Abbott’s Frozen Custard

The movies «Abbott A Boy» and «10 Things I Hate Abbott You» were both filmed in this ice cream shop which you won’t recognize from either movie, as was «Abbott Last Night» which was filmed long before this shop even opened, so it’s a mystery, wrapped in a puzzle, something inside an enigma. Or whatever. It has a lot of history, but then so does England, and that doesn’t make English Frozen Custard any better than crap, which it is.
What to get: Vanilla Custard.
You’ll find Abbott’s inside Bill Gray’s. It’s a separate business that shares a space, much like Taco Bell/​KFC do in many places. The employees inside work for both. Bill Gray’s is a Rochester institution, and Abbott’s is too.
This is my fave frozen custard in town, by far. It’s vastly underrated.
It’s one of my «best 5 custards I’ve ever had.» I think I like custard more than ice cream, more than fro yo, less than real gelato, but that’s beside the point. Focusing specifically on custard, which is sort of like soft-​serve-​but-​creamier, the best in the country are Leon’s in Milwaukee, followed by Nielsen’s in Vienna, VA just outside DC, and then Abbott’s in 3^rd. After that, I think Cleveland has the next-​best, and then there are a lot that are more or less tied.
There are several Abbott’s dotting the Rochestonian (made that up) landscape. There were only two in Buffalo, until the damn Boulevard Mall shut down their damn food court, which had a Bill Grays/Abbott’s, and now there is only this one.
You’ll have to come here and try it to see for yourself how good it is. I will admit that, like other reviews have said, I used to enjoy it more a few years ago. I’m not sure if the custard changed, or my tastes did. I feel like it used to be harder, they’d dig it out of a bucket or something, and it was amazing. These days it’s softer and more melty, more like soft serve. I’ll have to try some of the Abbott’s in Rochester next time I’m over there and see if I’m just imagining things, and how the custards differ.
Anyway, it’s still fantastic, creamy, sinfully delicious custard that is better than the next-​best versions (Red Caboose, probably Frosty’s and Nina’s) in the area. Come and give it a try and see for yourself what all the Rochesteritonianisticalishy fuss is Abbott.

This is the only ice cream that I can eat a lot of… I think it’s the salty sweet combo of my favorite flavor and the fact that the sweet is not too sweet. Where some local ice cream favorites tend to be especially rich (Jenny’s) or overly sweet and seemingly flavorless (Lake Effect), Abbott’s strikes it just right with a high quality, light, and tasty frozen custard.
My favorite flavor is chocolate almond. It’s chocolate custard with tons of salty almond bits smooshed into it. And I love it on a regular cone. That last bite when the end of your ice cream has melted into that final grate in the bottom of the cone is my personal FAVE!
Abbott’s originated in Rochester, NY. Rochester, to me, is the capital of summer picnic cookout food. They know their hots, burgers, rings, fries, picnic salads, and of course… ICE CREAM!
Located inside of Bill Gray’s, another Rochester hot dog and hamburger legend, you can indulge in the best of all of Rochester’s picnic nostalgia with a cool cone after your saucy grilled meat!