Damn Good Frozen Custard from Scooter's in Chicago
All right, you Chicagoans past and present, admit it: Chicago is a great food city, one of my top three in the world, but it's a lousy ice cream and frozen custard 'burg. Yeah, you got Margie's Candies, which is cool and soulful, but it's more nostalgic and emotionally resonant than seriously delicious, and other than that you don't have much in the way of ice cream. You don't have the hometown equivalent of a Brigham's (Boston) or Graeter's (Cincinnati).
And as far as frozen custard is concerned, until fairly recently you had to go to a neighboring standout frozen custard state, Wisconsin, to get your frozen custard fix—pretty interesting considering Wisconsin is a little more of an hour from many parts of Chicago.
All of which brings me to Scooter's, a six-year-old, seasonally open (it stays open until the second Friday after Thanksgiving and then reopens the first Friday in March), self-described mom-and-pop frozen custard shop in Chicago that this serious eater was turned on to by our own Michael Nagrant.
Operating blind (we didn't get it together to reach out to Nagrant, who was out of town), Robyn and I, accompanied by Robyn's friends Rose and James, ordered five things. I have to say I ordered brilliantly because everything I ordered was killer.
The Boston Shake ($5.45) is regular 16-ounce milkshake or malt topped with one scoop of vanilla custard, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. It's available in chocolate, vanilla, Irish mint, and coffee. I ordered the vanilla, which was just about perfect. Scooter's basic vanilla custard is creamy, smooth, and plenty vanilla-y. It's not fancypants artisanal frozen custard—it's just good. I have no idea why it's called a Boston Shake, and a phone conversation with Scooter's co-owner Denny Moore didn't really shed any light on the subject.
The "Coconut Cream Pie" Concrete ($4.19) consists of sweet, flaky toasted coconut and graham cracker pie crust chunks mixed with vanilla frozen custard and topped with—what else—a shot of whipped cream.
The menu description for the strawberry concrete ($4.24) says: "Our fabulous strawberries gently hand mixed with vanilla frozen custard so as to not damage the precious fruit." Again, the fresh strawberries probably aren't local, but they sure tasted intensely strawberry-ish.
The Peanut Butter Fudge Sundae ($4.99) is made with "all natural liquid peanut butter" (what does that mean—is it like a peanut butter extract?), hot fudge, whipped cream, crunchy peanuts, and a cherry. Again, nothing bought from the farmers' market, but it didn't matter. It was just so damn creamy and delicious. We didn't leave a bite, even though we weren't that hungry after eating at Honey1 BBQ and Hot Doug's before we set foot in Scooter's.
Coffee Toffee frozen custard was the flavor of the day, and it was blessedly not too sweet.
If you find yourself in Chicago in need of a frozen custard fix, head to Scooter's. They do custard right, so you can save yourself a trip to Milwaukee.
Scooter's Frozen Custard
1658 West Belmont Avenue, Chicago, IL 60657 (map)
773-244-2615
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16 Comments:
Seriously, please try Ruth & Phil's Gourmet Ice Cream. I will admit that the owner is a friend of mine, and it's located in an out of the way 'hood north of Lincoln Square, but I promise it is the BEST ice cream in Chicago. Completely handmade from scratch, unique flavors like pear apple cider champagne sorbet and sour cream cinnamon ice cream, it is worth a trip!
http://www.sweetcollective.com/
happyscrappy at 7:28PM on 09/10/09
As much as I love custard, you can't write an article about frozen treats in Chicago and not mention The Original Rainbow Cone! Rainbow Cone is a classic in Chicago. Chocolate, Strawberry, Orange sherbert, Pamler House and Pistachio piled high on a homemade waffle cone...Heaven in Beverly.
9233 S Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60643
(773) 238-7075
PS - If any frozen custard groupies find themselves in the Champaign-Urbana area, stop at Jarlings Custard Cup. Yum!
rmalino2 at 8:06PM on 09/10/09
I'm thinking it's called a "Boston" because of the famous Boston Cream Pie. You know, vanilla cake with vanilla pastry cream, and then iced with chocolate fondant stuff. So maybe that's why, but that's just my guess.
KWBrown at 8:12PM on 09/10/09
Busted link to Scooter's (apostrophe in URL)
davidyy at 9:14PM on 09/10/09
also, it's .com not .net
davidyy at 9:18PM on 09/10/09
Reading this makes me want to drive 4.5 hours south to Ted Drewes. Is it Great Pumpkin time yet?
abbazaba at 10:16PM on 09/10/09
Given the temps in Chicago, I'm not surprised it isn't an ice cream mecca.
HeartofGlass at 5:33AM on 09/11/09
@rmalino2 - amen.
also, while i don't live near any of the bobtail ice cream joints, the once or twice i've gotten ice cream from them it's been good.
anysuchname at 10:33AM on 09/11/09
@Heartofglass... except that in northerly climes like Wisconsin and Boston, ice cream/frozen custard is huge all year round; I hold that eating frozen dessert in mid-winter is a great way to adapt to the cold.
emilydev at 10:34AM on 09/11/09
Love's Yogurt is actually my favorite frozen yogurt in Chicago. Granted it's more of a suburban thing but it's so good!
Chew on That at 5:31PM on 09/11/09
@emilydev--kind of like building up your tolerance, eh?
I can't speak to Wisconsin, but in Boston, actually, ice cream consumption was only really huge during the summer when I lived there...I am just not one of those people who can eat ice cream when it is below, well, 80 degrees.
HeartofGlass at 8:44PM on 09/11/09
Chicago - top three world food cities? What are you're other two?
swaniker at 4:14PM on 09/12/09
LOOOOVE Scooters--right down the street from me, we go there every couple weeks at least!
BetterWithButter at 8:16PM on 09/12/09
Well said, Mr. Ed. Scooter's also makes the best chocolate malts, period. The owners are lovely people. And the staff will give a free mini-cone to your dog (vanilla only) if you ask nicely. As a former Cheesehead, it pains me to say this, but Scooter's may have the best frozen custard on the planet.
ZFiasco at 6:50PM on 09/14/09
Fantastic treat on the North-side! Creamiest frozen treat around with fresh, distinct flavors to meet the needs of all patrons. Unfortunately, there is no "go-to", gotta have it ice-cream parlor in the city of Chicago that does not serve up a small portion with a large price tag. If you're looking for fanTasTic frozen custard...Scooter's is THE place. But, if you're looking for a true "ice-cream parlor" with excellent, time-tested flavors...The Plush Horse in the Southwest suburb of Palos Park is the place to be! The Plush Horse has the best chocolate chip ice-cream I have ever had....and this comes from someone who orders Grater's (Ohio) regularly! Enjoy!
DuffC at 9:14PM on 09/14/09
Couldn't agree more about The Plush Horse in Palos Park. I discovered the place quite by accident, visiting a customer who lives there. A good old fashioned ice cream parlor with tons of flavors and very friendly service, it's hard to go wrong. They've been there a long time.
I live in the northwest suburbs and love Greg's Frozen Custard in Mundelein, on Lake St. (Rt. 45) just north of Rt. 60. The place is amazing! I understand the guy who owns the place used to work at Leon's in Milwaukee (one of the most famous places around) and copied their recipes. A customer of mine from Milwaukee who goes to Leon's all the time had nothing but great things to say, that it was every bit as good as Leon's. Check Greg's out! They post their daily flavors on custardlist.com
brian2 at 8:54PM on 11/08/09