Culver’s — Restaurant Review
Culver’s is a chain of Midwestern restaurants that is slowly working its way into the rest of the country. There are only eight in Tennessee so far, all in central Tennessee, a four hour drive or more from western Tennessee. This makes eating at Culver’s a special treat for us, since we can only do so once or twice a year.
Culver’s is best known for Butterburgers (hamburgers made with a lightly buttered, toasted bun), cheese curds, and some truly excellent frozen custard. Each restaurant is decorated in blue and white, making them easy to spot and recognize at a distance. Culver’s is right at the border of Nice fast food and casual dining. Pricewise and menu-wise, think of them as halfway between Dairy Queen and Denny’s. Guests have to go to the front counter to order, but then your food is delivered to your table.
The menu emphasizes sandwiches and hamburgers, but they also have shrimp, cod, salads, chicken, soup, and chili. Their French fries are far better than McDonald’s, but not as skinny as Freddy’s Steakburgers. I recommend the fresco salad with grilled chicken, the chicken noodle soup, and the pot roast sandwich. My son recommends the chicken tenders and the root beer. He wishes they would bottle the root beer and sell it outside the restaurant. My husband and my father-in-law speak well of the shrimp and the chili. At our last visit, my husband had the Pretzel Haus Pub Burger; he said it was good, but messy: a pretzel-bun burger with bacon and cheese.
The frozen custard is wonderful. Their concrete mixers are thick sweet, and creamy; guests can choose from a variety of mix-ins ( fruit, nuts, candy, cookie pieces). My favorite is the chocolate custard with raspberries and blueberries. Or the chocolate custard with mini-M&Ms as a close second. Chocolate and vanilla are always available, but they also have a flavor of the day that changes constantly. [For us, the best flavors of the day are usually scheduled after we are leaving the area and heading home.] Their frozen custards are excellent, but not so good that I’d look up what the flavor of the day is on their website and make an eight hour round trip at the current price of gas. My son suggested if we lived closer to a Culver’s and could go more often, we’d take them for granted. He’s probably right. He’s a clever young man. I wish I knew someone with the money and restaurant experience to purchase a Culver’s franchise. It would be nice to have one in the area. The investment is more than I can afford. It takes money to make money.
