The Food Snob is, by definition, a snob. There's nothing that can be done about it. I was born that way, baby. Under normal circumstances, the Snob wouldn't be caught dead or alive at some pedestrian roadside ice cream stand and hot-doggery. It's the Food Snob, not the Food Slob. But when I got wind of Summer Freeze's exotic menu, I simply had to make a trip to the Fisherville Road establishment. Ostrich dogs? Conch fritters? This I had to see.
Dining companion in tow, I headed over to Summer Freeze, visions of fried shellfish dancing in my head. We stepped up to the window, and I inquired about the conch fritters. They were out! An inauspicious start to a Snob session, as the Snob is used to getting what he wants or brooding about it. Disappointed and growing hungry, I ordered an atomic chorizo grinder with peppers, onions, mushrooms and pickles. My dining companion ordered up a wild boar BLT with heirloom tomatoes. We retired to our picnic table and sat, the Snob sulking all the while.
Our order was ready after about only five minutes or so, and we commenced chowing down. The atomic chorizo grinder ($6) made me quickly forget about frittering my time away pining for conch. It was delicious! Loaded with veggies and with a little light mayo slapped on, the ground pork sausage was infused with a spicy kick of hots.
The wild boar BLT ($7.50) was just as delightful a treat. The traditional sandwich made with exceptional ingredients proved to be quite an interesting take on an old standard. The boar bacon was thick, more texturally substantial than regular bacon. The taste was not far from what you'd expect from bacon, but the smooth-but-thick texture was really what set it apart, especially when paired with a juicy slice of ripe heirloom tomato.
When it came to dessert, we were again met with some disappointment. They were out of their tantalizing fig gelato, much to my dining companion's dismay. Instead, we ordered some of Summer Freeze's homemade butterscotch macadamia gelato ($2.50 for a kiddie cone). For all the fancy and exotic foods they offer, Summer Freeze is an ice cream stand at heart, and the gelato was proof positive. It was thicker than regular ice cream, a bit tough on the plastic spoons but perfect delivered via cone. The chunks of macadamia nut set off the butterscotch splendidly, and the vanilla bean gelato base was as close to perfection as ice cream can get.
I left Summer Freeze that day satifisfied, but by lunchtime the next day, the sound of an ocean breeze and crashing surf in my brain was overpowering. The Snob had to have some conch! On a hunch, I saddled up the Snobmobile and sped solo to Summer Freeze seeking sustenance. I was in luck. Conch was back in stock, so I simply had to order the conch fritters ($8), substituting coleslaw for the french fries it would normally been accompanied by.
Having never dined on conch before, the Snob wasn't sure what to expect. Happily, the breaded, deep-fried mollusk meat was a tangy treat, well worth expanding one's pallette for. The dish could have benefited from some sort of dipping sauce other than ketchup packets, but other than that, it passed the Snob's “roadside conch” test with flying colors.
