Hot ’N’ Frosty has plenty for foodies

NINETTE — If you’ve got a list of places you’re aiming to visit in Manitoba this summer, this little unincorporated community should be on it. Located on the north shores of Pelican Lake, Ninette is one of those little Prairie jewels that we don’t talk about nearly enough when we think of tourism in western Manitoba.

The lake itself is a great place for boating, fishing and swimming in the summer months, and the community is home to the celebrated Pelican Yacht Club, where you can enjoy great views of the marina and its namesake lake.

But while you may come for the lake life, you’ll stay for the ice cream.

Ninette’s Hot ’N’ Frosty drive-in is one of those seasonal intangibles that tend to draw a lot of attention during the warm summer temperatures. Located down the main thoroughfare of the community at 207 Queens Street North, the drive-in offers an order and a pick up window, a diverse menu, and an adjacent little green space with picnic tables set up for customers.

Last week Tuesday afternoon, I made the journey from Brandon to Ninette for a late lunch and a little ice cream. And though the day was overcast and drizzling rain, the young staff were kept non-stop busy with orders, even well past the noon hour rush at 2 p.m.

The menu itself has the normal burger and hot dog list, including hamburgers, cheeseburgers, a chicken fillet burger and a whistle dog. But there are a few outstanding ones, including the Chicken Pesto burger with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato and pesto aioli on a pretzel bun. There’s a Pelican burger too that sports two beef patties, bacon, cheese and the usual veggie toppings. The drive-in also offers broasted chicken dinners, seafood platters and various kinds of take out pizza. It’s really a one-stop shop for Ninette foodies.

As I often do for these kinds of reviews, I asked the young woman at the till what the most popular dishes are, to give a fair look at what the drive-in is most known for. She suggested the chicken ranch wrap, which comes with lettuce, cucumber, crispy chicken, cheddar, bacon and ranch dressing for $10.25. And it comes with coleslaw.

While this is an ice cream feature, I have to give Hot ’N’ Frosty props for a really solid wrap here. The chicken was the star — not processed, but rather a solid piece of meat with a crispy breading, broken up and mixed in with the other ingredients. The wrap itself must have been approaching two pounds in weight, and was easily enough to satiate my appetite.

If I could offer one suggestion, the flour tortilla used as the wrap was fine but a little cool. The wrap would be even better if the whole sandwich was grilled after it was put together. Though tasty, the coleslaw was your garden variety side.

I thought it also best to try something from their Sides & Snacks menu, which includes everything from sweet potato fries and poutine, to battered mushrooms and perogies.

Having seen this item on several drive-in menus over the past two years — and having never tried them — I decided upon the breaded pickles for $7.25.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I got what I paid for. Quartered lengthwise from a massive gherkin, this sour and savoury dill-forward snack comes in a small cardboard box with a side of ranch dressing. There’s a definite crunch, but watch out when you take that first bite — those pickles are deceptively hot.

While the savoury side of the menu is worth the trip down to Ninette, it’s the ice cream that really stands out. Hot ’N’ Frosty has one particular weekly feature that must be a local favourite. Every week the drive-in offers a different ice cream feature. This past week’s feature — which was listed on its Facebook page — was the Butterscotch Confetti Sundae, described as a vanilla soft serve topped with butterscotch, peanut butter and mini marshmallows.

That was just too overly sweet for my tastes, so instead I ordered a small caramel sundae, and drove over to the nearby Terry Fox Memorial Park to sit along the dock overlooking the marina and enjoyed my order.

But they offer a lot more, including banana splits, parfaits, floats, ice cream cakes and a selection of hard ice cream as well as the soft serve.

Though the community is not large, it’s definitely worth taking an ice cream cone to walk the streets. Several residences have boats in their yards, or pelican images adorning their homes and front gates.

Other places to check out:

• GardenView Drive In, Wawanesa — Now in its fourth season, the GardenView Drive In offers it’s locally famous Jack Bacon Burger — a juicy quarter pound of beef with all the trimmings — and a unique spin on ice cream cones with an attractive flavour swirl.