Michael’s Frozen Custard

I want to preface this review with the disclaimer that Michael’s is a fast food restaurant that serves fast-​food quality food. So, that being said, I am not really writing this review as if the food here stacks up to a local sit-​down place. The hamburgers, cheese curds, fries and onion rings that I have had here are pretty good on a fast food scale. The reason that I am giving them 3 stars (which I think is generous for a fast food place) is because they have this promotion where you can get their burger of the month (this is a selection from their regular menu) and fries for $ 5. $ 5 for an ok burger and fries is a pretty good deal. In addition, service has always been fast and they give my dog treats when we go through the drive through.

Expensive but Delicious! I like the cherry torte sundae it is my fav :)
Also, it is across the street from the park so you can enjoy some sweet views of the Madison Skyline on a summer day/​night!

After a good workout, a friend and I had the «hangries». We wanted something quick but good… and being almost 9p on a Friday, there weren’t a lot of options outside of fast food or pizza. I have some odd dietary restrictions so I wasn’t expecting much from Michael’s. I ordered the California burger (without cheese, mayo and a bun) and sweet potato fries (I was ecstatic about that option). Not only did the young guy at the counter hardly flinch when I ordered, but he humored me when he called out my ridiculous order in front of everyone waiting. I’m sure, like most people, he wasn’t excited about working a Friday night but he didn’t lose his sense of humor.
Taking food to-​go is always a gamble as well. Michael’s did a great job packing the food so it wasn’t spilling everywhere or soggy by the time I made it home. My burger and fries were fantastic, good portions. My friend had the bacon cheeseburger, fries and chili dog and loved it as well.
Thank you Michael’s!

The custard is nice, but little flavor variety. Only 3 flavors. The people working at this place have little patience for the indecisive.

Love the custard – but beware!!! All of the custard contains gluten. This fact should be clearly posted at all locations, clearly an boldly. It could make someone very sick.

Didn’t Michael’s used to be good?
I remember going to the Michael’s in Verona, years ago when I was still in high school. There was nothing better than gorging on malts and burgers on Friday nights in the summer. I remember them being glorious, greasy shrines to all that is good and pure in the world.
I hadn’t been to a Michael’s in years – partially because I had moved out of the area for some time, and partially because there are none in close proximity to my home. However, the other day I happened to be near the Atwood Ave. one at lunch time and figured I’d go for the nostalgia and try to relive my youth for a few paltry seconds.
To say I’m disappointed is an understatement.
First, the place was nearly empty at 11:30am. There was one other couple eating when I went in, but even the drive-​thru was quiet. That should have been my first warning. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and fries. It took a reasonable amount of time for the burger to get to me, but it was seriously lackluster. It was a cheap, thin, frozen patty and some wilted lettuce and a bland tomato. The bacon was okay, but there wasn’t enough of it. The cheese was some processed crap. The fries were equally frozen pieces of bland, tasteless crap.
After my first bite, I wondered if I could ask for my money back. It was so far from what I remembered from my teenage years that it continuing to eat the burger was essentially throwing my happy memories into the toilet.
I hate to make a fuss, so I didn’t. I powered through and finished.
I know why Culver’s is the tried-​and-​true home for decent burgers and malts. Unless something changes, I think I’m done with Michael’s.

Way overpriced. I paid just about $ 21 for a burger basket, an order of cheese curds, bottled water, and two custard cones. Not even worth the price!!! Culvers would have been a better option. the food was ok, but I suppose the custard was good.

Michael’s has been around forever… I’ve eaten more sundaes here than I care to admit. And, without fail, they are good. Every. Single. Time. Yes, they are a bit pricey. Yes, they may be small for what you get. Yes they are all pretty similar. But darn it. They are so stinkin’ good. Just eat them before they melt, because gosh does custard melt faster than ice cream!
I have never eaten the «real» food at this location — so I can’t comment on that. But the sundaes are worth it every time.

A freezer full of titles that need to be decoded!
I asked the counter guy the tough questions:
«What’s the difference between bear claw, elephant trax, and badger trax?»
I can’t remember what the difference was other than that elephant trax sounded the best. I didn’t want to risk ending my day with artificial caramel, so chose the chocolate custard with peanut butter cups.
Perhaps a little steep at upwards of $ 5 per pint, but hey, it’s not much more expensive than regular-​price Haagen-​Dazs or Ben&Jerry’s is getting these days, and I think it’s at least on par, plus it’s freshly made!

Please do not ever go here. This is a public service announcement. I do not even know you and I like you too much to suggest this place.
1– Prices?! Are you kidding me? $ 6 for a milkshake? It was tiny. Not to mention it was not much of a milkshake. It was a peanut butter cup shake. They took some peanut butter cups, crushed them and stirred them into custard with some milk. I saw the whole process. It was not very impressive whatsoever. The flavor was ok.
2 — The food. I had a chili cheese dog. This is my standard order when it is available on the menu. The chili tasted like Hormel. The hot dog was hot and the chili was warm. I like that they have shredded cheese on it, rather than liquid cheese.
3 — My dining companion got a burger. It tasted ok, but it was a very thing patty. He also ordered cheese curds with it. They were so greasy and lacked any good flavor in the breading.
Overall, we spent nearly $ 20 there and I was not satisfied with my meal. Every talks so much about how great the custard is. Nope. Not good. Go to Culver’s! Seriously, for $ 6 you can get something TWICE the size with more mix-​ins. Better yet? Get a cone for you AND a friend.

I have to say that I was really looking forward to living near this place. We came here and got a small chocolate scoop in a cone and a order of ‘large family” fries. The total was 8.50. When the food came the fries were barely a small, obviously frozen and not tasty. the cone was small and not worth almost 4 dollars. The AC was not working on the inside and it was too hot to sit outside. It was the opposite of a good ice cream night with the family experience. I will not be coming back. Java Cat is just a few blocks away and much tastier.

In Madison to watch some club soccer at the park down the road. Skipped breakfast and needed to fill my belly with some lip lickin food that comes fast.
Michael’s looked like a gimmick, but was the closest place I could find. They’re going for a 50s nostalgia drive-​thru and for the most part it works! I recommend going inside to also taste the retro ambiance.
Food? Happy to report significantly better than your average fast food joint. My bacon cheeseburger was dripping with just off the grill grease. It’s a quality burger with fresh veggies to boot. And you won’t find fries like this even at a sitdown restaurant. Holy delicious.
Next time I’ll try the shake.

Great custard, fresh toppings, overall its amazing. $$$ though. I paid $ 4 for a chocolate shake and it was not even that big. A cheaper alternative, obviously Culvers. I would still recommend Michaels though.

For all the hype, Michael’s is quite a disappointment.
Maybe it’s because I didn’t try the custard. But seriously, I didn’t need more weighing down in this weather… so I ordered an orange crush float instead. For something that would have cost me MAYBE 50cents to make at home, I paid close to $ 5 for a 12oz cup. That is ridiculous. In general, I think their prices are pretty steep for what you get… you’d probably have to order a burger to really get a bang for your buck…
Like RB, I also had an issue with the service. It was slow, disorganized, and not very friendly. The line was almost out the door, but the employees behind the counter didn’t even ATTEMPT to speed up the service. One of them just disappeared into a back room. tsktsk. I also thought it was hilarious how one of the employees crumpled up an order form before the order had been completed, and then had to UNcrumple the paper so she could re-​read the order to her coworker. Really?
Anyway, I will probably give the Monroe St. Michael’s — and their custards/​burgers — a shot, but I’m not going to get my hopes up.

I’m a frozen custard novice, so maybe i’ll revise this after I’ve tried some other places.
We came here at about 9:30 on a Thursday night and it was pretty dead. I think we were expecting a normal ice cream shop kind of atmosphere, with a big case of flavors to look at, so we had a bit of a deer-​in-​headlights moment when we first walked in, trying to figure out what we were supposed to order. It turns out they only have 3 flavors (vanilla, chocolate, and one other) per day, and most of your choices come from what sort of sundae you get. Once we figured that out, a number of the sundae choices seemed pretty solid. I ended up going with Turtle, and my husband got the Peanut Butter Cup. Both were excellent. The chocolate shell on the PBC was nicely chocolaty, especially for that kind of a product, and I appreciated that they didn’t skimp on the pecans for the Turtle. We both had smalls, which were QUITE ample. We also got a K9 custard for our dog, which she appeared to enjoy.
I guess I just have a couple of objections that keep this from being a 4-​star place. First, I wish they had more flavors, since I don’t always want a sundae (but maybe this is characteristic of frozen custard joints and is not a fair criticism). Second, I think it should be served slightly colder so that it doesn’t melt as fast when the hot fudge hits it. Third, I felt that it was a bit overpriced for a fast food-​style place. This is especially true of the K9 custard, since we’re used to getting something more along the lines of a 79-​cent kiddie cone for the dog. We’ll probably be back, since its in the neighborhood, but this will not be the last frozen dessert purveyor I visit in Madison.

The best frozen custard!
It’s very smooth and creamy though a bit sweet. Every time I go to Madison, I need to stop here for some creamy frozen treat. The chocolate pecan is my favorite.

Being from out of state, I’m not a custard expert. However, even an idiot knows that this place is good after just one taste.
I enjoyed the black forest flavor of the day. Creamy chocolate and cherries.
Make sure to walk through the back parking lot, through the grassy area and down to the lake to enjoy your treat.

Go for the custard, and if you are doing drive through and want the flavor of the day, be sure to ask for it fresh. I was sure Culver’s just down the way would drive a stake through Michael’s when it opened a few years back, but it hasn’t happened. For those of us who like the real thing, that’s something to be happy about.
I’ve been happy with their veggie burgers and can’t complain about the food over all. Drive in kinda food…

The custard is really fantastic — creamy — the best. The other food, though, is notably disappointing. I’ve had a couple of burgers there and they were greasy and half-​hearted concoctions. I also think that the counter staff could be a lot better. They always seem sullen and taciturn. In the winter you get the impression that they aren’t really even supposed to be open. That is all a shame, though, because the interior is decent — 50’s diner style — and they could surely draw in a very decent off-​season crowd if they chose to work on the food and the staff’s comportment.

My newest obsession. The custard here is amazing. It’s smooth and creamy and full of flavor. Despite the fact that you are eating custard, it doesn’t taste of cream or is buttery like some other custards I’ve had. It tastes of the flavor that you’re eating – whether it be chocolate, coffee, or peanut butter. Check out the flavor of the day, or grab a sundae or float. I’ve only had the root beer float with vanilla custard, but I’ve heard great things about the cherry float.
Another thing that I like about Michael’s is that they have pints of some of their past flavors of the day in the store, unlike some other custard places. So if you couldn’t make it to the restaurant when Red Raspberry was the flavor of the day, you could come back a few days later and pick up a pint. Very nice.
The reason for 4 stars rather than 5 are the non-​custard items on the menu – the burgers and hot dogs. They aren’t the best in quality. Yes, they’re probably made from fresh ingredients, but it seemed like my mushroom swiss burger wasn’t made on the spot – it was probably warmed up. Plus they’re overpriced for what you get.
So I recommend that you grab something to eat at Crema Café or Monty’s, both on Atwood/​Monona, and then finish your meal with some sumpremo custard at Michael’s.