Ice cream lovers who live in the Penacook area were no doubt bummed out last year when Summer Freeze, a classic old-school ice cream stand, never opened. The ownership group fell on hard financial times and they weren’t able to open the shop at all last summer, leaving the residents of the area with no choice but to drive into Concord proper to grab a cone or a sundae.
But at long last, the drought is over and ice cream flows in the village once again, this time courtesy of Frekey’s Dairy Freeze.
Frekey’s has taken over the spot at 74 Fisherville Road where Summer Freeze used to be, so the location should be pretty familiar. The name might also sound familiar – Frekey’s has a location in Chichester, too, which is still in operation.
The main difference between what was Summer Freeze and what now is Frekey’s Dairy Freeze is the menu. While Summer Freeze used to offer all kinds of odd-ball hot foods like venison hot dogs, Scotch eggs, lamb kebabs and inferno burgers, Frekey’s is all about the ice cream – there is no hot or otherwise “traditional” food on the menu.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that – we love ice cream, especially in late spring/early summer. That’s why we went and got one last week.
We pulled in on a cloudy day, shortly after some rain had come through, so we had the luxury of walking straight to the window with no waiting in line. After about a minute of browsing the menu boards all over the façade of the building, we settled on a hot fudge sundae, made with Cherry Blossom ice cream.
The ice cream was cherry flavored with big chunks of cherries in it. It reminded us of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, only without the chocolate.
The rest of the sundae included hot fudge (obviously), whipped cream, walnuts (you can choose either walnuts or peanuts) and, of course, a cherry on top.
Since we had just listened to a presentation at work about trying to cut down on the sweets, we decided to just order a small, which turned out to be plenty big enough to satisfy any grown man.
The first bite was quite the treat, as we got ice cream, whipped cream, nuts and hot fudge all in one scoop. The flavors all blended perfectly, and with that thick, rich hot fudge, it actually did taste pretty similar to the Cherry Garcia, one of this Food Snob’s all-time favorites.
We noticed that the walnut pieces here were a little bigger than most, and were nice and crunchy, too. They added a nice change of texture that gave the sundae a little character and broke up the monotony of all the soft, gooey stuff.
As we made our way through this bigger-than-we-expected frozen treat, we realized that the small size is really the perfect serving for this particular treat. By the time we finished it, we were neither sickly full nor still wanting for more. The sundae hit the spot just right – no more, no less.
Next time we go, we might try something else, such as a Flurry or a specialty cone. You can get cones that have little candy-coated chocolate pieces (generic M&Ms, basically) in them, or ones made of a chocolate cookie material (basically Oreo), among other options. They even offer a doggie dish for your four-legged friends.
If you’re in the area of Fisherville Road and you’re looking for a perfect way to sweeten up your day, pull into Frekey’s Dairy Freeze and give them a try.
August 12, 2018
Ice cream was good. But I do miss going for the traditional food. Hamburger and fries etc. That was a big plus I was looking for.