Last year, former N-H staffer Dom Anselmo and I trekked alllll theeeee waaaaaay to the west side because he wanted to get banana frozen custard at Weber's Premium Ice Cream in Fairview Park. The summer-like temperatures on the first day of spring motivated us to head back there after I saw a posting on Weber's Facebook page that the ice cream parlor was planning its earliest opening ever for March 20.

Check out what we had to say in August after our first trip there.

Yesterday I had vanilla custard and chocolate custard (in alternating scoops in my cup, so they mixed together nicely), while Dom had peanut butter chocolate ice cream and strawberry custard (the banana custard hadn't been made yet). What a nice treat for the start of spring!

Not all of the flavors have been made, so first-timers might want to wait a few weeks to get a better selection. And remember, the key thing to say is, "We've never been here before." The super-nice staff will give you recommendations and samples of all the important stuff.

It's a bit of a haul to get there, but you won't be disappointed in what you get. If you're not sure you want to spend a couple hours of your day on a trip to get ice cream, you should plan a stop there when tending to other business on the West Side.

Want to learn more about Weber's? Check out this article from WestLife: Vintage machines secret to Weber's ice cream. That's a good dose of nostalgia for old-fashioned ice cream, even for those of us who never had the pleasure of eating vanilla ice cream at Euclid Beach Park or a frosted malt at Higbee's in downtown Cleveland. (That article also notes that Weber's is now sold in quarts and pints at The Grille, "a new restaurant in Cornerstone Plaza at the corner of Lorain and Clague roads").

Weber's Fresh Ice Cream and Custard

20230 Lorain Road
Fairview Park, OH 44126
440-331-0004

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-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

You're going to have to take a bit of a trip to the west side of town for this frozen treat, but Weber's Fresh Ice Cream and Custard is plenty worth it.

What we got

Dom

Let's be honest, I dragged Cheryl out there for one specific reason: Weber's has banana frozen custard. I haven't encountered an ice cream store with banana since my dad had one in Medina over 10 years ago. I knew what I wanted as soon as I walked in the door. Just like at Jeni's, I couldn't pass up anything strawberry. I packed the banana and strawberry frozen custards into a large waffle cone. The waffle cone was not baked all the way, making it a little doughy, which was phenomenal. As much as I wanted to resist, I had to buy some banana to bring home. Thankfully, my mom saw the word "banana" on the lid and said "gross."

Cheryl

I learned the best thing you can say when walking into a place like Weber's is this:

We've never been here before.

The incredibly friendly employees gave us sample after sample of frozen custard and yogurt to help us make our decision. I didn't even pay attention to the menu because I knew I was sampling the best stuff they had. I got a waffle cone with two classic flavors that longtime Clevelanders would love: the original Euclid Beach vanilla and the authentic Higbee's frosted malt. The frosted malt was coming out of the machine while we were there, so I got it fresh from the machine into my cone. Fresh ice cream is incredible - though it makes for slightly messy eating. Thank goodness their cones come with a plastic holder that I used as a bowl when my cone became too messy to eat with my hands. I got a container of frosted malt to take home because I knew it would be a while before I found a flavor like that again. Don't worry, East Siders: Weber's has paper freezer bags to put your ice cream in for a long trip (though you might want to bring a cooler if it's a really hot day or a fairly long drive). I'll definitely be back.

Weber's Fresh Ice Cream and Custard

20230 Lorain Road
Fairview Park, OH 44126
440-331-0004

View Larger Map


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl
and Dom Anselmo | DAnselmo@News-Herald.com | @domanselmo