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| - Let me begin by saying I am a native of Madison and have been a lifelong lover of Michael's since it opened in 1986. Let me also state that my rating is partly a protest vote against the asinine dance music that is incessantly blared at the Monroe St. location. The music has become so annoying I am struggling to bring myself to enjoy stopping by any longer. I've asked the employees why it's played and I'm told "it's the owner's iPod" and that the employees basically can't do anything about it.
That said, let's get to business:
Michael's is Madison's local independent custard joint. It's been around since the 1980s and has a solid history in the Monroe Street neighborhood where this location is located. As far as frozen custard goes, Michael's is pretty good but it's just not what it once was. Even I have to admit that rapidly expanding, yet Wisconsin based Culver's offers better custard today. I've returned to Madison from Los Angeles for a couple weeks every summer for about 10 years and Michael's has gradually lost a lot of its appeal.
The Custard: It's not as creamy as it once was but the real problem is that the flavors are losing creativity and failing to come together as they once did. Case in point: my wife's Mint Chip had no chips tonight while another patron's was overflowing with chocolate chips. The quality control is not there. The texture is lacking the creaminess so important in good custard. And the flavors rarely have fresh berries - a sign that the custard is just not made fresh like it once was.
The employees were once local teenagers, usually West High Students or Edgewood High students that looked like they were having fun and engaging the customers. Today, employees are disengaged and give you the impression they're just going through the motions. They do the job...but that's it.
The store itself is reasonably clean but it's the details that count. The fluorescent lights are covered in bugs and spider webs, the parking lot is deteriorating, and the store basically needs some investment (bathrooms, lighting, landscaping etc...)
This takes me to my final point: the Music. It drives my totally crazy. Why is a Frozen Custard stand in Madison Wisconsin that is covered in kitschy 1950'sesque décor blaring club music every time I go there (this has been a constant for several years now)? If the custard was perfect and the customer service impeccable, fine, I'll live with it. But Michael's is a restaurant that has disengaged ownership and functions as a conveyor belt of cash to the owner's pocket. It's the worst kind of independent retail: retail that doesn't care about customers because they'll keep coming back. In the end it's sad to admit as a proud Madisonian that my Milwaukee friends are correct: Kopp's is better. Oh how I miss what you once were Michael's Frozen Custard.
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