Scattered across the country are tiny family-owned restaurants that took up the cast-off shell of the little Dairy Queens that those of us with a few years under our belts remember from childhood. Usually closed for the winter because of the lack of indoor seating, these places fill the niche left behind and serve as a gathering place for those wanting to cool down with some soft serve or those hungry for a quick supper. One of those places is Ice Cream Corner, located at 2302 Main St. in Scott City.

I have friends in Scott City, and my pets’ vet is there, so I find myself in town on a regular basis. I keep an eye open for new restaurants opening and closing, and when I saw Ice Cream Corner was open for the season, I knew it was time to stop.

I ordered a banana split, mostly because I haven’t had one for years, maybe even a decade. It was a traditional banana split, with three mounds of ice cream covered with pineapple, strawberry, and chocolate topping, surrounded by a sliced banana and topped with decorative dollops of whipped cream. Seth ordered a Peanut Buster Parfait lookalike, and it was towering and full of hot fudge and peanuts.

The signage that plasters the windows of the little building are, I believe, old DQ pictures of ice cream with all the DQ specific verbiage removed, but I feel Ice Cream Corner is selling itself short by comparing their offerings to Dairy Queen. I’m about to say something that may be controversial, but let the controversy begin! I think the soft serve ice cream at Ice Cream Corner is better than the soft serve sold at Dairy Queen. Not that DQ ice cream is grainy by any means, but ICC’s ice cream is silky smooth, with a richer, more dairy melt in the mouth. It may be just a tiny bit less sweet than DQ, which isn’t a negative for me. I also enjoyed the pineapple topping in particular, with its little chunks of sunshiney brightness.

I also wanted to try some hot food, so I ordered a cheeseburger. Simple, ketchup and mustard, solid, but I’ve heard that the chicken strips are pretty good, and I wish I’d tried those instead. We sat on the tables out front while the sky darkened and let the cool late spring breeze encourage us to zip up our hoodies.

It was fun and nostalgic and reminded me of the childhood DQ that my mom and dad used to take me to. I even shared my story with Seth for the upteenth time about how, before I was even in kindergarten, my parents and I went to DQ to get a cone. As we crossed the road at a trot to get back to our car, the ice cream that topped my cone slid off and onto the hot asphalt road, where it immediately began to melt like milky tears against a black void. I don’t think I cried right away, I was just in shock. It was a trauma that I still remember the pain of. It has faded with time though, and the banana split from Ice Cream Corner made it just a little better, and I suppose I’ll be able to push through the pain. See, folks, you can’t just buy memories like those, and Ice Cream Corner brought back that one for me. And though it sounds like a horrible memory (but I hope you could tell that I was being a tad dramatic,) I’m really quite fond of it, because after the shock of loss came the love and attentiveness from my parents, the comfort and reassurance of people who loved me and took care of me. And got me another cone, of course. I don’t even think Dairy Queen charged us, I looked so pitiful.

So go visit Ice Cream Corner and see if you think the soft serve is better than DQ. While in town, take your ice cream and maybe your disc golf discs (a.k.a., Frisbees) to Scott City Park, and try out the truly wonderful disc golf course that is there. Make a wonderful summer day of it, and add another memory to the banks of experience that makes you the person you are today.

Rebecca LaClair travels to a new place every week to try food from a trendy restaurant or one she hasn’t been to yet.