As National Frozen Custard Day – which is Aug. 8 – approaches, there's a scoop or two of custard news emerging, as if from a classic Carvel Custard King machine.
Most notable from a national standpoint is this:
Airing this weekend on "CBS Sunday Morning" is Mo Rocca's clip on Milwaukee frozen custard, including a trip to Gilles' and an interview with Bob Uecker. I'll try not to take it personally that he opted not to contact the folks that, literally, wrote the book on the subject, but I will point out that they called Gilles' "custard's first stand (if you will) in the city."
Of course, that distinction goes to Joe Clark's Clark's Frozen Custard, which opened on Capitol and Teutonia in 1935, three years before Clark's employee Paul Gilles opened his own place. You can read more about that here.
Uecker is quippy as ever in the spot, which rightfully asserts Milwaukee's dominance in the world of custard.
Custard flavor contest returns
Meanwhile in Oak Creek...
Georgie Porgie's Treefort Restaurant is again partnering with OnMilwaukee on a Flavor of the Day frozen custard contest. We collaborated on the first such contest last summer. So, you might venture to say that this is the second annual contest.
Entrants are asked to submit their idea via the website for a unique flavor combo by Wednesday, Aug 2. If you want, you can steal my idea – chocolate hazelnut with Nutella swirls – because I probably can't enter anyway.
Owners Lou and Pete Liapis – sons of the eponymous founder George – will pick their top five entries as finalists. Then, the general public will taste those and select a winner at a tasting party on Monday, Aug. 7, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Georgie Porgie’s Oak Creek in the Oakbrook Shopping Center, 9555 S. Howell Ave.
The tasting party is free and open to all.
The flavor that garners the most votes will be added to Georgie Porgie's already astonishing array of permanent rotating flavors of the day (you can see the current flavor forecast here) and will earn the inventor a free quart of custard every month for a year.
This year's winner and one of last year's entries (Ice Cream Cake) will also be served all day at Georgie Porgie's on National Frozen Custard Day, Tuesday, Aug. 8.
The four runners-up will get a free quart of their own flavor (or another flavor of their choice).
Last year's finalists can be seen here.
"Milwaukee Frozen Custard" book events
Finally, in addition to taking part in the Georgie Porgie event on Aug. 7, my co-author, Kathleen McCann, and I will do a pair of book talks about "Milwaukee Frozen Custard," at area libraries.
On Monday, July 31, we will be at Mukwonago Community Library at 6 p.m. And on National Frozen Custard Day – Tuesday, Aug. 8 – you can find us at Elm Grove Library at 7 p.m.
Both events are free and there just may be free custard from a local stand at each.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
