By Alexi Zentner
Photograph by Katherine Bish
There are entire swaths of the country where custard is an unknown quantity. In St. Louis, throw a stick and you will hit a custard stand. Frozen-custard stands engender strong loyalties; make a snide comment about Ted Drewes to somebody who grew up here in the 1970s and you're looking for a fight. Drewes reigns. Although ranking the rest of the frozen-custard stands can be tricky, there's one surefire method: Start at the top of this list and eat your way down.
Ted Drewes
6726 Chippewa, 314-481-2652; 4224 S. Grand, 314-352-7376, www.teddrewes.com
Violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman branded the chocolate chip concrete as his own—but do try the tart cherry and hot fudge Sin Sundae. It's good for the soul.
Mr. Wizard's Frozen Custard
2101 S. Big Bend, 314-781-7566; 10041 Page, 314-426-1314
An insider's tip: Go for the strawberry shortcake.
St. Louis Frozen Custard Factory
9420 Manchester, 314-961-9191, www.stlouiscustard.com
Eat custard even when it's raining. Indoor seating and two different special flavors every month.
Skeeters Frozen Custard
9622 Lackland, 314-428-3575
The Super Skurtle: two big scoops of vanilla custard, pecans, chocolate-cake chunks, hot fudge, caramel and whipped cream. Oh yeah.
Sundae's Frozen Custard
7421 S. Lindbergh, 314-892-2663
The biggest thing on the menu is the banana split, but you can order vanilla custard mixed with pretty much anything. Indoor seating.
Custard's First Stand
4599 Telegraph, 314-487-1460
The biggest sellers are the chocolate malt and the turtle concrete
Doozles Frozen Custard
717 S. New Florissant, 314-921-3252
The aptly named Penguin Sundae, featuring vanilla custard, caramel, hot fudge and pecans, battles with the simpler, much less fattening light ice cream (98 percent far free; flavors change daily).
Fritz's Frozen Custard
1055 St. Catherine, 314-839-4100, plus six other area locations
The turtle is the signature dish, but try the Strawbana for something new. It's exactly what it sounds like.
S&J Sno Ball Custard Shop
1063 Gravois, 636-305-0660
The new bestseller is the cheesecake concrete, which features cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory and your choice of mix-in.
Silky's Frozen Custard
15069 Manchester, 636-256-7455, plus three other area locations
The secret weapon here is the Brownie Melt—brownies, hot fudge and whipped cream over vanilla custard.
