Dairy Queen — Restaurant in Virden

Back in the late 70's, 1970's that is, a girl I worked with down in Carbondale introduced me to one of my favorite treats, the chocolate-banana malt. Let me tell you that DQ made a terrific one that I have found it difficult to come close to at any other DQ's.

However, within 20 or so miles of me there at least 5 or 6 DQ  locations that I have tried BUT NONE HAVE MATCHED consistently the DQ in Virden, Illinois!!

Let me explain.

For the most part the staff are teenagers, probably still in school (I usually come by this location on the way home after 8pm, or, occasionally I will have lunch there and a supper.)

What makes this location standout are these young adults. I assume they are local, and I'm not faulting anyone else there who are older, it's just that as a group these "kids" (I'm in my late 60's) are some of the most genuine, caring and hard-working individuals you will ever have the fortune to meet.  And by God, they will create the best treats and other food items just the way you want them AND their attitudes are upbeat and positive.

I just can't say enough about them. It's personal for me when it comes to service and the quality of what you order and they deliver!

While I am not riding around on my Honda 350 and stopping by for my chocolate-banana malt like I did 43+ years ago , they make it seem like I am back at SIU-C and living life with a smile.

Thank you Dairy Queen in Virden, Illinois for allowing me to not only harken back to a simpler time with good people who aren't angry AND putting a smile on my face while I savor the items I...

Ordered a medium cup of ice cream and a medium dipped cone, at the window. She repeated our order back with chocolate ice cream. We clarified no chocolate ice cream. We want vanilla. We get to the window. She adks if we wanted chocolate ice cream with the dolped cone. No, we want vanilla. She looks into the store, turns back to us, says, she's already making it. Here comes a chocolate ice cream cone dipped in chocolate. Advised that we wanted vanilla. NP. She'll fix it. The cup was in a bag. Got it out. It is chocolate ice cream. Went inside to get vanilla. Girl at window keeps looking at me. I do not know this girl but it was almost as if she intended to mess up the order. Why did she let the other employee make the wrong cone and cup after we told her at the window that we did not want chocolate? Is she that ignorant? No common sense at all. She needs a serious chat with...

This is a decent Dairy Queen. The food is good and the staff is usually friendly. The main issue here is the extremely slow service. Their kitchen is rather small and their staff is mostly high-schoolers, so ordering a chicken strip basket is often a 20-minute or more wait. During a busy time, you just go somewhere else. On the plus side, we've never gotten a messed up order from here, which is saying something compared to most fast food places (especially the Hardee's down...