You scream, I scream, we all scream for sinfully-good ice cream. It’s that time of year again when we kiss those warm decadent comfort foods of winter goodbye and say “ciao” to hazelnut gelato and dainty scoops of lavender mascarpone. But for every sumptuous ice cream shop out there, there are 20 not-so-great shops that may have you wishing you spent the time finding the little gem in your neighborhood.
Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources (nor the stamina) to include all of the best ice cream shops and trucks in North America, but we were able to roundup a few that just may have you skipping the steamy nonfat mocha latte for a chilly salted caramel sundae.
Atlanta
Morelli’s Gourmet Ice Cream & Desserts: Donald and wife Clarissa Morelli kicked the corporate lifestyle to spend their days concocting gourmet flavors like Amarena Cherry, Avocado and Sweet Corn. The menu is always changing here, so you’ll always have a new inventive flavor to try.
Double Scoop Worthy: Salted Caramel and Ginger-lavender.
Brooklyn
Blue Marble Ice Cream: Jennie Dundas and Alexis Miesen’s popular eco-conscientious shops in Cobble Hill and Prospect Heights churn out farm-fresh ice cream handmade with premium grass-fed organic dairy and organic sugar.
Double Scoop Worthy: Strawberry
Cambridge
Toscanini’s: Proudly proclaiming to be “the best ice cream in the world” (as per a review from the NY Times), this sassy scoop shop certainly has gotten a lot of attention from the press. The selection here is endless with no short of interesting flavors like Banoffee Pie and Rose and Khulfee.
Double Scoop Worthy: Burnt Caramel
Houston
Hank’s Ice Cream: If Beyonce is a loyal customer, you can assume there maybe something to this southern-style ice cream shop. Run by members of his family, Hank’s shop is sweet, cozy and delicious.
Double Scoop Worthy: Sweet Potato Pie and Banana Pudding
Manhattan
Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Trucks: Fresh, local, pure and simple is the Van Leeuwen motto. With 18 percent butterfat and 30 percent overrun, this ice cream is creamy and lusciously decadent.
Double Scoop Worthy: Vanilla
Philadelphia
Capogiro Gelato Artisans: Sourcing milk from local grass-fed cows, which graze on Amish farms, the gelato here is handmade in small batches. Flavors like Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, Saigon Cinnamon, and Thai Coconut Milk make this shop shine among the best.
Double Scoop Worthy: Blackberry
San Francisco
Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop: Using Straus Family Creamery’s organic dairy products, owners, Annie and Kris, serve up inventive flavors that rarely contain more than five ingredients with no stabilizers or artificial ingredients.
Double Scoop Worthy: Balsamic Strawberry and Salted Caramel
Washington DC
Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato: This adorable Argentinian-inpired gelateria produces handcrafted batches of gelato made from local fruits, herbs, eggs, cheese, milk and cream. You know you’ve found the creme de la creme when a place promises to “squeeze the citrus one by one, melt the chocolate, infuse the herbs, grind the spices and roast the nuts, all with our own hands, every step of the way.”
Double Scoop Worthy: Lemon with Opal Basil
Photo by: flickr/ulterior epicure
