Which fast-food places have excellent soft-serve ice cream?

Costco has soft serve ice cream in the food court now. They have chocolate and vanilla. And you don't need to be a member to use the food court. It's pretty good, though sometimes I wish they still had the frozen yogurt they did before.
 
Wienerschnitzel in Redding. A bit off of I-5 but near a freeway. They have a drive-thru.


They’ve got Tastee Freez, which isn't too bad. They have options including chocolate or orange dipped. Maybe Froot Loops.


Wow, I haven't heard Wienerschnitzel in forever! Used to go to one in Champaign IL as a kid. I had no idea it still existed.
 
Wienerschnitzel in Redding. A bit off of I-5 but near a freeway. They have a drive-thru.

They’ve got Tastee Freez, which isn't too bad. They have options including chocolate or orange dipped. Maybe Froot Loops.
Do all 'schitzels carry Tastee Freez?
 
Do all 'schitzels carry Tastee Freez?

As far as I can tell, most do. I know the one closest to me does, and definitely the one in Redding. The one I sometimes take my kid to is in an old A-frame building. They’re part of the same company, but I’ve never seen a standalone Tastee Freez location.
 
"And what has that got to do with Northern California?"

Sorry for your inconvenience. I speed read your question too fast. ............But if anyone is every around Salisbury keep that in mind.
 


I don't like those kinds of rankings. One of the biggest problems is that how good it is (especially the texture) often depends on the preparation and the equipment. Most places I see have Taylor, SaniServ, or Stoelting equipment, but there are also European companies. Poor equipment maintenance can mean bad results.

But yeah - the Galardi Group owns the Wienerschnitzel, Tastee Freez, and Hamburger Stand brands. I don't know if they require Wienerschnitzel franchisees to carry Tastee Freez, but I haven't seen a location that doesn't have it. And strangely enough the Taste Freez standalone locations are pretty similar to a Wienerschnitzel menu. In California, their listings show only Wienerschnitzel, except for one Hamburger Stand.

 
We have two McDonald's and 90% of the time there soft serve is down so we stopped going there. We have a place called Taste Treat that has good soft server, they even have chocolate soft serve.
 
Here in Louisiana we had HOPPERS DRIVE INS. From what I remember they had the BEST ice cream in the US! My 2nd oldest sister worked there when she was 17. The uniform had a very short mini skirt and roller skates.
Scroll down to see their pic (#8) after opening the link.
 
I know there's a lot of nostalgia going on here. However, I tried to think of my answers with the original parameters in mind, which included passenger limitations that means drive-thrus were preferred. I inferred that this also meant that curbside/parking spot pickups or drive-ins might also work as long as this meant not having to get out of the car.

I'm also not sure of the exact path. I've gone that way before, and the usual trick is to take I-505 to bypass Sacramento. There are some interesting spots around there like Winters. However, the biggest problem would be the preference for places where one doesn't need to leave the car. That's going to be the tough part. Mostly the small towns on the way to Redding might have a chain fast food place, but the interesting local spots will usually be sit-down or at least where it's takeout inside.

There are a few places in the Bay Area for really interesting soft serve. I sometimes go to Cheese Board Pizza in Berkeley, and they previously had their own recipe for buffalo milk soft serve using milk from a dairy in Petaluma. However, they've stopped serving it for a while and have reduced their hours.
 
Costco has soft serve ice cream in the food court now. They have chocolate and vanilla. And you don't need to be a member to use the food court. It's pretty good, though sometimes I wish they still had the frozen yogurt they did before.

I get that it's over a year since the OP posted this, but someone reacted to my post and I started thinking about this. There is a Costco in Redding that's right off of I-5. We stopped there for hot dogs on the way home, but during that trip we had Costco soft serve at their location in Ukiah, which is kind of a drive from the US-101 exit.

The food court can be tricky. Theoretically they don't check memberships for purchases, and I've gone there with an expired membership. There are ways (may be state dependent) to get in without a membership card, such as claiming to get a prescription item or alcohol. Then there are Costco locations with outdoor food courts or perhaps indoor ones before the entrance.

The other thing I noticed at some of these locations I went to recently was that they didn't have windows, but an open counter and orders were numbered. And the ones on this recent trip also had a counter that accepted cash, although it resulted in a receipt with a number.
 
Back
Top