The Best Soft Serve Ice Cream Business in Chicago: Scooters Frozen Custard

Wondering what the best soft serve ice cream business in Chicago is? I can help!

Of course, you can see that the answer is Scooter’s Frozen Custard. But the real question is, why is Scooter’s so darn great?!

We started a tradition years ago with the best soft-serve ice cream business in Chicago when our friends moved to Roscoe Village. This was well before we all had kids.

We walked to a nearby ice cream place with our dogs whenever we got together in warm weather. Those canines were so spoiled that we even fed them doggy ice cream cones at the walk-up window.

David and I lived several miles away so we drove our dog over to our friends’ place. Just so we could take him for ice cream. That changed shortly after Little Man was born. No more car rides to get ice cream for the fur baby.

What is Scooters Frozen Custard?

Scooters Frozen Custard closes in the coldest winter months and reopens March 1 each year. Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. So they always seem to have a monthly special that’s green or shamrock-related somehow.

Over the years, Scooters has won a bunch of awards. And for good reason. So as a result, it has gotten a lot more popular. On hot summer weekend afternoons, the line can be down the block. Kind of like an REI garage sale…

Frozen Custard vs. Soft Serve Ice Cream

There are scores of ice cream places all around Chicago. However, we first started this tradition there wasn’t really anywhere to get frozen custard. I’d never even heard of frozen custard, to be honest.

Anyone who’s tried both desserts knows that frozen custard is definitely better! Not only are they made from different ingredients, but they also have different textures.

They even have different nutrition guidelines. They may look similar but that’s about it.

Frozen Custard

1. In addition to milk, cream, and sugar frozen custard has pasteurized egg yolk.
2. Lower in calories and fat (122 calories and 4 grams of fat for 100 grams of frozen custard).
3. A continuous custard machine only pumps ~20% air into the custard mix.
4. Thicker and creamier consistency, due to the egg yolks and air concentration (called overrun). Lower overrun means less air and fewer ice crystals.

Ice Cream

1. Pasteurized egg yolk must be less than 1.4%
2. Ice cream has twice the saturated fat, less protein, and half the calcium and potassium. Also, calories in ice cream are roughly 10% higher. 207 calories and 11 grams of fat for 100 grams of vanilla ice cream vs. 122 calories and four grams of fat for 100 grams of frozen custard.
3. Any product that comes out of a soft serve machine, has ~80% air, which is a very high overrun.

Getting to Scooters Frozen Custard

Scooter’s Frozen Custard is located on the corner of Belmont Avenue and Paulina Street in the Roscoe Village neighborhood in Chicago. It’s a six-minute walk straight south on Paulina from the Brown Line train stop of the same name.

In addition, it’s a mile from the Belmont Red/Brown/Purple line station located due east on Belmont Ave.

Parking in the area immediately around Scooter’s isn’t always easy, especially on weekends and evenings.

When we drove over there, we often had to park a couple of blocks away. So if you can take public transit, I’d definitely recommend doing so.

Not to mention that driving in Chicago isn’t always fun. There are a lot of drivers. And a lot of road rage.

In all our global travels, it’s the only place I’ve personally seen taxi drivers actually get out of the car to scream at each other. So stick with the CTA if you can manage it.

What to Order at the Best Soft Serve Ice Cream Business in Chicago?

Although they specialize in frozen yogurt, Scooters also has other things on the menu. There are three custard flavors made fresh daily: vanilla, chocolate, and a daily special.

They also offer a variety of add-ons that they call mix-ins. These can be sprinkled on top or mixed inside like a Dairy Queen Blizzard. Scooter’s calls them Concretes and, at least in our opinion, the concoctions are much tastier.

Concretes

There are typically around ten pre-determined concrete combinations available. In addition, customers can always design their own. We visited so many times that we stopped even needing to look at the massive menu on the wall.

I got the Chocolate Yum Yum, which lives up to its name. Chocolate custard with hot fudge and brownies mixed in is trifecta perfection in my book! David tended to get creative and usually ordered something new.

It always had strawberries in it, though. One month he got the Blackhawk. This mixture is named after Chicago’s professional hockey team and has vanilla custard with strawberries and Oreos.

Chicago-Style Hot Dogs

Once we accidentally skipped lunch before heading to Scooters. The upside is David and I finally got to try Scooter’s hot dogs. All their hot dogs are Red Hots. This is a Chicago-owned and operated company.

Anyone who’s been to Chicago knows that it takes its hot dogs seriously. A “real” hot dog is an all-beef frank. No pork or fill-ins allowed.

A Chicago-style hotdog has yellow mustard, white onion, bright green relish, tomato, pickle, sport peppers, and celery salt. It’s always served on a poppy seed bun, and it never ever has ketchup.

Fun Fact: The bright green relish is made by adding a bit of blue dye to the pickle relish.

The restaurant also serves “Scooters dogs”. These are essentially a Chicago-style hot dog but with red relish instead. Sometimes called hamburger relish, red relish is sweeter and tangier.

It’s made with tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, and onions. The substitution certainly gives a different flavor. Both are pretty tasty!

Scooter’s also sells a ‘make-your-own’ hot dog. So if you’re a mustard and ketchup person, they are willing to sell it to you. It’s perfect for kids like mine that eat their hot dogs with only ketchup on top.

Other Desserts

In addition to soft serve and hot dogs, Scooters also sells sundaes and shakes made from its frozen custard. They also sell homemade cakes, brownies, and cookies.

My favorite is the frozen custard pies, though. They’re so decadent that you can only really get one if you’re going to a group gathering.

Thanksgiving is a perfect time to have one of them if you have room to store one in your freezer for a few days.

I also love the hand-packed pints and quarts. Right before Scooters closed each November, we would stop in to pick up a few pints to store in our freezer.

This tided us over until they reopened each spring. Several of our friends who still live in Chicago do the same thing.

In the hottest summer months, Scooters adds Italian ice to its menu. They make a new flavor fresh each day. It usually sells out sometime in the early afternoon, even on weekdays.

During this time, customers can order plain Italian ice or a parfait made of half Italian Ice and half frozen custard. You can’t go wrong trying either one.

Scooters also sells a limited selection of bottled sodas and teas. You can drink them or have them with an “ice cream float.” On occasion, they even have Green River Soda.

Usually, it’s right around St. Patrick’s Day which is a huge celebration all around the city of Chicago.

Kids Menu

Like any good soft serve ice cream business, Scooters knows that kids are a large chunk of its customer base. They even offer a special menu just for the little ones. From junior shakes and waffle cones to mini sundaes, kids love the variety.

Little Man’s favorite was always the Worms & Dirt. This custom concoction was Scooter’s vanilla custard, Oreos, gummy worms, whipped cream, and sprinkles.

In addition, Scooters gives away free puppy and toddler cones. They are given upon request to customers buying other products. There’s a limit of one per pooch or toddler.

These miniature cones have a very small dollop of vanilla frozen custard. They’re perfect for ensuring everyone in the family gets to enjoy the tastiness on a hot summer day.

Final Thoughts on the Best Soft Serve Ice Cream Business in Chicago

Since I originally wrote this post, a few other frozen custard places have popped up on the Chicago ice cream scene. Most of them are trying to capitalize on Scooter’s success.

That just proves to me that it really is the best soft-serve ice cream business in Chicago. Once you try it, you’ll probably never want regular soft serve again either.

Whether you’re a native Chicagoan or a visitor passing through, take some time to swing by Scooters during their open season. You won’t regret it.