Ode to the Blizzard

Posted on September 16th, 2008 by admin

That’s right. We’re doing an Ode today. I don’t really know what “doing” an ode means, but were going to be ode-ing today. About the magically delicious Blizzard. If you don’t know what a Blizzard is, I apologize. I apologize for the fact that you have never been able to experience one of the greatest ice cream treats ever created. EVER! I apologize that you have yet to live your life to the fullest.

The Blizzard is an ice cream treat that can be found at the Dairy Queen.

My smallish hometown has a Dairy Queen. I have been going to that Dairy Queen for as long as I can remember. When I went to college in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, that town also had a Dairy Queen. Although it didn’t have a drive-thru which meant we frequented it less that I would have liked. If I’m eating something that is horribly bad for me, there is NO way that I want to burn 30 calories standing in line!

My treat of choice at the DQ is obviously the Blizzard. The Blizzard is a big cup of soft serve vanilla ice cream with delicious treats mixed in. Snickers, Reese’s, Oreo, Mint Oreo*, Banana Cream Pie*, Strawberry Cheesequake, M&M’s, Cookie Dough, the list goes on and on.

* indicates my flavors of choice.

And if you’ve never experienced Dairy Queen soft serve-you have no idea what you’re missing.

Obviously. Duh Julie.

It’s different than any other soft serve. It’s stiffer or something. I can’t explain it.

The first time that I actually had Dairy Queen since moving to Houston was earlier this year. T and I looked up our nearest location on the Internet and it was like 30 minutes away! I had to beg and plead with T to get him to take me there. Then, through word of mouth, I found out that there was a DQ about 3 miles from our apartment!!! What??? It’s been there this whole time while I’ve been pining away for my Blizzards!? That’s probably a good thing that we didn’t know how close it was. Unfortunately, our nearby DQ isn’t quite the facility I was hoping it to be. It’s in a sort of scary neighborhood and the building itself is hidden behind a junkyard and a mechanic shop. It does have a drive-thru, but it takes forever. The DQ is owned by an Asian family and they seem very nice, but they are total cheap-o’swhen it comes to serving sizes.

I suppose that my little hometown Dairy Queen spoiled me. The facility was nice and clean and had picnic tables in the back. The Houston DQhas no picnic tables. Partly because I think they are afraid that they will be stolen. The thing that I miss the most about my hometown DQ is the abundance of Blizzard that was served. You could order a small and get plenty of ice cream to satisfy.

Take a look at the difference between my beloved hometown Blizzard and the crappy Houston Blizzard:

Hometown DQ Blizzard….

Mint Oreo!!!!

Do you notice how the cup is overflowing with ice cream goodness? Please ignore the disgusting fake nails. It’s protrudinging to the sky. It’s like a tower of Blizzard. That’s just how the hometown blizzards have always come. Overfull. Yummy. Satisfying. It just made me happy. Obviously a little too happy as I came down with a Blizzard addiction that led to some weight gain over the years. It was hard to pass the DQ without pulling in and ordering a Blizzard. And since it was right on the one, main road of my hometown…I passed it a lot.

Now let’s compare that with the sad Blizzard that I received at the Houston DQ:

Booooo

It’s sad isn’t it? This Blizzard even came with a drink lid squished on top of it. You can see the special “Blizzard” lid that is used in the hometown Blizzards. They go above and beyond even if you need a lid. I think I shed a tear when they handed me this Blizzard at the dirty Houston DQ. T could see the disappointment in my eyes and began to tell me that I was dumb for getting so upset over the Blizzard.

But you can clearly see from the pictures what I am missing!

I’m missing about 3 inches of Blizzard-y goodness!!!!

I have to look at the positive and think about all the calories that I will save myself while I’m being subjected to the crappy Houston DQ. And I’m all about quality over quantity…but not when it comes to my ice cream.

Do you feel my pain? Are you missing a hometown treat?