The Scoop: Custard & Cakes Creamery
Custard & Cakes Creamery owner Christine Konowal has come a long way since her grandparents started the Roxborough ice-cream stand in 1955 offering only homemade vanilla and chocolate soft-serve.
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The deal: Third-generation owner Christine Konowal has come a long way since her grandparents started the Roxborough ice-cream stand in 1955 offering only homemade vanilla and chocolate soft-serve. Homemade creamy goodness remains the family trademark in 21 hard ice-cream flavors plus shakes, cakes, sundaes and water ice. Konowal's sons, Shane and Sean, are the creamery's fourth generation.
Details: 5461 Ridge Ave., open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily, mid-March through mid-November, 215-487-1920, custardcakescreamery.com.
Decor: A "Happy Days" retro exterior with outside seating on benches, chairs and the parking lot wall. Very friendly window service.
The wait: Long lines at the walk-up and drive-in windows at night, but no one's complaining. It's that good.
What we ate: Best peach milkshake ever with pieces of fresh peach clogging the straw! Scoops of incredibly creamy black raspberry and cherry vanilla ice cream, loaded with raspberry and cherry bits. Chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream was the peanutiest we've ever had.
About that PB: A very pregnant regular customer called Konowal early one morning and said, "I need the chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream and I need it now!" Konowal made it first that morning, so it was ready when the mother-to-be dashed in at 11 a.m. "Her baby is now here often, being brought up on our ice cream," Konowal said, laughing.
We wanted to eat: Pumpkin ice cream, but we'll have to wait till its August debut.
While we're waiting for the pumpkin: We'll have a banana split. Saw one being savored. Heard groans of pleasure. Jealous.
About that scoop: A small cone of hard ice cream is $2.75; soft-serve, $2; milk shake, $3; sundae, $3.50.
Pre-ice cream treat: Limited offerings include a meatball sandwich with homemade red sauce that went well with our peach milkshake.
Emergency cakes: 8-inch vanilla and chocolate ice-cream cakes stand ready to be decorated for any last-minute occasion. All flavors and toppings are available for custom-order cakes.