Frozen Custard on Third

[sku]

Binny Loco is a brand new frozen custard place on Third Street, just west of Vermont on the north side of the street.

By brand new, I mean they open today at 3:00, but I stopped in after lunch (I've been eyeing the place) and they were nice enough to give me some samples. They have two custards - vanilla and dulce de leche. Both were very good in an area without a huge amount of frozen dessert options. It will be a great place to catch a custard after a meal at La Morenita or El Palmar, both of which are just a block away.

They are set up to do liquados, lots of toppings and other custard-based desserts, but I'm guessing I'll stick to the plain custard, because it was quite good and frozen custard is just very hard to find in LA.

I'll check back later this week, try some of their other offerings, and give a full report.

[jillso]

Has Silky Smooth also closed down? I don't see them listed on the Beverly Center website anymore. Drats. Why is L.A. such a dead town for ice cream and frozen custard??????

[Mr Taster]

Silky Smooth did indeed close down, just a few months after Pinkberry moved in NEXT DOOR. I really think that was a way for Beverly Center management to push out the kitschy looking independent shop, which didn't exactly fit the trendy/elegant/slave to fashion motif of the Beverly Center. It's really a tragedy... the frozen custard at Silky Smooth was amazingly good.

Mr Taster

[culinarycandy]

As a Silky Smooth devotee, I too was bummed when they closed down. However, the owner told me just before they closed that they planned on relocating to a larger spot at 3rd St and Sweetzer, just a few blocks away. How about that, fits the header of this thread, too!! Let's hope they can reopen soon...

[Mr Taster]

That's great news! I wonder if they'll be in the "J Mart" plaza or the one on the opposite corner?

I'll keep an eye out for it.

Mr Taster

[jackattack]

Silky Smooth is planning to re-open soon at 3rd and Sweetzer. They're going to be offering Organic Ice Creams and Sorbets. We'll see. I love organic, but I don't have good experience with any business that messes with a good thang!

[Peripatetic]

I finally got around to going to Binnie Loco on Friday afternoon, but they were closed. The guard at the strip mall said they were out of business, though there was nothing to confirm this -- furniture and signage was all intact. I've tried calling several times since, and while the phone is still connected, there's been no answer. Does anyone have conclusive information?

[kevin]

Yeah, i'd like to know too, before I make the arduous trek over there. last couple times i visited it was good as closed, although once was late and the other time was on a sunday, and they're always closed on sundays.

[Peripatetic]

A week or two after I posted the number was disconnected, which was conclusive enough for me.

[vedapierce]

My FAVORITE dessert in L.A. this year! Yum Yum! The dolce de leche is incredible -- worth the trip.

[dyippie]

Well we gave Loco a try today. tasty, but not frozen custard. Rather it is custard flavored soft serve like the independent Foster's Freeze type mom and pop's used to sell. If in the neighborhood would get again, but not really frozen custard.

[writebites]

binny loco phone number???

[David R.]

213-387-5511

[JeetJet]

Three of us went yesterday afternoon. We ordered two small frozen vanilla custards and a mango drink on ice. We all agreed that the “custard” was very creamy, rich and ultra smooth. The smoothness reminded each of us of the ice cream at Strickland’s Ice Cream in Irvine and the product sold at that place in the Beverly Center which I think is called “Silky Smooth Ultra Premium Ice Cream,” or something like that. The vanilla flavor was very good also but I think the product has more density than other “frozen custards” that I have tried. IMO this seemed more like a frozen yogurt blended with some good soft-serve ice cream. I also did the “hold the cup upside down test” and it defied gravity as a frozen custard should. We all liked this soft-serve frozen custard and will keep the place in mind when needing a frozen treat when in the area.

We all tasted the mango drink and, in the end, none of us really liked it. We all thought that upon first sipping it there seem to be a chemical flavor. My son said it tasted like Pine-Sol. I thought he was over reacting and at first I liked it because I thought it had a nice mango finish. After several more sips during our drive home I agreed with him that it was not refreshing as a mango drink should be. Between the three of us we only drank about 1/3 of it.

Maybe none of these first impressions really matter because this place is so new that adjustments will be made. Still, their “frozen custard” is a high quality frozen treat. My thanks (again) to sku for a good post.

[sku]

I went back today for a more thorough examination. The place is new and still in flux, but they have lots of mix-ins and liquados made with custard. I had a mango liquado which was made with custard, ice and mango syrup. It was pretty decent, but I preferred the plain custard.

A longer review can be found here: http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2008/0...

[JeetJet]

Wow, thanks for the heads up. When you check back can you say whether they serve it soft-serve style which looks and taste like Cool Whip like in Buffalo, NY.

[sku]

It's definitely soft-serve. Never had it in Buffalo so can't compare...but tasted better than Cool Whip to me.