(DFW) Sheridan's Frozen Custard in Frisco
Don't bother. Hypersweet vanilla and chocolate soft-serve ice cream. Toppings, such as crushed Oreas and Gummi worms, seem to be the major draw. Not worth the drive, even if you live only a few blocks away. Didn't pass anyone's test.
Kirk
Jun 07, 2005 10:36PM
For good frozen custard, you might try Curly's on Camp Bowie in Fort Worth. Every fruit topping I've tried has been wonderful (I'm partial to the raspberry at the moment)--it's actual fresh fruit that they blend in, nothing canned or candied, and I chalk up the nutrition value accordingly. A serving of fruit, a serving of dairy, any questions? ;) Recommend skipping the hot fudge sauce, though, as well as the hot dog (Hebrew National--I'm not a fan), frito pie, and whatnot offerings. The small custard is what I would call a large, so look at the dish sizes before ordering :)
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Interesting. We have a Sheridan's out here and I think the frozen custard (at least the vanilla, I don't eat chocolate ice cream in general) is pretty good soft serve. The texture is nice, you can taste the egg, and I don't find them overly sweet. However, the sauces, such as the caramel, etc, are hypersweet for sure. Tooth-crackingly sweet. btw, I'm usually quite sensitive to overly sweet desserts, too.
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To be completely fair, I should point out that my consumption of sugars is highly limited these days for health reasons. That said, I ocassionally have a few spoonsful of Blue Bell mint chocolate chip and hI ave recently had some Culver's frozen custard that I found superior to the Sheridan's product. Neither of those makes me feel like I need to rush home for my glucometer. Maybe it's a case of a new franchisee having some difficulty with recipes?
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Have you tried Double Dip up on Main St. in Frisco? (They are just East of the Abbey Restaurant). While I have not given much thought to the comparative quality of their frozen custard, we have always left feeling very, very, happy. (Sugar high, perhaps?)
Sheridan's on the other hand was an annoying experiance. Perhaps it was eating custard in a crowded parking lot. Maybe it was a staff that did not know what was on the menu. (For some reason I don't have any recolection of the custard.) Anyway, we just did not feel compelled to return to Sheridan's.
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Kirk,
Speaking of frozen desserts in the northern suburbs, have you been to Old Town Creamery at 6205 Coit Rd. (just north of Spring Creek Pkwy.)? I'm wondering if it isn't run by the same people who operated the Old Town Creamery in (of all places) the Old Town shopping center on Greenville. If it is--and if the quality hasn't fallen off with the move--it should be some very good ice cream. (It took me a long time to break my addiction for their chocolate hazelnut ice cream.)
Scott
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A recon mission will depart after dinner tonight. If they have chocolate hazelnut, I'll see if I can FedEx some to you poor, needy creatures south of 635. : ))
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We survived the recon mission quite nicely. According to the gentleman behind the counter (the owner/manager?), it is the same place as the erstwhile Old Town Creamery on Greenville. New management took over and shut down the Greenville location to focus on the Plano location.
There was no chocolate hazelnut tonight, and the gentleman said it has been retired temporarily while they run other flavors through the monthly rotation. We tried the espresso coffee, pistachio (which we were "warned" was the only gelato they make) and cookie dough. The first two were pronounced "excellent" by my generous volunteers; the cookie dough was pronounced "a good vanilla with no noticeable dough" by my third volunteer, who received her portion delivered at home, was clearly nonplussed by the experience.
We'll definitely be back to try some of the other flavors (chocolate fudge, mint chocolate chip, coconut, for example). It beats Cold Stone and Maggie Moos by a mile. And the pistachio gelato was noticeably better than what Paciugo dishes out.
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Just curious whether you've had the pistachio gelato at Nicola's (formerly in the Galleria, now in a mall further out, forget which--Willow Bend??) ... believe it's the best I've had. Quite a bit better than Aurora's.
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Foie,
Nicola's reopened in the Shops at Legacy, the same center that holds Jasper's, Bob's, Naan, et al.
I haven't had Nicola's pistachio. But I've had several of their other flavors, most of which I didn't enjoy much. A couple of years ago, I went through many of Dallas's gelaterias, making multiple visits, weighing them against each other. (The report is at the link below.) Of the half dozen or so places I tried, Nicola's came out at the bottom. (That's factoring out Milwaukee Joe's, whose vegan "gelato"--using soy oil instead of dairy--was worse, but can't really be called gelato.)
As I wrote of Nicola's at the time: "Attached to an Italian restaurant on the third floor of the Galleria, this gelateria has relatively few flavors--about eleven gelatos and three sorbets. Prices were high for the portion sizes. The flavors tended to be muted and the texture was very icy. Flavor mix was conservative, compared to the competition."
The main thing that stands out in my memory (and it's been over a year since I've had their product) is the iciness.
But that report is about two years old. A lot can change in two years (e.g., the closure and reopening of Talenti in poorer form). On top of that, some places do have better and worse flavors, and maybe pistachio was Nicola's forte. And, of course, tastes differ.
As for Aurora, I've rarely had any complaints with the texture or flavor of their sorbets, ices, and ice creams. However, their ice creams are consistently served too cold. That poses a few problems. First, since the ice cream is often served on or with something else, trying to take a bite of the rock-hard ice cream often destroys the presentation of the rest of the dessert. Second, when it's too cold, it can be uncomfortable or even painful to the teeth, tongue, and gums. And, third, coldness mutes the flavor (which is why an ice cream that tastes perfect in its normal state will be far too sweet when melted). I haven't had this kind of service temperature problem at any other fine dining restaurant in Dallas (except, occasionally, at the French Room).
Scott
Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...
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Scott, thanks for the reminder about where they are now. Their pistachio is the only flavor I ever tried. Liked it, felt no need to try anything else. I assume by iciness, you mean ice crystals? If so, that's quite a bad fault. I would say improper storage?? Can't say for sure I never experienced it there, but it doesn't stand out in my mind.
Pistachio has been one of my favorite ice cream flavors since I was a child eating Baskin-Robbins, and I've tried many variations over the years. Granted, Baskin-Robbins pistachio is actually green-colored ice cream with almonds, but it gets points for nostalgia :)
My ice cream at Aurora wasn't served too cold--in fact, it melted quite quickly. I'm admittedly not a huge fan of the flavor of almond extract, but I also believe that the taste of extracts shouldn't be overwhelming or obvious anytime (with the exception of vanilla). I reckon someone probably dropped the bottle in, and the right person didn't taste it before it was served.
Even the very best (non-chain) restaurants are plagued by inconsistency. But, to my mind anyway, at a truly great restaurant that spark of fabulousness cannot be completely extinguished on even the worst and unluckiest night.
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Kirk,
Great minds think alike. When I looked up the location on the map, I noticed it was fairly close to Chicago St. Pizza. So as soon as I got off work, my wife and I headed up that way for pizza and ice cream.
What I heard from the man working there was pretty close to what you said. The previous owners went out of business over on Greenville and sold their equipment and recipes to this outfit, who reopened it (with the same signage even) at the NW corner of Spring Creek and Coit.
The lack of chocolate hazelnut was a disappointment. (The beauty of that flavor, as they made it, was the abundance of tiny chunks of hazelnut throughout. Really delicious.) But there were plenty of other interesting flavors, such as egg nog, apple pie, chocolate peanut butter, bubblegum, praline, blueberry, cotton candy (in the same bright blue color it was at the Greenville location), vanilla cinnamon, and Irish Cream (which, due to alcohol content, you have to be 21 years of age to order).
We ordered waffle cones (made on site, fresh and crisp) of chocolate peanut butter and butter pecan. I enjoyed the chocolate peanut butter (pictured below), but in retrospect wish I'd opted for a mix-in to give it some textural contrast. The butter pecan was very rich. My wife loved it. Both ice creams had that smooth, creamy texture I admired at the Greenville original. The prices are a bit higher now and the portion sizes aren't as large. But, still, it's a bit cheaper than most of the chain ice cream shops in the same category (i.e., high milk fat ice creams made on premises, mix-ins on a chilled marble slab, etc.).
As I was paying, I noticed a poster on a side wall (nowhere near the menu board) with a list of familiar kulfi flavors: kaju draksh (i.e., cashew and raisin), badam-pista-kesar (i.e., almond, pistachio, and saffron), chikoo (i.e., fruit of the sapodilla tree), mango, and lychee. I asked the guy if those were by special order, since I didn't see any of them (except mango) out in the freezers. He said, no, all those flavors are available; but, because they're not of interest to most of the customers, he keeps them in a below-counter freezer against the wall. Had I known that before I ordered, I would have tried one or two of those flavors. (On the Indian ice creams, I didn't ask if they make their own flavoring elements or use a commercial mix, as some restaurants use for their kulfi.)
I should probably mention that, as I left, I had an odd, faintly metallic aftertaste in my mouth. I'm guessing it came from the water I got from the drinking fountain after eating the ice cream. No drinking from the fountain, next time.
Sorry we missed you, Kirk. But I'm glad the recon paid off for you and your dedicated crew of tasters.
Scott
Image: http://www.dallasfood.org/photos/mexo...
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You're right ... that odd, faintly metallic taste is Eau de Plano.
Sorry I missed you, too. And also sorry I didn't have deep dish pizza last night!
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It was a fine pizza. The crust seemed crisper this time, almost cracker-like in places. Are they doing anything different these days, that you're aware of?
Scott
Image: http://www.dallasfood.org/photos/mexo...
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Tried the badam-pista-kesar kulfi tonight. The woman who, with her husband, owns the place said she makes it herself on premises. It was very good. Looking forward to trying the others.
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I go to the Sheridan's on 377 in Watauga. I completely disagree with the OP. It is no where near what soft-serve is in my opinion. It's thick, rich, and dense, though it could be overly sweet. Both Curly's and Wooley's (my other options in the area) always seem too soft, almost melted. It's also much smoother than Wild About Harry's. The only custard I've which i liked better was Ted Drewe's in St. Louis.
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The Frisco Sheridan's is nothing like any of the other locations. Just as the OP described, it was soft, sweet, and not worth my time even though I live just 5 minutes away. It was a huge disappointment when they first opened because I really enjoyed the custard at the Keller location -- very rich and thick. I've been back two more times since the first visit, hoping that they were just getting adjusted to the new location and still training their crew but each time it was the same soft-serve ice-cream taste as before. I've finally given up on Sheridan's in my neck of the woods.
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