Scoop Up Some Fun
10 Ice Cream Places to Cool Your Palate
by Nicole Heinz
Illustration by Allison Bratnick
When you think of summer, what sensations usually come to mind? Do you imagine sinking your toes into the warm sand of a beach on a hot, sunny day? Plunging into your best friend’s swimming pool? Shrieking at the top of your lungs on a rollercoaster at Six Flags?
These are all popular summer sensations, but savoring a mouthwatering scoop of cold, fresh ice cream at your favorite shop beats them all. It’s no wonder that local ice cream parlors are always brimming with people. So which ones draw the largest crowds on those sweltering summer days? Get the scoop on 10 tantalizing ice cream shops across the country.
1. Grand Ole Creamery: With locations in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., the Grand Ole Creamery is famous for its thick and creamy ice cream. Whopper malt balls are used as toppings for the ice cream served in cups and as efficient (and tasty) plugs for the bottoms of cones.
2. Bi-Rite Creamery and Bake Shop: This San Francisco, Calif. ice cream parlor produces its ice cream with organic milk, cream and eggs supplied by a local family farm, says Andrew Knowlton of bonnappetit.com. A variety of homemade ice pops await customers – popular flavors include Satsuma Tangerine and Balsamic Strawberry. Bi-Rite is also an environmentally-friendly ice cream shop. They use biodegradable cups and spoons to serve their ice cream!
3. Bruster’s Real Ice Cream: If you’re looking for ice cream that‘s fresh, try Brusters. The ice cream is produced right in the store – not to mention lots of it, giving customers a total of 140 different flavors to choose from! Teresa R. Simpson, of about.com, says that Bruster’s offers special seasonal flavors as well as fat-free and sugar-free flavors. Bruster’s has locations in 21 different states, mostly in the South and East.
4. Sebastian Joe’s Ice Cream Café: This Minneapolis, Minn., favorite is bound to draw the crowds with its 24 homemade ice cream flavors, from the traditional Oreo to the exotic cayenne-coated Chocolate Coyote. For those looking for a different kind of treat, Sebastian Joe’s also serves frozen yogurt, sorbets, milkshakes, ice cream floats and a dozen different varieties of sundaes.
5. Hot Licks Homemade Ice Cream: Even though Hot Licks might seem like a universe away from your home – it is located in Fairbanks, Alaska – it’s almost worth making the trip just to pay a visit to this unique ice cream parlor. According to Tauck World Discovery, an upscale travel company, the flavors are locally inspired, from Aurora Borealis (locally-produced blueberry and cranberry purees combined with vanilla ice cream) and Alaska Birch Walnut (native maple syrup and California walnuts), to Nanook Nosh (vanilla, melted milk chocolate, and caramel).
6. Somerset Creamery: Located in both Somerset and Cataumet, Mass., this family-owned ice cream parlor has been making homemade ice cream for over 70 years. Somerset Creamery offers over 30 flavors of ice cream, in addition to sugar-free, frozen yogurt and sherbet varieties. According to its Web site, Somerset Creamery serves freshly baked waffle cones with its ice cream. The parlor also offers sundaes, banana splits, floats and hand-packed containers of ice cream for customers to take home!
7. Graeter’s: The ice cream at Graeter’s is known for its exquisite creaminess. According to the company’s Web site, Graeter’s ice cream attains its creaminess through a unique process called the French Pot, where only two gallons of ice cream are produced at one time. Graeter’s has locations in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Colorado and Texas. If you make it to Graeter’s, employees agree that first-timers have to try their signature flavor, Black Raspberry Chip.
8. Christina’s Ice Cream: Those who crave variety flock to this remarkable ice cream shop in Cambridge, Mass. According to Andrea Pyenson of MSN City Guides, there are 40 different exotic ice cream flavors to choose from, including Red Bean and Green Tea.
9. Jake’s: This Atlanta, Ga., ice cream parlor is home to fun flavors like Chocolate Slap Yo Mama, Brown Shugah Vanilla, and Coffee & Donuts (Krispy Kreme doughnuts, to be exact). At Jake’s, Pyenson claims that customers are “part of the company.” They’re even encouraged to help create and name new ice cream flavors!
10. Woodside Farm Creamery: If you’re in the mood to splurge, Woodside Farm Creamery in Hockessin, Del., is the place to visit. According to Pyenson, a key ingredient in Woodside’s ice cream is high-butterfat milk straight from the farm’s cows. The parlor offers 35 flavors at all times, Motor Oil being one of them. Sound scary? Don’t worry. This unique flavor is actually coffee ice cream with caramel and fudge ripple colored green to look like motor oil.
If you run out of things to do this summer, take a little road trip and visit these inviting ice cream parlors. With all the variety that’s available, it just might take you the entire summer to experience all of them!
Published 29 June 2009. All Rights Reserved.