It's hot outside and that's typically a recipe for two things: iced coffee and ice cream. But it can get expensive to cool yourself down with these chilly treats in the summer, so instead of spending money on a pricey tub of ice cream, why not head over to a Canadian fast food chain and try some low-cost soft-serve ice cream instead?
Many fast food spots in the country are offering Canadians soft-serve ice cream in the summer months to allow customers to indulge in the sugary and cold dessert, especially when the weather is too hot, for cheap.
But who has the best soft-serve ice cream in Canada?
For starters, I've never had soft-serve ice cream from a fast food chain before, although I've had a few fancy versions from Le Diperie in Toronto or Chocolats Favoris in Vancouver. So my standards are pretty high.
But times are getting tough, my savings account needs a break and life's too short not to enjoy ice cream in the summer. So, I went to McDonald's, Burger King and Dairy Queen to put all their soft-serve ice creams to the test and honestly, it was a bit hit and miss. I also tried to find it at Wendy's but had no luck.
I tried soft-serve from all three spots and let's just say I had to go home and shower afterwards because things got messy at one place in particular.
Without further ado, here are the best and worst soft-serve ice creams are from fast food chains in Canada, according to me.
McDonald's
McDonald's soft-serve ice cream.
Price: $2.09
I will never, ever buy soft-serve ice cream from McDonald's ever again, mainly because it wasn't ice cream. It was more like soup.
When I picked up my soft serve from McDonald's, I was so excited because everyone always spoke highly about it. Still, I'd never bought it because I associate anything purchased from the fast food chain with being unhealthy and I care about my body.
Narcity editor Josh Elliott recently described his own experience with working at McDonald's as a teenager, and from what he said about cleaning the ice cream machine, it sounds nasty.
The experience of tasting it was also fairly nasty. The minute I walked out of the McDonald's, the ice cream instantly started melting at an unprecedented rate, and they only gave me one napkin, which quickly became useless.
I was trying to lick it fast enough to save my outfit from becoming a total mess, but I legitimately failed.
I needed to bite the cone for the taste test, and I wish it melted away too, because it tasted like cardboard.
After McDonald's, I walked around Toronto in the scorching heat with sticky toes and hands and was absolutely miserable.
It was chaotic.
Rating: 1/5
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen soft-serve ice cream.
Price: $3.77
When going into this taste test, I thought Dairy Queen would be the apparent winner, but it wasn't. For a brand known mostly for ice cream, why weren't the cold desserts the greatest?
Well, let me tell you why. The ice cream tasted like cold water mixed with sugar. I was confused because I couldn't pinpoint what the soft serve should taste like.
I had to buy a bottle of water to push down all the sugar residue I felt on my teeth and lips.
However, I did enjoy the creaminess and fluffiness of the ice cream. It looked like and felt like I was eating a cloud, so the experience was pleasant.
Also, when I walked outside with the ice cream, it only started melting around 4 minutes into my experience, so it was manageable to eat before it turned into watery sugar.
The cone was the best part of the Dairy Queen soft-serve ice cream experience. Oh my goodness, it was delicious. It literally tasted like my childhood.
Cheap sugar cones are one of my favourite parts of ice cream. I'm not a fan of the fancy waffle cones. The DQ sugar cone is what I crave sometimes and that's what they delivered.
The price of the smallest DQ soft-serve ice cream in a cone is nearly double the price of a soft-serve cone at any of the other fast food chains, so while it definitely beats McDonald's, I still think it's not even worth it in the end.
Rating: 3/5
Burger King
Burger King soft-serve ice cream.
Price: $2.09
Winner winner, ice cream for dinner.
Burger King, yet again, surprised me and won another one of my taste tests. It looks like this underdog and underrated fast food chain has a lot of delicious treats, but McDonald's popularity overshadows them.
Nevertheless, let's talk about ice cream. I didn't even know that Burger King had ice cream, and it was out of the way for me to try it. It also sucked to walk there with sticky shoes — thank you, McDonald's.
But anyways, once I got there, cleaned off all the McStickiness and got my hands on some soft-serve ice cream, I was impressed.
It was delightful and not overpowering. The ice cream's creaminess was enjoyable and didn't become soup within seconds. Instead, I was able to enjoy it for a couple of blocks before it started to become a mess.
If we were to analyze it on its own, the cone wasn't the best — DQ wins that one. But when you bit into it with the ice cream, it had the perfect balance between crunchy and sweet.
Overall, Burger King will satisfy that ice cream craving and make it a more enjoyable option compared to the other two fast food chains.
Rating: 5/5
In conclusion, the best fast food chain soft serve ice cream winner is Burger King, but that comes with many "buts."
Even though I chose Burger King as the winner of this taste test, I don't think I'll ever go back to any of them because I was more miserable with the outcome and the process than I should've been, and it wasn't even worth it.
I feel like every soft-serve ice cream experience ends with stickiness and grossness. Why do that to myself again when I can enjoy a scoop of ice cream or gelato from a local spot instead?
But, then again, that's just my opinion and maybe you get what you pay for.
Still, if you do decide to go grab a soft-serve cone on a hot summer day, just remember that I warned you about the mess!
