Old School Frozen Custard

It's that time of year when people enjoy chilled drinks and frozen desserts. Capitol Hill now has a few places to enjoy ice cream and its distant cousins frozen and CUSTARD.

Read some old posts and you will see that frozen custard is a childhood favorite of mine and the only place I really get to enjoy it is when I go back to visit my family in Wisconsin. When I was a kid I pretty much thought it was a given that you would always get smooth, rich and creamy custard when going out for frozen treats. After living on the West Coast for several years, I realized that wasn't true. Welcome to the neighborhood Old School Frozen Custard.

L. had yet to visit this spot so after dinner we walked up the hill to try it out.

Walking up to the spot, I saw that Chocolate Peanut Butter was the flavor of the day. Now, even as a kid I stuck to straight vanilla but I wanted to see what this was all about since I have already sampled the vanilla. Everyday they offer vanilla and chocolate along with a special flavor.

When we got there it wasn't crowded and the staff were ready to help us. The menu is big and at lunch time you have the option of getting down on Nathan's hotdogs. The custard options vary from cups, cones to sundaes. You have several topping choices and blended dessert if you want to get down like that. Check out their whole menu here.

Like I said, I decided on the chocolate and peanut butter and decided on the cake cone. I was happy that it held that creamy and smooth texture that I love about custard but their is something about Kopps that nobody is coming close to. What was missing from this custard is the richness that I truly love. L. went with the plain chocolate in the waffle cone.

I think he shared my sentiments about the custard because he too has been to the holy land of Kopps. Special flavors rotate all month and I snapped a quick pick of the July calendar...I immediately realized I wish I was going today to try that coconut! They also have the flavor calendar online.

Also hiding in the massive open counter is a small freezer which contains pints of special flavors from days past. I looked for coconut, but no dice.

The decor on the walls are vintage looking photos of local schools. I seriously did not realize why they had all those school pictures up until I left...WOW.

It's hard to be that excited that custard is right here when it makes me miss the GOD of custard, but I am happy to have the choice here on the hill.

1316 E Pike
Sun-Thurs 12-10pm
Fri-Sat 12-11pm

st demetrios greek festival

last weekend A. called me up asking if i wanted to go to st. demetrios. i replied, "for what?!?" every september st. demetrios (a greek church in montlake, btw), holds a greek festival as their major, annual fundraiser which includes food, music, dancing, a "this-and-that" shop, and other greek groceries. i thought it would be fun, so M., A., and i were off to soggy montlake in the rain.

as soon as we walked in, i purchased 30 tokens to use at all the different food stalls under the big top. M. and i started with dolmades, spanakopita, and a simple salad. everything was good, but nothing was superb. i didn't have super high expectations since i knew it was a fundraiser, and it would be food prep on a huge scale. i enjoyed the comforting grape leaves, tangy salad (high on the cheese quotient!), but the spanakopita was a little sad. it could have used a little bit of salt and a lotta bit of crispness. it was soggy, and that wasn't ideal, but it didn't stop me from finishing it, oh no.

A. got the souvlaki, which came with a little bun to eat the skewered lamb with. apparently there was a vat of oil and sauce that the server dipped the skewer in right before serving, and A. went back to the stall to ask for a little dish of that sauce. instead he returned with a bun dipped in the sauce. why? i'm not quite sure.

M. also tried the gyro (it was either that or a lamb sandwich). it looked pretty damn good. they had quite the machine of younger boys assembling those jammies with toasted pita, sauce, tomato, onion, and gyro patties.

right before we left, i had to snap a picture of the whole lamb they just put on the spit to roast. epic!

after we wandered around the church grounds for a little bit (A. bought a bag of olives and a block of cheese), we ended up at the dessert station. we went with the kataifi, which is basically a nest of phyllo threads wrapped around walnuts and sugar, then flooded with honey. i also chose the standard baklava, just because i had to. the baklava was intensely buttery, a little soft (i think in part due to the humidity), but the kataifi was insanely sweet. there was far too much syrup on the bottom, so i just avoided that part.

thanks for the greek tastes last weekend, st demetrios!

My parking lot prejudice did me wrong

a few nights ago, one of my best friends, who was visiting for her sister's graduation, invited to me to enjoy italian food with her lovely family. for several reasons, i had never dined at grazie in all my years living in the area. first, this place is located in a lonely corner of the giant factoria mall parking lot; i never heard anything, good or bad, about this place; and it was in general, just off my radar. little did i know that it was my bff's little sister's favorite restaurant! what a treat!

as we were parking, S noticed that there was smoke billowing out the top of the small building....apparently they roast their own coffee there; no cause for alarm. the restaurant was filled with that rich, intoxicating coffee aroma. our party of 5 was seated in a mafioso-style corner booth; complete with quilted leather cushions.

the requisite bread and oil appeared on the table soon after, and it was very pleasant. the bread was pretty standard, nothing special, but the red pepper flakes and fresh garlic in the olive oil were a nice touch. one thing i did notice about the table was that our server cleared the salt and pepper shakers off the table after she brought the antipasti plate, never to return. very interesting.

E ordered the antipasti plate for the table, which is a chef's choice sort of deal. that day we had a variety of cheeses, including an emmental of some sort, a smoked provolone, and asiago; a couple different kinds of salame; a caprese salad; a skewer of grilled chicken seasoned with pepper and oregano; and some spreads, including a salmon mousse, olive tapenade, and a chopped roasted peppers. the plate was pretty impressive and tasty. i don't think we even finished it all before our entrees arrived.

S ordered the pesce special, which was a medium-grilled salmon dish served with a white wine sauce and grazie's signature risotto. S said it was delicious. i had a bit of the salmon and it was perfectly grilled; soft, moist, and flavorful. mmm.

since M was the grad girl, she ordered her absolute favorite dish ever: filetto gorgonzola, which is a seared, balsamic-marinated tenderloin topped with a gorgonzola pan sauce and a nest of fried onions. this dish is usually served with rosemary patate al forno, but M requested the risotto, which is also her favorite. there were no words when it came to this plate; it disappeared entirely, and that was testament enough.

E and i ordered the halibut genovese, which is a grilled fillet topped with basil pesto over tomato fonduta (like a par-cooked salsa). the halibut also came with the parmesan risotto. the halibut was nice. it needed a little bit of salt, but the lemon wedge helped with the overall zestiness of the dish. i'm a little finicky with white fish; it was a little underdone for me in the thickest part, but it would be suitable for most diners. the only thing that i thought could use reworking was the risotto. it was fundamentally well-cooked, in terms of texture and doneness, but it needed major salt and flavor!! i mixed up the tomato fonduta with the risotto, and that was much more enjoyable.


DESSERTS!

below S ordered the pannacotta; her favorite. we were all pretty full from our main courses, but it was a special occasion so we just went for it. the pannacotta was deliciously cool and smooth; the perfect contrast to the fresh berries served with it.

i love sweets, but i'm in general not much of a dessert orderer at restaurants. this place was so old school. everyone else knew what they wanted since they had been to grazie several times before, but i made the mistake of asking what they have. our server was very friendly, so it wasn't her fault, but what ensued was something i had never experienced before. she went over to the front of the house and grabbed the dessert display tray, then went on to explain in great detail all of the different (approx 8) desserts that were available and was able to show me what each one looks like in the process. :) i don't know why this was so hilarious to me at the time, but i could not stop smiling as she directed all her efforts toward me since everyone else was familiar with grazie's offerings.

i went with the torta di frutti, which she explained was imported from italy, oh my!! :) it was quite tasty; a basic pastry shell with a thin layer of creme anglaise overflowing with various frutti di bosco (raspberries, blueberries, marion berries, and blackberries) and then served on top of a generous helping of their house special, marsala cream sauce. mmm. that actually sounds pretty good right about now.


M again went with her favorite; the pistacchio canolo. the waffle tube was filled with tasty, sweetened ricotta, pistacchios, and chocolate. what a great finale to a great evening with friends and family. grazie, i apologize for letting my parking lot prejudice stand in the way of a beautiful friendship.



NB: there are three different grazie locations in the greater seattle area: factoria, southcenter, and canyon park.

Kopp's

Kopp's Frozen Custard was the spot I would beg my mom to take me for any occasion I could think of when I was a kid. My brother and I could always count on my aunt to also take us there because she too was rather big on the spot. I remember trying to eat 2 scoops of frozen custard while it melted all over the backseat of her Gremlin. Growing up I had no idea what a true treasure frozen custard really was....until we moved thousands of miles away from Wisconsin to the wonderful town of Spokane WA. Please.

A recent trip to Milwaukee proved that the same quality and taste is still happening at Kopp's. Now if you haven't ever had frozen custard which is a standard and product of the midwest-- then you are missing out. In comparison to ice cream, custard has additional butterfat and egg yolk giving it a smooth creamy rich texture. Preparation also differs than ice cream through an overrun process that adds less air to the custard than ice cream. On the daily Kopp's serves chocolate and vanilla custard along with an extra flavor of the day. I tend to stick with the vanilla but have been known to venture out if inspired.

Check out other flavors here.

One of the best things about this spot is seeing the custard made right in front of your eyes. When you get served it is so fresh, there is no way any other dessert is coming close to this.


We went to Kopp's twice during our trip. L. was addicted. Below is his first go at it with the chocolate truffle.


Now, I know it will not be the same as getting it fresh but Kopp's will ship you 10 flavors of your choice right to your door. My birthday is right around the corner...midwest express.

crazy bootleg

With all of the brand new condos going up on the Hill, they are also bringing some new restaurants to Broadway besides Pho, Thai food or Indian fare.

I am a huge fan of frozen yogurt so I was patiently waiting for Crazyberry to open. This is the part where I admit that I watch The Hills on MTV and the reason it is relevant is because this past Monday, Lauren and her friend went to Pinkberry. I watched them eat this yogurt in the LA sun and talk about nothing while important things were most likely erased from my memory, only to be filled with curiosity (ie: if Audrina would end up screwing Lauren like Heidi).

Crazyberry is a bootleg Pinkberry. I will say, I never knew about Pinkberry until Monday and have never eaten there but all it takes is one look at the website to see that Pinkberry is the originator. They share the same concept down to the mission of the place. I have read a few reviews about Crazyberry and people are saying that we should be lucky because our "Pinkberry envy prayers" have been answered. Uh, how about someone getting a Pinkberry to open or fuck it a TCBY. This is so Seattle.

Crazyberry took it one step too far, they have a rip off logo that is so similar to Pinkberry, I would not be surprised if they got sued.

I went for the plain yogurt with gummi bears, L. went for the green tea yogurt with pineapple. Both of us got their most likely rip-off signature stick of Pocky. At first I was not into the taste because it is kind of sour but it grew on me. L. was not into it but realized he might have fucked up by not getting chocolate chips with the green tea.

My guess is that we will go back because it is 2 min from our house and like I said I love frozen yogurt. Someone who has eaten at Pinkberry needs to go here and tell me if it is the same thing.