Ken Hoffman, of the Houston Chronicle, writes a fantastic mostly weekly column where he reviews the latest in "quick dining" options. Here's this week's article::eat2: :eat1: :smitten:
DQ ice cream goes better with batter
On May 1, fast-food eatery will roll out new dipped-in-chocolate waffle cones
By KEN HOFFMAN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
This week I reached out for vanilla soft-serve (chocolate would be better, but good luck finding it), in a freshly made chocolate-coated waffle cone at Dairy Queen, America's roadside dessert palace with 5,600 restaurants coast to coast and around the world.
Regular sugar cones are soooo for losers.
The blueprint: a freshly poured, cooked and rolled waffle cone, dipped in chocolate and filled with DQ's iconic soft ice cream.
Total calories: 550; fat: 22 grams; dietary fiber: 1 gram; carbs: 79 grams. Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $2.60.
By introducing these freshly made waffle cones and bowls, Dairy Queen is stepping into the boxing ring with big-money ice cream parlors like Marble Slab and Stone Cold Creamery, without the big-money prices.
Last week, I ordered a Swiss-chocolate cone with walnuts and chocolate chips in a waffle cone at Marble Slab, and they asked me what my credit score was before they'd make it.
Dairy Queen begins rolling out its new cones May 1.
Freshly made waffle cones taste, smell and look great. I have no evidence to prove this, but I think you get more ice cream in a waffle cone than a regular cone it's a bigger hole to fill.
You know my fast-food motto: Bigger is better.
Waffle cones also make the store smell inviting like Subway when they've got bread baking. That puts me in the mood to do some serious eating. Or buy the building.
Waffle cones also make the store look busier. Workers are pouring batter on hot griddles, peeling them off and rolling them into cones. Then they're either dipping them into chocolate coating or rolling them in crushed nuts or sprinkles. It's a show.
More important than the aromatic and visual benefits, waffle cones taste better than cold, hard, crumbly cones that have been sitting in a big cardboard box in the backroom. And I love the last few bites of a waffle cone, when it's soggy from soaking up ice cream. Wet-Nap, please.
Dairy Queen also is making waffle bowls for three new sundaes: Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Turtle and buckle yourself in Fab Fudge.
Waffle bowls are made from the same batter as waffle cones, except in the shape of a bowl.
Instead of a drab paper bowl that ends in a landfill, you eat every last crumb of a waffle bowl. It's the same principle as eating clam chowder in a sourdough-bread bowl, which is one of the greatest culinary treats on earth.
A Dairy Queen sundae served in an edible bowl? It's environmentally friendly and tastes great. It's an idea that Al Gore can love, and it looks like he has.
DQ ice cream goes better with batter
On May 1, fast-food eatery will roll out new dipped-in-chocolate waffle cones
By KEN HOFFMAN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
This week I reached out for vanilla soft-serve (chocolate would be better, but good luck finding it), in a freshly made chocolate-coated waffle cone at Dairy Queen, America's roadside dessert palace with 5,600 restaurants coast to coast and around the world.
Regular sugar cones are soooo for losers.
The blueprint: a freshly poured, cooked and rolled waffle cone, dipped in chocolate and filled with DQ's iconic soft ice cream.
Total calories: 550; fat: 22 grams; dietary fiber: 1 gram; carbs: 79 grams. Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $2.60.
By introducing these freshly made waffle cones and bowls, Dairy Queen is stepping into the boxing ring with big-money ice cream parlors like Marble Slab and Stone Cold Creamery, without the big-money prices.
Last week, I ordered a Swiss-chocolate cone with walnuts and chocolate chips in a waffle cone at Marble Slab, and they asked me what my credit score was before they'd make it.
Dairy Queen begins rolling out its new cones May 1.
Freshly made waffle cones taste, smell and look great. I have no evidence to prove this, but I think you get more ice cream in a waffle cone than a regular cone it's a bigger hole to fill.
You know my fast-food motto: Bigger is better.
Waffle cones also make the store smell inviting like Subway when they've got bread baking. That puts me in the mood to do some serious eating. Or buy the building.
Waffle cones also make the store look busier. Workers are pouring batter on hot griddles, peeling them off and rolling them into cones. Then they're either dipping them into chocolate coating or rolling them in crushed nuts or sprinkles. It's a show.
More important than the aromatic and visual benefits, waffle cones taste better than cold, hard, crumbly cones that have been sitting in a big cardboard box in the backroom. And I love the last few bites of a waffle cone, when it's soggy from soaking up ice cream. Wet-Nap, please.
Dairy Queen also is making waffle bowls for three new sundaes: Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Turtle and buckle yourself in Fab Fudge.
Waffle bowls are made from the same batter as waffle cones, except in the shape of a bowl.
Instead of a drab paper bowl that ends in a landfill, you eat every last crumb of a waffle bowl. It's the same principle as eating clam chowder in a sourdough-bread bowl, which is one of the greatest culinary treats on earth.
A Dairy Queen sundae served in an edible bowl? It's environmentally friendly and tastes great. It's an idea that Al Gore can love, and it looks like he has.
