Rice Street -2 stores - By Phalen and by Arlington

Sorry about the lack of identifiers for this post, but it was kind of a drive by experience. My friend, Greg Page, said there were a couple DQs on Rice Street, that might be worth a look.  

The one closest to the Capital on Rice St, just south of Arlington is a cute little walk-up DQ.  Cute except for the packing tape over the cracks in the front window.  Not really the nicest DQ in the system, but it is the one closest to the Capital!  This must be where the Governor goes for his DQ.  I bet I know which White Castle he goes to as well.

Price:

Small cone - $1.39

Medium - $1.59

Large - $1.99

Peanut Buster Parfait - $3.29

The cone was overfluffed and had none of the awesome DQ consistency.  I ate it quickly in my car, disappointed, but not unexpectedly so--they didn't really take care of their DQ.  Points off for not respecting themselves.

I kept driving north on Rice St to the Phalen neighborhood.  This DQ was decked out with a nice drive thru, but I don't think it was a Grill and Chill.  Prices were slightly higher:

Small Cone - $1.39

Medium - $1.79...higher

Large - $1.99

Peanut Buster Parfait - $3.69...higher.

I don't know what their cones are like.  I just had one 4 minutes earlier and I was on my way to dinner in an hour or so. So they missed out.  I bet it would have been awesome.  They took much better care of their store.

Edina--An Unexpected Deal?

There is a Dairy Queen by the DQ headquarters in Edina, MN (77th and Hwy 100).  I'm usually not a big fan of this store since it is a training store and service is inconsistent.  My coworkers go there for breakfast, which I also think is weird, but their bacon and eggs look pretty good.

I went there twice this week.  I haven't been trying new DQs and had some withdrawal symptoms (crabbiness, weight loss), and needed my some soft serve.

On Monday there was a bit of a mix up with whether or not my medium cone was "for here or to go."  Since they were not going to put it in a bag, I didn't think there was any difference in my options. Anyway, blah, blah, blah--I get a large cone instead of a medium.  Saw-weeet!  

I figured this was because the trainee was giving me a hard time and the manager wanted to make things cool.  It worked.

Wednesday, still symptomatic, I stop by again, this time just for a small cone.  The same manager gives me a medium?  I know because I was watching which  cone dispenser she pulled from.

Is this a gem of a find, does someone there think I'm too cute to get only what I paid for, or does someone know I blog about my DQ experiences for the world.  I'm okay with any of these options.

Blaine DQ - sm cone still $1.19, still awesome

I went back to the DQ in Blaine on Hwy 65 this week.  They have the lowest prices of the DQs I have reviewed so far and I am going back frequently to see if they are still awesome.

They are.  Excellent cone.  Excellent service.  Excellent price.

But don't get a hot dog there.  They microwave the dog after you order it and microwave it pre-mustarded and pre-bunned.  That negates the reason why you have a bun in the first place--to be able to hold onto to something that is hot.

I suggest sticking with Frankie's on Broadway Ave in NE Mpls for your hot dog needs.  Or Super America.  I've had a good dog or two there as well.

Lake Josephine DQ - Lexington Ave $1.69 sm cone

The Dairy Queen on Lexington Ave across from Lake Josephine in Roseville is a destination DQ, like the DQ by Minnehaha Falls in Mpls.  You go there because it's right by where you are at anyways.

It's probably good that it is right across from this beautiful lake, because this DQ was not very good on this particular night.  I was not there because of the beach.  

I went there at about dusk, and it is only about 50 degrees, but there were other people at the beach this night.  There was a young couple walking and holding hands, and there was a pedophilish looking overweight adult on the swings, killing time.  There was even a few people fishing off the dock.

This DQ has a drive thru and an enormous parking lot and quite a bit of outdoor seating.  Nice place.

The boy who took my order seemed a bit rushed.  He tossed together a small, mis-shaped, over-marshmellowy mess of a small cone and practically dashed away to do something I couldn't see.  My guess is that it was an off day on many counts and that a visit this weekend would give me a perfectly normal cone.  But this is my blog and they only get one shot since they won't be in the running for best DQ.  

The prices break down like this:

Small Vanilla Cone: $1.69

Medium: $2.09

Large: $2.49

Peanut Buster Parfait: $4.09

Overall, prices are above average.  The aggregate cost for one each is over $10.00--less than 30% of the stores reviewed so far cost more than $10.00 for one each of the review items.

Just to compare: Blaine (Hwy 65) charges only $8.05 for three cones and a PBP.  Lake Josephine DQ charges $10.36.  

Shop wisely, and avoid panic buying.