While I'm on vacation I need ice cream. In Italy I sampled various gelaterie's across the country, in Germany I tried scoops of ice cream layered with thick cherry liquor and in Las Vegas I tried frozen custard. Frozen custard is similar to gelato except it's made with an egg yolk base and has a slightly higher milk fat percentage (gelato is 4-8%, frozen custard 10-12% and ice cream 14-18%). It has less fat and sugar than ice cream and has a creamier, denser texture thanks to the eggs. It also melts slower, which in the 40°C Las Vegas sun is very important.
In Las Vegas the locals get their frozen custard fix at Luv-It Frozen Custard, a small building located off the strip beside the Olympic Gardens Gentlemen's Club. Perhaps not the best neighbourhood but that hasn't stopped tourists and regulars from visiting and indulging in sundaes, cones, shakes, malts and floats in over 30 different flavours since 1973.
In Ottawa the only way to get your frozen custard fix is by tracking The Merry Dairy truck (yes, I said truck) using the Google Latitude powered Track the Truck feature on the website. Although owner Marlene Haley can't fit 30 flavours in the truck, she does offer a wonderfully creamy vanilla with jimmies, butterscotch and chocolate sauce to decorate. We may not get the blistering heat that Las Vegas does but a cool cup of frozen custard sure tastes great on a muggy Ottawa afternoon.
