The Meadows Original Frozen Custard — Restaurant in Maryland

I’m from where the original Meadows is located, and if you’re expecting this to be like that or any of the other franchise locations you’ll be disappointed. I know I’m about to sound over the top, but I really love the Meadows and am a fan of the brand. So much so that we drive an hour away to another location because this one is just that sub par! We really do love the frozen custard!

That being said, here are the facts about this location:

They do not have actual flavors of the day like other franchises. They have vanilla and chocolate flavor with things mixed in, and that’s it. No black cherry, blueberry, raspberry, mint chocolate chip, butter pecan, etc. which is a hallmark of the chain. Extremely disappointing because this is one of the things people look forward to the most when ordering from The Meadows. They have no indoor seating open even though they have the space for it, so you have to sit out in the heat or in your car. I’m not sure why this is, because again, they have an indoor space but it’s just blocked off and closed up. Their hours are too restrictive. They’re only open limited hours on weekends in the summer only. They do not offer black cows, banana splits, etc. which you would expect (again) from this franchise. The service is great, and the owner seems kind. I think he may be overwhelmed running this place alone as I rarely see any other employees. Their prices compared to the same products at locations elsewhere are inflated. For example, a hot fudge Sunday in PA costs around 4$. Here, its 8$. Their vanilla custard rocks, as it should, and is not the same as ice cream. You’ll be fine ordering this if you know the product from other locations. I don’t believe it is made fresh, though, as I never see the machines actually running.

All in all, this location gives “The Meadows Frozen Custard” a bad name. It’s upsetting, and someone should really come to this location to help support and train the staff here.

Pro’s: the vanilla custard is great and the...

I'm a big fan of frozen custard, and this place has the best I've had. A nice find after the old custard place near Enchanted Forest was torn down.

Creamier, richer, tastier than either soft serve or fro-yo. You can also get it in various forms like shake, sundae, with espresso poured over, etc.

The GF really enjoyed the "gelati" which is layers of italian ice and custard. The italian ice is made in-house, various flavors, much better than the watery stuff I've tried elsewhere. The mango was particularly good.

They have an espresso bar-- the espresso itself was a little weak, but I get the impression the coffees are mostly made to be mixed with custard (or poured over custard).

They also have fro-yo and varying flavors of the day. The father-daughter team running the place was friendly and efficient. There's a frequent-buyer card.

We've already been back twice. It's cheaper than Coldstone or Baskin Robbins, and tastes delicious. A small is filling enough for an adult, though a medium is a delicious indulgence. Highly...

I grew up where going to the “ice cream stand” really meant getting a delicious frozen custard (usually soft serve). Meadows’ custard harkens back to those creamy frozen custard memories.

The frozen custard at Meadows was scooped, although the soft serve machines were right behind the other custard containers. I didn’t ask, but maybe both soft serve and scooped are available based on the order?

I had a creamsicle “gelati” - frozen vanilla custard combined with orange Italian ice. The combination lightened up the richness of the custard, a needed modification after coming from a rich dinner. Delicious and definitely repeatable!

Meadows is tucked in on the side of the Giant grocery in the Hickory Ridge...