Donna Ruth Duggan Lile
October 2, 2012
Chabert hit with added cuts and job losses
October 5, 2012
Although Frostop in Thibodaux doesn’t offer a variety of daily specials like other places we’ve featured in this space, it’s an affordable option with enough special characteristics to put it a notch above typical fast-food options.
As far as substance is concerned, it does not disappoint.
“Wild Man,” our server wearing a black and gold jester’s cap with a fleur-di-lis sandwiched between his moniker, is upbeat and personable. Like a hawk, he delivers our beverages and then again, delivers our beverages before the frosted glass mugs are depleted.
He tells us the root beer is homemade, and though he can’t share the recipe, it does contain “a lot of sugar.” That’s no exaggeration. While it’s not overly sweet, it’s not exactly a healthy choice for daily doses. Better use moderation, if that’s possible.
The reprieve from carbonated soda at a fast food joint is made possible by the perfected sugar-to-flavor ratio, and it reminds me of times when my grandmother would prep her own homemade version for us to enjoy.
I ordered the Lotto Special combo, a cheeseburger and order of fries. The burger comes dressed with lettuce, tomato and a mayonnaise-based and addicting special sauce. The meat is underwhelming, but it’s framed with well-toasted buns and agreeable ingredients.
My guest reports that his roast beef po-boy was served warm and loaded with fixings. It was a sloppy, but delicious eat, he says, and something worth ordering again during a return visit.
Frostop, which had locations nationwide during its peak in 1958, opened in Springfield, Ohio, in 1926. The company sells bottled root beer in nine states, but sadly none of them are in the South.
The Thibodaux diner, with its food counter serving as a window into the kitchen, also serves various seafood meals.
The fries that come with our servings are skinny, straight and bland, only remarkable in their shortcomings. The miniature fried potatoes seem like a good place to cut costs, giving off the impression that they are shipped in mass quantities.
But if that’s what it takes to subsidize bottomless mugs of homemade root beer, it’s only a minor inconvenience.
“Wild Man” poses for a photo at Frostop in Thibodaux. The fast-food restaurant’s homemade root beer is a sweet delight.
