Sheridan's Frozen Custard

(Second Review -- October 2012)

Sheridan's Frozen Custard is a semi-national food chain, with one location in the Northwest: on SE Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver, Washington.

Frozen custard is extremely popular in the Midwest, and Sheridan's is no exception. Their corporate headquarters are located in Kansas, and their other locations are in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, and Georgia.

Basically, frozen custard is a much silkier, more velvety form of ice cream, gelato, or frozen yogurt. It's made with eggs, cream, and sugar (and other flavorings). To be considered frozen custard in the U.S., it must contain at least 10 perfect milkfat and 1.4 percent egg yolk solids (any fewer egg yolks, and it's actually ice cream). Whipping high amounts of butterfat and egg yolk explain the thick, creamy nature of frozen custard.

Menu (October 2011)
(Notice their promotion of the seasonal Pumpkin Pie Concrete!)

Seasonal special...the Pumpkin Pie Concrete!

A signature item at frozen custard joints is a "concrete," similar to a Blizzard or a McFlurry. Basically, any number of ingredients (candy, fruit, etc.) can be blended with vanilla or chocolate frozen custard. Sheridan's has three basic sizes for concretes: mini, regular, and large.

Concrete menu

Mini treats menu

The list of toppings to choose from...how about that NY cheesecake?

Concretes come in mini, regular, or large

Some of the popular concretes at Sheridan's include the Mocha Almond (chocolate frozen custard with rich espresso and almonds) and Grant's Grasshopper (vanilla frozen custard with mint, chocolate chips, and Oreos). But at Sheridan's, you can even make your own concrete.

Wanting something a bit lighter and more refreshing, I made my own mini concrete with fresh strawberries and bananas ($3.56).

Mini strawberry and banana concrete
(Sheridan's Frozen Custard)

Just a heavenly blend of fresh fruit and vanilla frozen custard here. Just velvety goodness that caressed every inch of my mouth. Personally, I would have wanted (and expected) the custard to be more frozen, as opposed to its more melted appearance, almost a chunkier form of a shake or smoothie. Maybe seeing Ted Drewes' concretes on Man v. Food Nation gave me another idea of what concretes are (Ted can turn his concrete upside down and not spill anything, but that wouldn't be the case here).

One drawback to Sheridan's: there's no indoor seating to get away from any cold, rainy weather. But hey, Sheridan's has a Drive-Thru!

I enjoyed my first frozen custard experience,  and yes, I kept the plastic cup as a souvenir! Sheridan's also offers smoothies, sundaes, and coffee-infused custard creations. The sky's the limit on what you can order here! Hopefully, I'll be in the area again to get more of their frozen custard!