Curly's Frozen Custard

Did you know that Curly's is actually a bastion of chef prepared, locally sourced food?  Neither did I, until recently.

Curly's, the frozen custard shop on Camp Bowie has slowly been expanding options for the menu (with new options coming in two weeks) and working to attract new customers by pairing up with YES! Taco on Tuesdays.  And I'm sure most of you thought they only served frozen custard. 

There's very little reason for me to tout the custard here.  Anybody who has been knows how great it is, but you loyal readers know how much I like to drag things out.  Frozen custard is a creamier version of ice cream and Curly's has three flavors.  Chocolate, vanilla, and the flavor of the month - which is Strawberry this month.  In early summer they'll have Parker County Peach and throughout the year you can find all sorts of options that match the season.  But the two standards can't be overlooked.  Both are flavorful and provide a great base for the variety of mixins offered. 

Notice I used the term mixins instead of toppings.  That's a Curly's copyrighted term indicating that, unlike those yuppie fro-yo (short for "from yorkies" - you know what I mean)  places that only put toppings on the top, here you get the item mixed in.  So select your mixins and they'll be spread throughout your Concrete - which only resembles concrete if you ask for the gravel mixins.  And lucky for you, the options are pretty expansive and many of them are locally made treats. 

DISCLAIMER:  This review may be biased because Curly's, in an attempt to make customers happy (or ease the wicked tongue with which I normally use for reviews...??) agreed to include my favorite mixin after asking.  They've always had Reese's peanut butter cups which come chopped up in your item.  I prefer Reese's Pieces.  After bringing this up, it was just a couple weeks before they were available and now they're probably the number one seller in the world.

Wow, glad to get that out of the way.  Please don't lose faith in me. 

But beyond the custard, is the food.  Curly's has a special chef prepared chili - that's right, not just from a can.  And its delicious.  I believe they are keeping a milder version around for kids, but this special chili has a nice spice, without giant chunks of anything you don't want and I think its beanless.  They serve the chili on fritos and hot dogs.

Now you've lost faith in me.  I've been bought off by Reese' Pieces and I'm talking about a place that sells hot dogs?  Yes.  But not just any dogs, Nathan's famous hot dogs.  And they come on a bun made locally by a baker here in town and delivered fresh to the store.  These are nothing like the basic Mrs. Bairds bun.  The bun has real texture and flavor - as opposed to the general airiness of lesser buns.  If you're going to be eating a hot dog, shouldn't it be a Nathan's on a really delicious bun?

And to top all of this off, if you've been by on Tuesdays recently, there is a new food option.  Curly's has paired with YES! Taco for a Tuesday night bash.  This week was my first trip to the Tuesday event and it really is an event.  There were about a dozen people at the time I showed up and many others came and left while hanging out.  It looked like many had walked from their houses nearby.

Curly's owner really focuses on getting good, local food to his store and it comes through.  I always thought this was just a chain custard place.  But I was wrong.  This is the only location and we're lucky to have it.

Let me know if you've been and what you think.  Your dogs are welcome and walking is encouraged as parking can be sparse on Tuesdays.

EDITED TO ADD:  Thank you to the comment pointing out that the fruit smoothies at Curly's are flavored with real, fresh fruit.  In fact, the owner told me he attempts to get the best local fruit he can find. 

Curly's is located at 4017 Camp Bowie.