Twistee Treat (Brooksville, FL)

13200 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville, FL, 34613

Look for the giant ice cream cone on Cortez Boulevard. The Twistee Treat in Mariner Square, near Mariner Boulevard, is hard to miss: a cone-shaped building that has been a roadside landmark for Florida dessert fans for decades, and a dependable spot for soft serve when the evening heat finally breaks. Twistee Treat is a Florida-born soft-serve brand that says it dates to 1983 in North Fort Myers. Today the Orlando-based company operates roughly three dozen of its cone-shaped stands around the state, and its website says the units are company-owned rather than franchised. This location is listed on the corporate site as Twistee Treat Spring Hill, and it has a sister stand on Commercial Way. The menu starts with soft serve in a cake, sugar, waffle or fancy cone, in core flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and twists, and a longer premium list that includes peanut butter, coconut, cotton candy, black raspberry, cheesecake and mint. Flavor availability can vary by day. From there, the choices multiply: sundaes with toppings such as hot fudge, caramel, brownie and OREO, thick shakes and malts in about 20 flavors, and "twirls" that blend ice cream with candies such as Butterfinger, Reese's, Heath and Kit Kat. The company's favorites include the Twistee Treat Banana Split, the Waffle Taco, the Hot Fudge Brownie Boat and the Cookiewich. Slushies and freezes, which the company says are dairy-free, come in flavors from watermelon to pina colada, and floats are made with Coke, Root Beer and Sprite. Hot dogs are the only savory item the company lists. The prices are friendly, and customers praise the patient, quick staff and the sheer number of options. Because the menu is so big, orders can take a moment at busy times. Google shows a drive-through and delivery, and Google users rate the stand highly, with more than 1,900 reviews. The stand is open daily from noon to 10:30 p.m., and until 11:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Seating is limited and outdoors. There is free parking in the Mariner Square lot. Orders can also be placed online through the Twistee Treat website.