East Coast custard knows how to chill out

Date AddedSeptember 25, 2009 08:51:27 AM

Author

East Coast Original Frozen Custard is open every year from March 1 through Nov. 30, so you still have plenty of time to take advantage of what I consider some of the best custard around. Plus, in the fall they offer pumpkin custard or yogurt; my mouth waters just thinking about it. And you can't get anything fresher; their custard is made daily at each location.
What makes custard unique from ice cream and far richer, is a delicate balance of egg yolks, fat content and temperature control. The result is to die for.
Ivan Platt and Bob Olgin opened the first East Coast Custard in Parma in 1985 based on their fond memories of eating custard from Euclid Beach Park. They spent years researching the history of custard, perfecting the recipe and opened the first shop to rave reviews. The name of the shop is a dedication to the original custard made at Coney Island in 1919.
The business was awarded Fox 8's Hot List Best Ice Cream Shop two years in a row, and was even featured on the Food Network show, "Unwrapped."
Currently there are six locations in the greater Cleveland area, and Nancy Long and Lin Matt are proud owners of the custard's first franchise in Fairview Park for the last 14 years. Long and Matt were co-workers who loved the custard, got to know the owners and believed so much in the company that waited for a franchise opportunity to arise.
Even though they now independently own the Fairview location, they still consider themselves part of the custard family, and are proud to promote all of the locations.
The best part, aside from eating the custard? The Fairview location has a drive-through window and this past year began accepting credit and debit cards, including MasterCard, Visa and Discover. And I haven't even gotten to the custard and yogurt flavors yet, which change daily.
My favorite is the Story Road Crunch which is vanilla custard with chocolate chips and cashews. But I am dying to taste the Fluffernutter, consisting of chocolate custard, marshmallow, peanut butter and fudge. Long's favorite flavor, which she eats daily? The plain vanilla custard; it's that good.
East Coast Original Frozen Custard is located at 18900 Lorain Road in Fairview at the corner of Story Road. Call the store at (440) 331-2609. The hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
WHAT'S THE SCOOP? Visit the original East Coast Original Frozen Custard location at 6240 Pearl Road in Parma Heights. The phone number is (440) 842-7003.