Nielsen's Frozen Custard

Across the street from Porter Park, next to Crazy Mike’s Video/Jimmy Johns

Despite the name, there is much more to Nielsen’s Frozen Custard than iced cream. What drew me in more than anything was the potential of a new burger joint, and I was not disappointed. I arrived just ahead of a massive line, which is good, since I hate waiting. Their menu is rather straightforward – you can order burgers, fries, onion rings, and “grinders” more commonly known as sandwiches. Think sub meets hoagie – that’s a grinder. And then you have your dessert menu, which consists of “Concretes” and cones basically. You order your food, you tell them what you want on it (they give you a paper to mark) and then you have the option of getting dessert after you’ve eaten. It’s a novel concept for a fast food joint, but after I ordered everything, the gal behind the counter gave me the dessert slip and told me to bring it back after I was done, so I didn’t have my custard becoming unfrozen while I ate. That was cool.

Now before I get into talking about the food, I’ll address the differences between custard and ice cream. Personally, the word custard sounds gross, but unless you’re allergic to eggs, there’s nothing gross about it. Simply put (perhaps too simply) is that custard has more egg, less air than traditional ice cream. Air is naturally added to ice cream during the whipping process. Custard has a flavor closer to homemade ice cream than the store bought stuff. In the end though, it’s the same ingredients. The only difference is the quantity.

The custard was good, but nothing spectacular or novel. I ordered a cone instead of a concrete, since my focus was the meal. It reminded me of most other fast food chains’ soft serve. If you go for dessert, get the concrete. it will be a more authentic Nielsen’s experience. They advertise it as a really thick shake you eat with a spoon. In other words, it’s a bowl of custard that you eat with a spoon. Get mix-ins such as Oreo's or nuts if you feel adventurous, but at an additional cost per item. You can also get floats (custard and soda).

What I fell in love with were the burgers. They had the taste, smell, and texture of a backyard barbecue. Not at all like fast food, and while perhaps not the greatest hamburger ever made, it was fantastic. You could taste the slight char – not enough to make you think “hmm, this is burnt,” but just enough to give it that backyard flavor. Unlike many burgers that are prepared medium rare (seems to be most popular), Nielsen’s burgers are a browned medium well, which I think is much better.

The grinder was also quite good – well made, well balanced, and all of it slightly warm – it was heavenly. I only wish I had gotten it with a pickle instead of mayonnaise (in my haste to get the burger just right, neglected the grinder). But sandwiches that taste like them grinders are sandwiches worth talking about days later. They are similar to the Jimmy John’s chain, which is dang good.

The fries are the best I have had in Rexburg, hands down. This is beating out my previous favorite of Sammy’s Café. They aren’t too greasy, but not too dry, and have an old fashioned style – think and soft. They may be the second best fries I’ve ever had in my life actually. That’s not entirely superlative. And for you fry sauce lovers; their fry sauce is one of the better ones I’ve tasted, even though I don’t honestly believe in fry sauce.

The only drawback is that they are kind of pricy, comparable to Sammy’s. Not your cheapest date, but one that is still classy and quality. In spite of cost though, Nielsen’s earned themselves a spot on my coveted top 10.