In 1984, President Ronald Reagan decreed July as National Ice Cream Month, and the third Sunday of July as National Ice Cream Day. Any sweltering summer day is a fine time for ice cream, but consider July 15 an officially sanctioned excuse to indulge as well as honor our former President. We’re sharing where to find the best frozen treats around the country, from old-time ice cream parlors to imaginative gelato and sorbet shops experimenting with unusual flavors. Make sure you go out and enjoy this Ice Cream Sunday.
Bassetts Ice Cream
Reading Terminal Market
45 N. 12th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-925-4315
Bassetts dispenses premium ice cream in flavors like butterscotch vanilla, matcha (green tea) and Guatemalan Ripple (Guatemalan sourced coffee with mocha fudge ripple and coffee filled chocolates). This old-time ice cream parlor was founded in 1861 but has been in its present home at Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market since 1893.
Black Dog Gelato
859 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
773-348-7935
Jessie Oloroso dreams up creative, contemporary creations at Black Dog Gelato in Chicago. A pastry chef by trade, her background informs flavors, which often play upon both the savory and sweet. Not to be missed is the lush goat cheese-cashew caramel, but we also suggest the malted vanilla and Mexican hot chocolate.
Fairfax Scoop
63 Broadway Blvd.
Fairfax, CA 94930
415-453-3130
A cone from Fairfax Scoop is not only a rite of summer, it's a must year-round in the San Francisco Bay Area’s Marin County. The tiny shop, a pioneer in America’s organic ice cream movement, churns up seasonal flavors daily using cream from nearby Straus Dairy and local fruits, nuts and herbs. Find more of the Top 10 Places to get Ice Cream around San Francisco
Four Seas Ice Cream
360 S. Main St.
Centerville, MA 02632
508-775-1394
Four Seas is not only one of New England's oldest ice cream shops, it is also known as the longtime favorite of the Kennedy clan. The Cape Cod shop offers 24 flavors daily of house-made ice cream in classic and creative flavors, like maple walnut, rum and butter, mocha chip and ginger.
Graeter's
8533 Beechmont Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45255
513-474-5636
Graeter’s is a beloved fixture in most Cincinnati neighborhoods. Started by a German immigrant in 1870, it’s still a family-run business, and the ice cream continues to be made by a laborious process in which workers use hand-carved paddles to scrape it from French pots, the earliest ice cream makers manufactured. They'll even box pints and ship them in dry ice for those who get a craving far from home.
Il Laboratorio del Gelato
188 Ludlow St.
New York, NY 10002
212-343-9922
Jon F. Snyder, founder and former owner of gelato company Ciao Bella, brought Manhattan an upscale ice cream shop that makes just about everyone scream. A rotating selection of around two hundred homemade gelatos and sorbets are on offer, with options like dark chocolate, honey lavender and vanilla rum. Find more of the Top 10 Places to get Ice Cream in New York
Mora Iced Creamery
139 Madrone Ln.
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206-855-8822
Mora Iced Creamery on Bainbridge Island, a 30-minute ferry boat ride from Seattle, is well worth the excursion. With all ice cream hand-churned in-house from pure ingredients, there are 48 classic and seasonal flavors on any given day, which include several choices of chocolate --- the hazelnut-chocolate is a must --- and a range of exotic delights such as goat cheese with fig or rose petal.
Morelli's Gourmet Ice Cream & Desserts
Ormewood Square
749 Moreland Ave. SE, Ste. B102
Atlanta, GA 30316
404-622-0210
Does “Death by Chocolate” sound like a great way to go? Slowly savor this deep, dense chocolate ice cream base with a swirl of even deeper fudge-like chocolate within. How about corn ice cream? These are just a few of the options you might find at Morelli's Gourmet Ice Cream & Desserts in Atlanta.
Scoops
712 N. Heliotrope Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323-906-2649
At Scoops in Los Angeles, owner Tai Kim pushes the limits of gelato and sorbet, experimenting with ingredients like black truffles. Of the more than a dozen flavors offered daily, the only constant is brown bread, a send-up of an English classic, with Grape Nuts instead of breadcrumbs. Find more of the Top 10 Places to get Ice Cream around Los Angeles
Wild About Harry's
3113 Knox St.
Dallas, TX 75205
214-520-3113
The line is almost always out the door, so it seems like everyone is wild about Harry's hot dogs and frozen custard in Dallas. The custard flavor options are many and the specialties such as the chocolate peppermint malt are heavenly.
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