Ice Cream Madness Vol. I.

Bean Bags and Hula Hoops are part of the scene at Elsie's

A guide to the area’s best

We are flying through July and National Ice Cream Month.
Which makes sense since why would you have ice cream month in, say,January?
Not to say this frozen delicacy with its roots in ancient Greece isn’t appropriate to consume in that chilly month with an equal amount of the pleasure it brings in July. After all January is National Soup month but there are those who continue to fill their bowls in the summer, though admittedly we prefer a chilled Gazpacho to a mug of chicken noodle when the temp is kissing the high numbers.
In honor of the month N3 will be featuring some vignettes on the purveyors of this popular treat who populate our region.
If you might have a favorite stop for that special cone, that one of a kind malted or an offering from the non frozen menu send us an email and we will do our best to check it out on an experiential basis.
After all sacrifices sometimes have to be made…
Our first entry is from Charles Chandler a true aficionado of good food found in a wide variety of venues.

National Ice Cream Day is always on the third Sunday of July.  And why not, hot summer weather is the perfect time for celebrating and enjoying this cold, delicious and sometimes messy treat.  This year National Ice Cream Day fell on July 15, and many big chains like Ben & Jerry’s and Haagen-Dazs, and Baskin-Robbins had freebie tastings and all day specials.  Those big name shops are a drive for most folks so maybe a tour of our favorite local ice cream establishments is in order. An investigative challenge for the Near North Now contributors and editorial staff to be sure, but someone has to do the hard work.
First up on this N3 Contributor’s list was Elsie’s Ice Station located at 104 S Division Ave, in Fremont, MI.  Elsie’s was a former service station that has been tastefully transformed into is a cute green, white, and pink ole fashion ice cream joint.  Owner Paulette Truax-Rossing has done well with this little conversion. According to the posted menu, Elsie’s offers both soft serve and Hudsonville that Michigan favorite in about 50 different flavors. These are delivered in cups, sugar and waffle cones for the minimalist, or in shakes, Sundays and banana splits for the serious consumers. You can pair your selections with flurries, root beer floats, and slushies.  
Elsie’s staff said that summer favorites were a toss up between the soft serve and the Hudsonville butter pecan. My order was taken by the very helpful Avery and being that it was a working dinner I had an authentic A&W root beer float and a delicious Chicago style Hotdog.  What a delight that dog was, it even had that traditional fluorescent green relish and those spicy sports peppers.
Elsie’s is getting four stars for decoration and amenities.  There is an abundance of umbrella tables and chairs outside, tables in the former auto service bays and swings in the shade accented with beautiful hanging baskets.  They have a bean bag toss game setup, hula hoops, and sidewalks chalk to keep the little and big kids occupied while waiting for their orders or after they have dropped, spilled and slurped through their favorites and are impatiently waiting for the older set to finish up.
Elsie’s Ice Station is worth the drive.