Dig in With Graver: Spend the Dog Days of Summer at Winston’s

PHOTO COURTESY OF WINSTON’S GRILLED EATS & FROZEN TREATS

It’s hard to stay chill when you’re a 47-year-old woman hot-flashing through a heat wave during a nationwide estrogen shortage. Thankfully, a cool, new spot just opened in my neck of the woods.

Winston’s Grilled Eats & Frozen Treats moved into the former Crazy Cones of Millvale building, a walk-up food stand with outside seating at 624 North Ave. It’s located just a few blocks from the addictive Kyle’s Cakes N’at, so avoid the area if you’re on a diet.

And if you are, you’re missing out.

Sitting at a picnic table with an ice cream cone on a summer evening as the scent of cheeseburgers wafts through the air is a peak American experience. Throw in a chili dog and you’ll be feelin’ just like John Mellencamp!

PHOTO COURTESY OF WINSTON’S GRILLED EATS & COOL TREATS

Technically, Winston’s serves frozen custard, which is richer and creamier than soft-serve. You can choose from chocolate or vanilla. I prefer a no-frills twist, but you can top yours with sprinkles or have it chocolate- or cherry-dipped.

The eatery also serves char-grilled, quarter-pound burgers, chicken sandwiches, macaroni and pasta salad, fresh-squeezed lemonade and Sahlen’s natural casing hot dogs, a staple in the Buffalo area, where owners Erin Andrzejewski and Michael Carney grew up. (If you want to try more Western New York delicacies such as Beef on Weck, visit The Eastman on the North Side.)

Does your dog have a sweet tooth, too? Order a pup cup! Winston’s also has ground beef patties, grilled chicken and Milk-Bones for four-legged patrons. During my visit, I met a pit bull named Tulip who was drooling almost as much as I was as we waited for our meals.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Andrzejewski and Carney named the place after their late Pomeranian. While the couple is new to the world of frozen treats, they’ve spent the last decade slinging smashburgers and other deliciousness from the Pittsburgh Sandwich Society food truck.

The vehicle was stationed at Strange Roots Experimental Ales Millvale taproom for five years, only venturing out for private events, which gave the chefs time to helm the brewery’s kitchen (which is now Murph’s Kitchen).

Pittsburgh Sandwich Society will hit the road again the first week of August.

Andrzejewski and Carney bought the Crazy Cones building to use as a commissary kitchen, but soon realized residents were hungry for the return of a neighborhood ice cream stand. After getting a crash course in frozen custard from the experts at Philadelphia-based Lloyd’s of Pennsylvania, they debuted Winston’s in May, just in time for the Millvale Music Festival.

The annual event attracts more than 350 bands and 20,000 fans, so it was a real baptism by char-grill for the Buffalonians.

Winston’s will welcome community members again at 8:30 p.m. on July 31 when Millvale Movie Club screens the 1972 film “What’s Up, Doc?” on site.

Bring a chair and a big appetite and settle in for the free flick sponsored by B-Sides, a vintage and secondhand clothing shop on nearby Grant Avenue.

When summer’s over, Winston’s will unleash its fall menu. The business will operate through November and return for a second season in March.

Hopefully, I can find enough estrogen patches to stay chill during their winter hiatus.