Raise your hand if you enjoy an occasional ice cream during the heat of the summer.🍦 July is National Ice Cream Month and, in fact, last Sunday was actually National Ice Cream Day so it seems timely to post about St. Louis' most famous frozen custard destination. Family-owned, Ted Drewes has been in existence since 1929 and a part of the local community since 1930 (the first year it was located in St. Petersburg, FL). Mr. Drewes is still active around town and even personally does his own ads, both on television and radio. There are two locations and both do a lot of business! We stopped there last night after having spent a delightful evening at nearby MO Botanical Garden where we had enjoyed a picnic dinner with friends. I didn't capture the entire crowd upon arrival at Ted Drewes, but in this snippet you can observe the many customers at 9:00 on an ordinary Wednesday night (with no Cardinal baseball game). Comparatively light, the number of weekend patrons is many times greater with lines that snake around the building and through the large parking lot. Thankfully, they have customer service down to an art after nearly nine decades of experience and they move people through pretty quickly. Last year, this wonderful gem was declared to be the best ice cream shop in the world by an Irish marketing firm who conducted the international contest.
Ted Drewes sells concretes, malts, shakes, floats and ice cream sodas in more flavors and specialties than you can imagine. At least three dozen different toppings are also available, so it's safe to say that anyone could satisfy his/her sweet tooth here! The custard is so rich and thick that it can be served upside down without risk of spillage.
Cups come in four sizes. We were full from our cold fried chicken picnic, but one can't visit this iconic spot on historic route 66 without indulging in a very small cup. This particular location closes only the month of January and from Thanksgiving to Christmas adds to their merchandise by selling live Frasier firs in the lot.
A recent poll proved vanilla to be the most popular flavor of ice cream. How about you? What's your favorite? If you're like us, you don't often eat it, but from time-to-time in this weather...
I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream...especially from Ted Drewes!