It may be Brew City, but custard is no small matter in Milwaukee, where everyone has his or her own favorite custard stand. This, of course, may go a long way toward explaining our waistlines. But, hey, what's the point of livin' if you can't go a-lickin' custard every now and again.

Although it looks a lot like ice cream to an outsider, custard is made from cream and egg yolks and has considerably less air added than ice cream, which makes it denser. And because it gets to your mouth before being refrozen, unlike ice cream, custard is creamier and softer than its more famous cousin.

We're not going to tell you which custard stand is the best, because as previously mentioned, it is clearly a matter of taste (and because we're looking to avoid an all-out brawl). But here is a list of some of the city's best-loved custard shops, in case you've missed a few on your quest for the cold, creamy comfort in a cone.

Bella's Fat Cat
2737 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., (414) 747-9746
2974 N. Oakland Ave., (414) 431-8480
http://www.bellasfatcat.net/
With locations on the north and south sides of the city, Bella's dishes up creamy custard in this retro custard/burger stand. Great onion rings complement your burger very well.

Bubba's Frozen Custard, Jumbo Burgers & Red Hots
1276 Capitol Dr., Pewaukee, (262) 695-8189
http://www.bubbasfrozencustard.com/
Order your favorite smooth and creamy custard then enjoy it outside during the summer.

Cream City Custard
1440 S. 84th St., (414) 774-4000

Ferch's Malt Shoppe and Grill
5636 Broad St., Greendale, (414)423-1414
www.ferchsmaltshoppeandgrille.com
Ferch's offers sandwiches, burgers and a daily fish fry in addition to their well known custard. It also may be one of the only sites in area to try low-carb custard.

Georgie Porgie's Sandwich Shop/Frozen Custard
9555 S. Howell Ave., Oak Creek, (414) 571-9889
www.georgieporgies.com
A place that offers tasty food, from classic burgers to super sundaes and kabobs, Georgie Porgie's has some of the best custard around.

Gilles Frozen Custard
7515 W. Bluemound Road, (414) 453-4875
http://www.gillesfrozencustard.com/
So very little about Gilles has changed since Mr. Paul Gilles opened the custard stand in 1938, including just two ownership changes. It's old school to the bone, and it's still a regular stop for now Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Custard is king, of course, but we also love "Those Things," which are exclusive Gilles treats made with vanilla custard on top of a homemade peanut cookie and then dipped in chocolate. Yea, baby. Good stuff.

Golden Gyros Frozen Custard
7233 W. Lincoln Ave., West Allis, (414) 541-7580
Try the flavor of the day, which is sure to be a mouth-watering creation like Caramel Chocolate Truffle or Cherry Amaretto. Yum!

Gus's Drive-In
3131 Main St., East Troy, (262) 642-2929
http://www.gussdrivein.com/
Have the carhops bring you burgers, sodas, malts and of course, custard!

Hefner's Custard & Jumbo Hamburgers
N71 W5184 Columbia Road, Cedarburg, (262) 376-1020
Daily flavor specialties and a good place to feed your custard yen when hanging on the North Shore.

Kitts Frozen Custard Drive-In
7000 W. Capitol Dr., (414) 461-1400
Famous for its custard, food and our own "MonicaGate," in which Milwaukee Police Department Deputy Chief Monica Ray got into a scuffle with an employee.

Kopp's
5373 N. Port Washington Road, Glendale, (414) 961-3288 Flavor hotline: (414) 961-2006
7631 W. Layton Ave., Greenfield, (414) 282-4312 Flavor hotline: (414) 282-4080
18880 W. Bluemound Road, Brookfield, (262) 789-9490 Flavor hotline: (262) 789-1393
http://www.kopps.com/
Kopp's has three locations that are always teeming with custard-hungry crowds and their butter burgers are legendary. The folks to beat in the custard game.

Leon's Frozen Custard
3131 S. 27th St., (414) 383-1784
Leon's is THE Milwaukee custard stand and was one of the inspirations behind Arnold's on Happy Days. There's no service at your car window anymore, but for more than half a century, Leon's has served up smiles along with custard and standard food fare.

LIXX Frozen Custard & Juice Bar
2597 N. Downer Ave., (414) 332-3338
Unusual flavors like Pineapple Cheesecake and the alluring-named French Lace. Be careful, this corner shop often varies its hours based on the weather. But, after a film at the Downer on a warm summer night, they're definitely ready to dish up some cold custard.

Mack's Frozen Custard
789 W. Moreland Blvd., Waukesha, (262) 547-2080
http://www.macksfrozencustard.com/
Try the flavor of the day while you're at Mack's then buy a pint to savor at home.

Murf's
12505 W. Burleigh Road, Brookfield, (262) 814-6873
N88 W15325 Main St., Menomonee Falls, (262) 253-3600
Sunset Drive and West Avenue, Waukesha, (262) 547-7944
Murf's serves up big burgers in both Brookfield and Waukesha. Their Brookfield location, just a block from Briggs & Stratton, is the perfect location for a quick cone, big sundae or juicy burger.

Old Dutch Custard
3505 Spring St., Racine, (262) 632-9252
Choose from one of Old Dutch's many flavors and enjoy at the picnic tables out front.

Omega Frozen Custard
Hwy 100 and Layton Avenue, (414) 425-8520
Located on Hwy 100, Omega touts its creaminess as one of the major attributes of its custard. Both the sweet vanilla and the more tart chocolate are exceptionally smooth going down.

Omega Jumbo Burgers and Frozen Custard
7014 S. 27th St., Franklin, (414) 304-7200
Not only do they have a sundae of the month and a flavor of the day, Omega offers delicious homemade soups, Omega burgers and a fish fry.

Oscar's
2362 S. 108th St., West Allis, (414) 327-5220
21165 Highway 18, Waukesha, (262) 798-9707
Flavor hotline: (414) 327-5768
www.oscarsfrozencustard.com
This West Allis place may look like a barn, but don't judge a custard stand by its cover. Oscar's two locations offer custard in a vintage setting in West Allis and a glitzy post-modern version in Waukesha.

Pops Frozen Custard
N87 W16459 Appleton Ave., Menomonee Falls, (262) 251-3320
www.popscustard.com
Nothing says summer like a Red Raspberry Custard from Pops. Other daily flavors include classic chocolate and vanilla or oreo cream.

Riverbrook Frozen Custard
1111 E. Capitol Dr., Shorewood, (414) 332-5155
A restaurant the whole family will enjoy, they serve classic chocolate and vanilla custard as well as a few of their own special daily concoctions like Caramel Cashew.

Robert's Frozen Custard
6005 W. Appleton Ave., (414) 444-4230 Flavor hotline: (414) 444-4199
N112 W16040 Mequon Road, Germantown, (262) 250-1683
Expect to find familiar favorites like Rocky Road and Cookies & Cream alongside tempting treats like Chocolate Cream Puff Delight and Raspberry Custard Torte.

Wholly Cow Frozen Custard
637 Main St., Delafield, (262) 646-2555
www.whollycow.net
While custard is the name of the game at "The Cow," the bigger allure is that the joint is owned by the parents of Julie Stoffer, from Real World!

Of course, there are chains -- like Culver's -- that serve the cold stuff, but with so many hometown options, you'll only need to know about those when you're on the road...

To keep up to date on the flavors of the day at many Milwaukee-area custard stands, visit http://www.custardlist.com/.