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Alton, VA.

Vanilla Ice, 55, is best known for his 1990 hit "Ice Ice Baby" and his cover of "Play That Funky Music" from his album entitled Vanilla Ice. In 1991, the star appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.

The rapper has faced layers of controversy including a multi-million-dollar law suit for using the bass line of Queen/David Bowie’s song “Under Pressure” in his 1990 hit “Ice, Ice Baby.” Vanilla Ice bought the rights. He also acknowledges that the chorus of "Ice Ice Baby" originates from the signature chant of the United States’ oldest African American fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha. Public clarity related to rights and royalties remains unclear.

Vanilla Ice made several comebacks from harsh criticism. He competed in Dancing with the Stars season 23. Ice was eliminated fourth round and finished tenth place overall in the competition. Fans of Ice will relish that the famous “Ninja Rap” will appear in the new 2023 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

The visit proved to be a learning opportunity for the waitstaff at Sixty Six. “This just goes to show that you never know who is going to take our exit off the highway,” Rodriguez said. Fans or not, she confessed to being impressed by her staff’s level of professionalism. “They did a great job.”