I thought I knew my frozen desserts. Ice cream, gelato, sorbet, frozen yogurt, ice pops. I am a master champion appreciator of them all.

I'd heard of frozen custard and half-heartedly enjoyed certain chain shop varieties. But they never won me over. I never craved custard, and it never won the battle against ice cream.

But then. I went to Scotties Frozen Custard in Colchester. Oh God. How had I never heard of this place before?

The main difference between frozen custard and ice cream is that custard requires egg yolks. The yolks make for an incredibly rich, creamy dessert, which to me doesn't automatically sound more delicious than ice cream. But at Scotties, this translates into a much more complex, flavorful dessert than the sometimes one-toned ice cream.

The place doesn't look like much, just your garden variety roadside ice cream stand/clam shack on Route 85. But the menu held promise, with flavors ranging from the standby favorites to more interesting flavors such as lemon chiffon, Hawaiian pineapple, amaretto and cantaloupe. (Update: We reviewed some other flavors in a taste test we did a couple of years ago.)

I opted for the tiramisu, while my dining companion went for the vanilla - a fine way to measure the quality of an establishment, at its most naked. Both were amazingly velvety and rich, and though we each ordered a small ($3.55), we craved more.

We were also looking forward to trying some of the mouth-watering array of fried foods on the menu (Hello, summer! We're coming!), but unfortunately, Scotties only takes cash and checks, and we had enough cash just for the custard. A review of the sea dog (battered white cod on a toasted roll) and a side of chili cheese fries will have to come later.