Frozen Custard

At least three times I was told that when in Milwaukee I must try the frozen custard. Sure, I said, why not. But little did I imagine it would be such a profound experience.

The most renowned frozen custard stand in Milwaukee is a place called Kopp’s. As we drove up, my wonderful host in Milwaukee, Peggy Dooley, explained to me the incredible history of Kopp’s. It was the inspiration for Arnold’s in the classic television series ‘Happy Days.’ This opened my eyes to the entire hardcore Milwaukee sitcom scene: Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Joanie Loves Chachie were all based in ‘a great city by a great lake’. (This is Milwaukee’s old city motto.), Even Mork & Mindy started here when Mork was a subplot for Happy Days. (An alien as a subplot? As Peggy says, it was late in the series and the writers were clearly desperate for ideas when they decided to mingle the Fonz with an alien..) In any case, it seems for a while there, Milwaukee was the epicentre of television comedy.

The frozen custard? Sublime. I had the Grasshopper Fudge, Peggy had the Butter Brickle, and as Kopp’s offers a ‘flavour of the day’, I intend to visit every day of my Milwaukee stay.