BRC’s Frozen Custard/Franks Pulled Pork/We’re Twisted Pretzels

Located behind Gringo’s, in the heart of the Date District

To be honest, I think BRC’s et al. is what made the Date District become the date district, in conjunction with the cheap theater. Everything else there seems to expand from around it in concentric circles. Really blocky, uneven concentric circles. Since the establishment is really home to four establishments (three of which I’ll discuss), I have lumped them all together. The establishment itself is rather quaint. The indoors is still designed to give it an outdoor, kind of Parisian café kind of feel. A lesser man might even call it cute. But not me. Ever.

If you go in, you’re probably looking specifically for:

BRC’s Frozen Custard

Custard is ice cream with higher egg and lower air content. BRC’s offers custard in place of ice cream, but you basically eat/order/play with it in the same way. The signature thing to get is an Avalanche. That’s a custard shake with a couple of mix-ins. The custard flavors change from time to time, but they don’t usually have a large variety all at once. I always stick with the classic vanilla, which is the best way to judge a frozen foodery. Their selection of mix in toppings is also a little small, but that’s actually a good thing. None of the fancy crap that would make it hip, just the classic stuff that makes it good - Oreo chunks, chocolate, sprinkles and the like. The thing is, there is a peculiar taste to the custard, something I can’t quite put a finger on. It almost has a more pudding type taste to it. If you like pudding, you’ll love BRC’s. You can also get cool stuff like a waffle with custard and toppings or a freeze, which is like a blended float – soda and custard, but blended together. You may make it your dessert shop of choice, or you might not be moved. No one hate’s BRC’s, but some people like ice cream more.

Right behind you there is:

Frank’s Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is good stuff. You can get it served in a Styrofoam cup and eat it with a fork. It’s dripping in sauce, so no white shirts or first dates (because you’ll come out looking like a slob) but if you want BBQ flavored meat, Franks is the way to go. And next to it:

We’re Twisted Pretzels

They use pretzels like other shops use bread. For sandwiches. My favorite is the respectably priced Twisted Dog. It’s a hot dog, inside a pretzel. It’s a good quality hot dog, inside a good quality pretzel. Dip it in some mustard, and you’ve got an awesome little snack. I haven’t tried the pretzel based sandwiches, but I’m intrigued. And they have a decent variety of just straight pretzels, though it’s hard to beat the cinnamon and sugar classic.

All in all, it’s a good spot to visit at least once and experience. It just didn’t make my top 10.