Because We Can All Use A Little Sweet

August 5, 2019 1:23 PM

Heading into the hottest part of the year, the folks at 24/7 Wall St have put together an essential list of the best ice cream parlor in each state, perfect for planning a sweet respite. (SL24/7 Wall St)
posted by NoxAeternum (79 comments total)

This is an export from Yelp.

Anyway, the correct answer for Oklahoma is “Braum’s“, which due to some error does not match this list.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:29 PM on August 5, 2019 [6 favorites]

I would like to state for the record that the entry for Missouri is absolutely correct. If you visit Kansas City, you should all go to the River Market location, though. It is way better.* Get the goat cheese, dried apricot, and candied walnut ice cream on a waffle cone. It is perfection. Their chocolate is the platonic ideal of what chocolate ice cream should be. And the mixed berry sorbet is summer in a cone.

*It really isn't, both locations are great but the original location is the one closest to me and I don't want a bunch of tourists making it hard for me to get my ice cream fix.
posted by teleri025 at 1:29 PM on August 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

WTF how is Italian ice even on this list?
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:37 PM on August 5, 2019 [9 favorites]

I'm pleased to see the Charmery in Baltimore has made the list.
posted by circleofconfusion at 1:39 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

I *loved* guessing which page my state would be on, rather than ctl-f searching for its name. Will it be on page 6? Page 8? Thanks for the adventure, ""24/7 Wall St"
posted by Kwine at 1:41 PM on August 5, 2019 [30 favorites]

New Jersey checks out...and Torico is right down the street from me. I am somewhat surprised that I am not spherical as a result.
posted by sexyrobot at 1:41 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Any time I see the "Best X in Each State," I know I will disagree with the choices for the states I live in/adjacent to/grew up in/spent a lot of time in. This was no different.
posted by MrGuilt at 1:43 PM on August 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

"The Best" is always a matter of opinion, but they got Massachusetts right, at least. Toscanini's isn't literally everyone's favorite, but it's a perennial top three. It's always upsetting when these lists name something that no self-respecting local would call good.

I have a bunch of friends who go out of their way to stop by Toscanini's when they visit Boston.
posted by explosion at 1:57 PM on August 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

Ice pops for Indiana??? I mean, okay, they’re really good, but I believe the story was about the best ICE CREAM parlor in the state.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:59 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

I haven't been to the place they recommend in North Carolina so I won't talk trash about it. But I can say it's located where I expect a website called "24/7 Wall Street" would not look beyond when searching.
posted by ardgedee at 2:00 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Anyway, the correct answer for Oklahoma is “Braum’s“, which due to some error does not match this list.

Also the correct answer for every other state where Braum's operates, and those you could reasonably drive/fly to before your milkshake melts.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:03 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

I would like to state for the record that the entry for Connecticut is absolutely correct. I lived in New Haven for a dark couple of years and left with few good memories; walking in to Arethusa for the first time and being hit with the smell of pure, fresh cream and crisp, toasty waffle cones--which I don't even like!!--was an unforgettable sensory experience considering its seeming simplicity. Ahhhhhh that ice cream was so good!
posted by youarenothere at 2:12 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

The stats: (close enough to 50 - can't go back loads too slow):
ice cream:35
shaved ice cream: 1
ice pops 2
shave ice 1
gelato 7
sahlab (arabic ice cream)- 1
sundae 2
liquid nitrogen: 1
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:13 PM on August 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

They also got Wisconsin right for ice cream, but didn't catch the nuance of custard being the preferred frozen dairy dessert around here.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 2:19 PM on August 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

I don't like Louisville Cream, personally. I find them a bit basic and perhaps overbearing in sweetness. Comfy Cow came before and is (or used to be IDK) way more experimental. Then again, the flavors I enjoyed have never made it back on the menu (Earl Grey tea and dark chocolate or the one with licorice and creamy orange zest...aaaa).

Now I just go to the local Asian market and get green tea ice cream and avoid everything else.
posted by Young Kullervo at 2:19 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

King Kone is right down the road from us, but we haven't tried it yet. We're spoiled for ice cream choices in the Nashua area -- there are three really good places within a short drive of our house, and one also really good one in the next town -- we go to that one a lot because they carry Dole Whip, along with their fantastic homemade ice cream.
posted by sarcasticah at 2:30 PM on August 5, 2019

The answer given for Michigan is not Cap'n Frosty, and so this list is bollocks.
posted by hanov3r at 2:33 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Betty Rae’s is so goddamn good.
posted by dismas at 2:33 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

I was pre-offended by what I presumed Oregon's best ice cream was (no it is not Salt & Straw that stuff just tastes like frozen butter your opinion is wrong), but I was quite pleased to see that it was, instead, a former food cart that used to be parked outside of my office.
posted by hopeless romantique at 2:36 PM on August 5, 2019

Seconding that Wisconsin should have been frozen custard (if the list is allowing so many other types of frozen treats, how the hell did frozen custard NOT make the list?).
posted by acidnova at 2:38 PM on August 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

Salt & Straw is fine, but I would have a hard time justifying the lines. Not when Ruby Jewel, Fifty Licks, and Scoop exist.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 2:46 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Betty Rae's, I admit, is slightly better than Ted Drew's in St. Louis. And I'm FROM St. Louis and we love Ted Drew's.
posted by Groundhog Week at 2:46 PM on August 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

I am pleasantly surprised that California's is not in LA or SF and is actually somewhere accessible to me.
posted by FritoKAL at 2:54 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

It sounds nice but it's incorrect. Best Ice Cream place in CA is Mitchell's in the Mission.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 2:59 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

To be considered, shops needed to be in or near a city with a population of at least 100,000 people. In states with few or no cities of this size, parlors in smaller cities were also considered.

Well, at least this explains why New York's magnificent Bellvale Creamery wasn't linked. Since it's a couple hours outside of NYC by car I guess it wasn't even eligible!
posted by Mothlight at 3:07 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Another pointless list. As with pizza, fries, burgers and whatever other foods that have posted about here over the years, the best ice cream is the ice cream you are currently eating.
posted by MorgansAmoebas at 3:12 PM on August 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

King's Cream, the best in Puerto Rico. I met someone in Washington State and mentioned I was from Ponce, Puerto Rico and she said, "I've been there. That's where they have King's Cream."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:12 PM on August 5, 2019 [5 favorites]

I do not know this Cary NC thing they mention. The only property they list of this so-called "best" ice cream is the number of flavors offered.

I would put forward Maple View Dairy's ice cream shop near Hillsborough, NC. You can practically see the cows from the place the ice cream is served, and it's good. Also there's a front porch and a place to hitch your horse.
posted by amtho at 3:19 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

I wasn't surprised by the entry for Montana - Big Dipper is nationally known. But they didn't mention their big claim to fame - beer ice cream, made with wort from local breweries. And I do mean local - the flavors vary between the locations, as they get wort from the breweries in each city.
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:24 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Now I need to open a shop called King Creamson. Just all prog puns and then I’m broke forever.
posted by Young Kullervo at 3:28 PM on August 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

Purple Door in Milwaukee has good ice cream but it's no Adrian's Frozen Custard in Burlington
posted by taquito sunrise at 3:28 PM on August 5, 2019

Ohio's is extremely wrong. The answer is Jennis, not gelato in westerville!

I haven't been to the MI place but will check it out whenever I'm there visiting fam.

No opinion on WA location listed. I'm bitter Jennis hasnt invaded yet, though I know they've got a location in LA. Olympic mountain creamery isnt bad, but it's not jennis.

Sense a theme? If you live near one, go eat some goat cheese ice cream for me! https://jenis.com/scoop-shops/
posted by esoteric things at 3:30 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

"We're spoiled for ice cream choices in the Nashua area -- there are three really good places within a short drive of our house, and one also really good one in the next town"

Hayward's is the obvious one, but I'm curious about the others. I just went to the Big 1 this past weekend, but I'm not sure if that's what you're talking about.
posted by kevinbelt at 4:02 PM on August 5, 2019

I guuueeeeesss I'm gonna have to go try out Ice Cream 504 and see if it can really beat out Brocato's...
posted by egypturnash at 4:15 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

24/7 Wall Street sounds like a made up business name from Strong Bad Email days.
posted by benzenedream at 4:17 PM on August 5, 2019 [15 favorites]

Any time I see the "Best X in Each State," I know I will disagree with the choices for the states I live in/adjacent to/grew up in/spent a lot of time in. This was no different.

Yup, it's Arguing Time. Thought that when I saw this thread.

I was surprised that the California one wasn't actual ice cream.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:19 PM on August 5, 2019

I was surprised that the California one wasn't actual ice cream.

Fentons is an ice cream parlor- how is that different from the other places on the list? It's not my favorite ice cream in Oakland by any means, but people go there for ice cream.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:46 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

I've been to more of these than I expected.

I'm a bit divided about Minnesota - Milkjam is good, but better than Sonny's? It's hard to pick. Sonny's is more traditional and does a lot within that, Milkjam has a more limited menu but is innovative and also really good about marking for allergens. I like their orange coriander with fruity pebbles, their Thai iced tea, and the vegan peach ice cream they've had recently.

I'm not at all divided about Arkansas though. Arkansas is dead on with Loblolly creamery. I was staying within walking distance of Loblolly the last time I was down in Little Rock and wasn't there long enough to try all the flavors calling to me. Earl grey with candied lemon peel, raspberry rose green tea with honey, and a local cherry sorbet? So good.

For Maine, I've had Gorgeous Gelato and honestly prefer Mount Desert Island, and not just because I am not into the custardy stuff as much.

For Massachusetts, Christina's was robbed. I don't even know anyone who goes to Toscanini's, because everyone knows the good shit is at Christina's.
posted by bile and syntax at 4:51 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

I haven't been to the place they recommend in North Carolina so I won't talk trash about it. But I can say it's located where I expect a website called "24/7 Wall Street" would not look beyond when searching.

...

I do not know this Cary NC thing they mention. The only property they list of this so-called "best" ice cream is the number of flavors offered.

You could look it up. I mean, I know it's what you cool kids do, piss on Cary whenever you get a chance and ignore that the Triangle is basically just one big city now, but there are lots of great little mom and pop places all over Cary that are worth checking out, but whatever.
posted by NoMich at 4:54 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

For Massachusetts, Christina's was robbed. I don't even know anyone who goes to Toscanini's, because everyone knows the good shit is at Christina's.

I heartily endorse this. I frankly think Toscanini's is a cop-out choice. I think it ends up as #1 so often because everybody "knows" it's #1. Christina's makes some really amazing flavors, and Rancatore's in Lexington, Belmont and Newton (founded by one of the original owners of Toscanini's) is also excellent.
posted by briank at 5:00 PM on August 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

Sorry, but peak Massachusetts ice cream is had at Crescent Ridge Dairy in Sharon. Sure, it's in the middle of nowhere if you only know Toscanini's or JP Licks, but, you get your cone (and even the "small" is large, if you really want small, get the "toddler"), then walk out back and commune with the cows that provided at least some of the milk to make that cone you're devouring before it all melts. They now have an outpost in the Boston Public Market at Haymarket, but it's just not the same without the cows.
posted by adamg at 5:02 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

I may be the only person here with an opinion on Tricycle ice cream (the Rhode Island pick), but for the record I have had it at least 5 times and it always tastes like a $6 chunk of hipster-y disappointment. The tricycle shtick is cute, the flavors are intriguing, but it just doesn't taste like much. They always say that I should wait 5-10 minutes to let it thaw a little but that's ridiculous. I didn't buy an ice cream sandwich to carry it around.

Three Sisters probably would have been my pick.
posted by geegollygosh at 5:20 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

WTF how is Italian ice even on this list?

Seriously and the correct answer for Illinois is Margie's.
posted by tzikeh at 5:23 PM on August 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

I would like to state for the record that the entry for Connecticut is absolutely correct.

You grew up in New Haven; whereas I grew up in between the UConn Dairy Barn and Shady Glen and that is the only reason I can think of for why you are that staggeringly incorrect.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:35 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Ah, sorry. The linked article had two links in the middle of the page. I skimmed and clicked on the first one here in bold:

24/7 Tempo has assembled a state-by-state list of the best ice cream parlors in America — the best, according to Yelp reviews. Despite being the highest rated, many of these shops are not among the most well-known in their state. In many states the competition is cutthroat. This is the most popular ice cream shop in every state.

I guess that's what I get for not deeply reading a clickbait article about ice cream.
posted by oneirodynia at 5:37 PM on August 5, 2019

That’s not a bad choice for PA. We’ve been hiking and trying a different ice cream place every weekend this summer and their choice was definitely in my top 5.
posted by Eddie Mars at 5:39 PM on August 5, 2019

I would like to state for the record that the entry for Missouri is absolutely correct.

I would like to try it side by side with The Fountain On Locust. No matter which ice cream parlor loses, the tasters win.

Also the Fountain has the best public restroom in America.
posted by Foosnark at 5:43 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

RI could be Newport Creamery, though really if they're doing Italian ice then the answer is "the Del's down the street".

TN, because I refuse to entertain the possibility of Nashville winning, should probably be MemPops [NOT @memplops, WHICH IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT].
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:10 PM on August 5, 2019

Shy Guy is okay, but really? Choosing a gelato in Vermont? The right answer is Palmer's Maple Creemee. Creemees are the best, maple creemees are the best creemees, and Palamer's has the best maple creemee. Q.E.D.
posted by meinvt at 7:09 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Sorry, but peak Massachusetts ice cream is had at Crescent Ridge Dairy in Sharon.

Oh thank god someone got here to say it first. Toscanini's is fine but it's a safe choice because yeah, people know it. Crescent Ridge is absolutely fabulous and makes living outside the city worthwhile.
posted by tocts at 7:21 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

they got Massachusetts right, at least. Toscanini's isn't literally everyone's favorite, but it's a perennial top three.

The ice cream scene in Boston is really weird -- the whole thing is an echo of hippies-turned-businessmen in the 70s, and one in particular who claims credit for inspiring the whole nationwide gourmet ice cream movement. All of the usual Boston suspects were started in the same decade, 1973-1984 or so -- Toscanini's, JP Licks, Christina's, Emack & Bolio's, all at the same time and mostly started by each other's employees. The oral history in that link credits Steve Herrell for starting it all in 1973, five years before Ben & Jerry's. He was "very eccentric, kind of a hippie guy" who "used to go to the HP Hood Factory, in Charlestown, to pick up milk and cream in his VW Bug."

In fact, you just have to read that article to guess that he influenced Ben & Jerry's: "I introduced a style of ice cream based on a low overrun, or the amount of air in the ice cream. ... I bought used chairs and tables—they were mismatched, but I painted them purple and orange. ... The concept was to take name-brand candies and mix them into the ice cream. That was new. Of course, you could get chocolate chip or maple walnut before Steve’s, but Heath Bar Crunch and cookies and cream came right out of Steve’s Ice Cream."

And sure enough: "Sometime in 1975, Steve spotted two guys sitting by the window. They sat so long that he came out and talked. They told him they hoped to open an ice cream store in Vermont."

An odd little edge of the Steve Herrell wave, far from the epicenter, is the Boston Ice Cream Factory, a 2.5 star, fairly-neglected store with an extremely-neglected website out in a part of Dorchester with little foot traffic where no one ever lines up for ice cream. If you stumbled in there one hot day and wondered why the heck they had durian ice cream of all things, you might google to discover that the store was opened by Steve Cirame, the founder of Christina's -- a perfect rabbit hole into Boston's incestuous ice cream history.

In a weird way I feel like being early to the last round of ice cream reinvention (if Steve Herrell's memory can be trusted) might have slowed Boston down recently. I don't know of anything here like the modern-foodie options like Salt & Straw in Portland (started 2011) or Humphry Slocombe in San Francisco (started 2008). While modern-foodie is definitely not the only ice cream that should exist, it fills a different niche than places that were founded when Heath Bar Crunch was edgy. I wonder if Boston is just too full at this point. From Herrell's itself dying to JP Licks in Harvard Square, and the founder of Christina's retreating to a distant outpost, maybe there are only so many niches at the top of the frozen food chain.
posted by john hadron collider at 7:34 PM on August 5, 2019 [9 favorites]

Please don't be Portland hipster bullshit...
Please don't be Portland hipster bullshit...


Aaaand... it's Portland hipster bullshit.
posted by madajb at 7:37 PM on August 5, 2019

I was going to be polite and not mention it, but I was genuinely surprised it wasn't Fenton's for California. It was in the movie Up, for godsake!
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:27 PM on August 5, 2019

Pennsylvania is wrong, the correct answer is The Franklin Fountain.
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 8:30 PM on August 5, 2019

I have been thus far Disappointed with my available choices in Iowa ice cream (you'd think a city the size of Ames could support something that's not a Cold Stone or a Dairy Queen) but their entry on the list, Over the Top, has a sweet corn flavor for August and I think it's time for a little field trip.
posted by Jeanne at 8:41 PM on August 5, 2019

We eat ice cream in DC too, punks.
posted by kat518 at 8:47 PM on August 5, 2019 [6 favorites]

I was somewhat taken aback to see Jeni's Splendid called a "big chain", since I remember only being able to indulge a couple times a year when visiting Columbus. I hadn't realized just how big her business has become!

Jeni's is still the best in OH.
posted by MissySedai at 9:01 PM on August 5, 2019

Hrm. Washington state's not as bad as it could be (I was expecting them to pick Molly Moon's, which is seriously overrated.) But the best I've had by far in WA is Mora Ice Cream. There's something magic in their ice cream base that makes every flavor, no matter how delicate, shine through with complete purity. The dulce du leche with shaved chocolate is life-changing.
posted by creepygirl at 9:11 PM on August 5, 2019

they didn’t have The Bent Spoon for Jersey so this list is trash
posted by Going To Maine at 9:40 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Oh, is that what we're going to do today? We're going to have a fight? Ok.
posted by alchemist at 1:57 AM on August 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

Never heard of Ice Cream 504. Brocato’s is technically gelato, so tentative pass on that miss. But what about Creole Creamery?
posted by Night_owl at 3:25 AM on August 6, 2019

Ohio's is extremely wrong. The answer is Jennis, not gelato in westerville!

I remember enjoying Coppa the one time I've been, probably more than other gelato places I've been to, but it's not even close to the same league as Jeni's, Graeter's or Whit's.

I won't get into the debate about Massachusetts since I don't live there, but whenever we visit we make sure to make a (potentially hours our of our way) detour to Herrell's in Northampton.
posted by noneuclidean at 4:04 AM on August 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

I was somewhat taken aback to see Jeni's Splendid called a "big chain", since I remember only being able to indulge a couple times a year when visiting Columbus. I hadn't realized just how big her business has become!

It's expanded significantly in the last few years, to the detriment of flavor selection, IMO. They're not doing as many "out there" flavor collections, like the winter woods theme they did a few years ago. That collection had both my all time favorite (Birch + Marshmallow) and my all time least favorite (Oregon Fir). Those collections (not just the winter woods) sometimes produced some odd flavors, but also produced some mind blowing flavors that totally made up for the misses.
posted by noneuclidean at 4:15 AM on August 6, 2019

The oral history in that link credits Steve Herrell for starting it all in 1973, five years before Ben & Jerry's. He was "very eccentric, kind of a hippie guy" who "used to go to the HP Hood Factory, in Charlestown, to pick up milk and cream in his VW Bug."


Yep, Steve really did do all that, there's no real dispute, he sold off his company in 1977 and for many years it was a nationwide chain until mismanagement drove it into the ground.

In the late 90s I worked in Northampton, right around the corner from Herrell's (which is still open today). Steve's wife worked with me so I got to know him by proxy over the course of a year or so.

Eccentric is an accurate description, but a really sweet guy and pretty much a visionary savant when it came to ice cream. In many ways it was all he cared about, he didn't really have a head for business. He used to come by our shop and bring samples of crazy things he was working on, it was downright Willy Wonka-esque.

I remember once, around 1999, he came in very excited. He gave me his latest sample to taste: it was peppered chocolate but using Szechuan spices and also had avocado in it and maybe something else? The details are lost to time. Remember, this was 20 years ago, Ben & Jerry's was well established, but the esoteric ingredient trend was way in the future.

I remember thinking "This is amaaaaazing, but nobody would ever buy it". Shows you what I know. #SaltandStraw
posted by jeremias at 4:38 AM on August 6, 2019 [6 favorites]

I have fond memories, while working out in the suburbs, of a group of us heading to Lexington once a week for lunch and getting the spiciest Indian food we could stomach followed by ice cream at Ranc's.

We should also give a brief mention to Kimball's, which may not be the "greatest" (in terms of quality) but is certainly the "greatest" (in terms of size). A small is easily the size of a child's head and can feed 2-3 people. I'm not sure how anyone can order something larger than that.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:28 AM on August 6, 2019

explosion: ...they got Massachusetts right, at least. Toscanini's isn't literally everyone's favorite, ...

Toscanini's is good, but two weeks ago I went to the Ice Cream Barn in Swansea and it was the best ice cream I have ever eaten. I had the cranberry cordial, I believe, from a dish, and I wanted more before I had even finished.

(Mind you, the place has gotten the award for "best ice cream in Rhode Island" but it really is in Mass. and we are just jealous.)
posted by wenestvedt at 5:41 AM on August 6, 2019

Of course ice cream will make you hotter, not cooler, due to the sugar content ...
posted by GallonOfAlan at 5:52 AM on August 6, 2019

I, too, call this list bunk, for The Screamery did not make the list for Arizona. Their sweet cream honeycomb is a simple flavor, yet it’s so good you start wondering if this much deliciousness is legal.
posted by azpenguin at 7:16 AM on August 6, 2019

Isn't the best ice cream parlor the one that's closest?
posted by kokaku at 7:27 AM on August 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

Yeah, we still have Herrell's out here in the wilds of Western MA but Northampton is too small to have made the list. Steve retired a few years ago but his ex-wife/business partner is in charge now and aside from some remodeling things haven't changed much (oh, except they have a franchise program now, though it's very small).
posted by camyram at 8:04 AM on August 6, 2019

For that matter, on a really hot humid day (like when it's the third week of the dew point in the 70s and the temperature's hovering just under 100°F), cheap ice milk or frozen custard is a lot more welcome than proper ice cream. I love proper ice cream too, mind (I am old school, I had a Steve's Ice Cream teeshirt, from back when Steve still ran the counter) but to everything its place, y'know?
posted by ardgedee at 8:06 AM on August 6, 2019

The list:

• Alabama - Homewood : Magic City Sweet Ice.
  Note: Italian Ice
• Alaska - Anchorage: Wild Scoops
• Arizona - Phoenix: Novel Ice Cream
• Arkansas - Little Rock: Loblolly Creamery
• California - La Jolla: Bobboi Natural Gelato
• Colorado - Denver: Little Man Ice Cream
• Connecticut - New Haven: Arethusa Farm Dairy
• Delaware - New Castle: Dairy Palace
• Florida - Wilton Manors: Wilton Creamery
• Georgia - Richmond Hill: The Ice Cream Stop
• Hawaii - Honolulu: Uncle Clay’s House Of Pure Aloha
• Idaho - Boise: The STIL.
  Note: Gelato
• Illinois - Chicago: Ava’s Italian Ice.
  Note: Italian ice
• Indiana - Indianapolis: Nicey Treat.
  Note: Paletas/Ice Pops
• Iowa - Pleasant Hill: Over the Top
• Kansas - Mission: Foggi Ice Cream
• Kentucky - Louisville: Louisville Cream
• Louisiana - New Orleans: Ice Cream 504
• Maine - Portland: Gorgeous Gelato
  Note: Gelato
• Maryland - Baltimore: The Charmery
• Massachusetts Cambridge: Toscanini’s Ice Cream
• Michigan -Trenton: Elizabeth Perk Coffee & Ice Cream
• Minnesota-Minneapolis: Milkjam Creamery
• Mississippi - Gulfport: Pop Brothers
  Note: Ice pop
• Missouri - Kansas City: Betty Rae’s Ice Cream
• Montana - Missoula: Big Dipper Ice Cream
• Nebraska - Omaha: Coneflower Creamery
• Nevada - Las Vegas: Milkywave
  Note: Shaved ice cream
• New Jersey - Jersey City: Torico Ice Cream
• New Mexico - Roswell: Sippy & Opal’s
• New York -NYC: Sundaes and Cones
• North Carolina - Cary: Vida Dulce
• North Dakota - Fargo: Silver Lining Creamery
  Note: actually from S. Dakota
• Ohio - Westerville: Coppa Gelato
• Oklahoma - Tulsa: Rose Rock Microcreamery
• Oregon - Portland: Fifty Licks
• Pennsylvania - Warminster: Uncle Mike’s Homemade Ice Cream
• Texas - Richardson: BigDash Ice Cream & Pastries
  Note: Arabic Ice Cream
• Utah -Salt Lake City: Dolcetti Gelato
  Note: Gelato
• Vermont - Burlington: Shy Guy Gelato
• Rhode Island- Providence: Tricycle Ice Cream
• South Carolina - Columbia: Sweet Cream Company
• South Dakota - Sioux Falls: Stensland Family Farms
• Tennessee - Nashville: Mike’s Ice Cream and Coffee Bar
• Virginia -Richmond: Charm School Social Club
• Washington - Seattle: Gelatiamo
  Note: Gelato
• West Virginia -Charleston: Ellen’s Homemade Ice Cream
• Wisconsin -Milwaukee: Purple Door Ice Cream
• Wyoming -Laramie: Big Dipper Ice Cream

posted by zenon at 8:49 AM on August 6, 2019 [3 favorites]

Funny thing, I had Tricycle Ice Cream (RI) for the first time this weekend. It's really good, but also not really a standard ice cream shop? They make ice cream sandwiches and ice cream tacos, and the flavors are great but as far as I could tell (was a bit rushed) you can't just get a dish of ice cream.
posted by tocts at 10:08 AM on August 6, 2019

Has anyone been to the NYC one, Sundaes and Cones? I've never even heard of it.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:53 AM on August 6, 2019

I've been to Sundaes and Cones a couple times because I was passing by, but I didn't think it was anything special. But three blocks down from Sundaes and Cones is Il Laboratorio Del Gelato, which is my current favorite; when people visit me in New York, I take them there.
posted by ectabo at 6:11 PM on August 6, 2019

AMPLE HILLS IS THE BEST ICE CREAM IN NEW YORK CITY I WILL BROOK NO ARGUMENT ON THIS POINT GOOD DAY
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:19 PM on August 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

I had never heard of their choice for North Carolina, and as I am a bit of an ice cream fiend, I am a bit skeptical. That said, NoMich isn't wrong, there are a ton of great places in Cary (and all across Wake County, really), but they are hard to find, as they are scattered across random strip malls amongst the mattress stores and cell phone franchises. I'll have to check Vida Dulce when I am in the neighborhood.

The best ice cream I have ever had is, in fact, in an even more out-of-the-way locale in North Carolina. Sunny Sky's in Angier is phenomenal. Dozens of well-crafted flavors, consistent quality, great service, and cheap as hell (cash or check only, though, no credit cards). I recommend the Orange Chocolate (dark and subtly orange), Mocha Chip (rich and mellow), and White Russian (ties the room together &c).
posted by Rock Steady at 4:59 AM on August 7, 2019 [1 favorite]

I forgot about that place in Angier! Yes, it is excellent ice cream and totally worth the drive down that way.
posted by NoMich at 7:39 AM on August 7, 2019

I'm not a huge fan of plain graham crackers, but I love the graham cracker ice cream at Izzy's in Minneapolis (Target Field, specifically) is great. There are no pieces of cracker in there, it is just smooth ice cream flavored like a cracker. The website claims there is a swirl of cracker, but not in the ones I have.

I also love their Dinosaur Egg flavor (malted vanilla base with a fudge swirl and crushed malt ball pieces), but I can't get it in the stadium.
posted by soelo at 9:23 AM on August 7, 2019