Hand-churned ice cream made from organic dairy with fennel and bee pollen is all well and good, but the madeleine that takes us back to childhood bliss is a far less complicated proposition: a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. Or at least it ought to be less complicated. While gourmet ice cream palaces are popping up on seemingly every corner in L.A., the city is bereft of the DQ chain, save one lone outlet at the Westfield Culver City mall. But don't despair: Home-grown Foster's Freeze, with 90 locations across California, turns out to be almost an exact copy of the ice cream chain that transplants remember from their elementary school days, down to the walk-up window and not-very-good chili cheeseburgers. The only difference is that here you order a Twister. Thicker than a McFlurry, studded with Reese's Peanut Cups, Butterfinger or something else equally horrible for you, Twisters are a reminder that sometimes the best things in life don't change — they just come under a different label. —Sarah Fenske

Multiple locations across L.A., fostersfreeze.com.

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