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Best Ice Cream Spots in the U.S.

Best Ice Cream Spots in the U.S.

By Food & Wine

Updated December 11, 2018

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Credit: Photo courtesy of The Creole Creamery

Whether it's a Good Humor bar or $10 sundae, Americans love ice cream—and fantastic parlors are creating brilliant flavors with ultracreamy textures to entice us. Here, Food & Wine presents the top artisanal, exotic and nostalgic frozen desserts across the country. (For your own professional version, make sure to use the best ice cream scoops).

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Seattle: Molly Moon Ice Cream

Credit: Photo © Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream

Must have: Stumptown Coffee

Molly Moon Neitzel uses mostly local fruit to flavor her ice creams—the farthest south she goes for fruit is Napa Valley for blood oranges. And it's not just the customers who are happy here: Employees get free health care, paid leave and living wages.

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Santa Monica: Sweet Rose Creamery

Credit: © Emily Hart Roth

Must have: Strawberry

Ingredients come from the local farmers' market, one of the best in the country.

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Santa Barbara: McConnell's

Credit: © McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams

Must have: Churros con Leche

This parlor pasteurizes its own milk and cream to make a rich, thick custard base. They have a location in L.A., too!

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Seattle: Lick Pure Cream

Credit: © Kate Baldwin Photography

Must have: Orchard Peach

Inventive flavors like the malty M2 (the owner won't reveal what's in it) fill the Lickwich, made with grilled doughnut halves.

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Portland, OR: Salt & Straw

Credit: © Dina Avila

Must have: Arbequina Olive Oil

Famous for its collaborations with chefs as well as sweet-savory combos like Fish Sauce Caramel with Palm Sugar.

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Bainbridge Island, WA: Mora Iced Creamery

Credit: Photo © Dadi Marinucci

Must have: Swiss Chocolate ice cream

A Bainbridge Island favorite owned and operated by two Argentinean expats; the superb ice cream, made in small batches, comes in flavors like Dulce de Leche and Gianduja.

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San Rafael, CA: Three Twins Organic Ice Cream

Credit: Photo © Ryan Gibbons

Must have: Strawberry Je Ne Sais Quoi (strawberry ice cream with a splash of balsamic vinegar)

Owner and former Peace Corps volunteer Neal Gottlieb puts a big emphasis on sustainability: The ingredients for his ice cream are local; all bowls, spoons and napkins are compostable; and the shop's emissions are offset with renewable energy certificates.

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Sebastopol, CA: Screamin' Mimi's

Credit: Photo © Kelsey Joy Photography (2011)

Must have: English Toffee ice cream and a handmade waffle cone

“The ice cream has great flavor and mouthfeel, and a large flavor selection that changes with the season. It always reminds me of childhood trips to the ice cream shop,” says 2012 F&W Best New Pastry Chef Devin McDavid, of San Francisco’s Quince restaurant.

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Portland, OR: Cool Moon Ice Cream

Credit: Photo courtesy of Cool Moon Creamery

Must have: Wicked Chocolate ice cream

Among the local ingredients used at this Pearl District shop: Oregon bing cherries for its Bing Cherry Almond Chip and hazelnut butter and toasted hazelnuts from orchards 20 miles away for its Willamette Valley Hazelnut.

Portland Travel Guide

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Honolulu: Bubbie's Ice Cream

Credit: Photo © Ric Noyle

Must have: Green Tea mochi ice cream

One fan of Keith Robbins' bite-size mochi (ice cream wrapped in a sweetened rice confection) is superchef Nobu Matsuhisa. bubbiesicecream.com

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San Francisco: Bi-Rite Creamery

Credit: Photo © Bi-Rite Creamery

Must have: Salted Caramel or Black Sesame with Sonoma Honey

Almost everything at this excellent ice cream shop is made from scratch, including the marshmallows for the Rocky Road. Marin County's Straus Family Creamery, the first certified-organic dairy in the West, supplies all of the milk and cream for Bi-Rite's ice creams.

San Francisco Travel

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Houston: Fat Cat Creamery

Credit: © Chuck Cook Photography

Must have: Milk Chocolate Stout

Nearby Barry Farm provides figs, citrus and other ingredients.

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Austin: Amy's Ice Cream

Credit: Photo © Kelly Bazely

Must have: Mexican Vanilla ice cream

As well known for its scoop-throwing employees as its ice cream. Amy's offers more than 300 flavors on a rotating basis, including the Shiner Bock, made with the iconic Texan beer of the same name.

Austin Travel

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Phoenix, AZ: Churn

Credit: © Upward Projects

Must have: Vietnamese Coffee

This shop has a retro vibe--check out the nostalgic ice cream cookie sandwiches.

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Austin: Lick Honest Ice Creams

Credit: © Annie Ray

Must have: Dewberry Corn Cobbler

Everything from the sauces to the marshmallow is made in house.

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Berkeley, CA: Ici Ice Cream

Credit: Photo © Tomoko Kanamitsu

Must have: House-made ice cream cones

Mary Canales, a former pastry chef at Berkeley's illustrious Chez Panisse, is now famous in her own right for phenomenal ice creams in flavors like brandied cherry and rose.

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Ohio: Graeter's

Credit: Photo courtesy of Graeter's

Must have: Buckeye Chocolate Chip

Graeter's ice cream, made just two gallons at a time, is slowly swirled and folded into itself in a French Pot so no air gets whipped in. The technique makes for an extra-dense and creamy ice cream—each pint weighs almost a pound. This state icon also ships its rich, custard-style ice cream.

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Denver: Sweet Action Ice Cream

Credit: Photo courtesy of Sweet Action

Must have: Baklava ice cream

The constantly changing, inspired flavors at this 100 percent wind-powered ice cream shop include Oatmeal Stout and Strawberry Balsamic.

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Kansas City, MO: Glacé Artisan Ice Cream

Credit: Photo courtesy of Glacé Artisan Ice Cream

Must have: Goat Cheese and Honey ice cream

Christopher Elbow is just as boundary-pushing with his ice creams, in flavors like Salted Pretzel and Persian Spice, as he is with his stellar artisan chocolates.

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Columbus, OH: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

Credit: Photo © Jeni's Art + Design

Must have: Salty Caramel ice cream

Jeni Britton Bauer creates some of the country's best ice creams, sorbets and frozen yogurts in imaginative flavor combinations like Ylang Ylang and fennel.

Lessons from Ice Cream Maven Jeni Britton Bauer

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Minneapolis, MN: Pumphouse Creamery

Credit: © Victoria Campbell

Must have: Door County Cherry

The locavore spot--even the waffle cones are made with Minnesota grains--also sells great dairy-free coconut milk ice cream. Barb Zapzalka's exceptional ice cream is made with organic milk and cream from a small dairy farm in Wisconsin.

Minneapolis Travel

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Minneapolis: Izzy's Ice Cream

Credit: Photo © Rich Kaszeta

Must have: The Signature "Izzy Scoop"

“It’s a tiny top hat-like scoop of ice cream that you can order on top of any cone, giving you the joy of two flavors in a much more manageable format than a classic double scoop,” says 2012 F&W Best New Pastry Chef Stella Parks, of Table Three Ten in Lexington, Kentucky. “Plus, it looks adorably jaunty.”

Stella Parks's Ice Cream-Inspired Dessert

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Missoula, MT: Big Dipper Ice Cream

Must have: Huckleberry ice cream (made with local berries)

The inspired flavors range from El Salvador Coffee to Honey Porter.

How to Make Ice Cream

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Traverse City, MI: Moomers Homemade Ice Cream

Must have: Black Cherry ice cream

The hands-down favorite of locals. This family-run parlor is on a dairy farm--the deck offers views of grazing cows.

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Greenfield, WI: Kopp's Frozen Custard

Must have: Sprecher Root Beer Float

Frozen custard, like Kopp's, has less air than most ice creams, so its smoother.

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Chicago: Margie's Candies

Must have: Banana Split

“I rather enjoy a butterscotch sundae with vanilla ice cream but they have much more than that,” says Bryce Caron, a 2012 F&W Best New Pastry Chef. “The sandwiches are delicious. Margie’s is the kind of place you visit to forget the fact that you live in a major urban environment. Just grab a club sandwich and a banana split and call it a day.”

Chicago Travel

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Scottsdale, AZ: Sweet Republic

Must have: Cheese Course Duo (blue cheese with Arizona Medjool dates)

This two-year-old shop prides itself on using exceptional ingredients, from milk and cream from local dairy farms to single-origin, fair-trade coffee beans for its espresso flavor.

Arizona Travel

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St. Louis, MO: Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

Must have: Terramizzou

The "concretes" (frozen custard blended with mix-ins) inspired those at Shake Shack.

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Bar Harbor, ME: Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream

Must have: Butterscotch Miso

Ice cream artisan Linda Parker shows her local pride, as when she adds Maine sea salt to caramel ice cream.

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Brooklyn: Blue Marble

Signature Item: Strawberry ice cream

Started by two best friends, it excels at old school favorites. All the ice creams here are certified organic from the milk to the fruit blended in.

The Best Homemade Ice Cream Recipes

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NYC: OddFellows

Credit: Courtesy of Oddfellows

Signature Item: Buttermilk Honey Blueberry

Known for over-the-top ice cream sandwiches called OddPockets, made with warm and buttery brioche bread.

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Washington DC: Ice Cream Jubilee

Must have: Chocolate Matzo Crack

Victoria Lai, a former member of the Department of Homeland Security, gets creative with milk and cream from nearby South Mountain Creamery.

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Best Ice Cream Spots in the U.S.

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Seattle: Molly Moon Ice Cream

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Santa Monica: Sweet Rose Creamery

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Santa Barbara: McConnell's

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Seattle: Lick Pure Cream

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Portland, OR: Salt & Straw

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Bainbridge Island, WA: Mora Iced Creamery

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San Rafael, CA: Three Twins Organic Ice Cream

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Sebastopol, CA: Screamin' Mimi's

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Portland, OR: Cool Moon Ice Cream

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Honolulu: Bubbie's Ice Cream

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San Francisco: Bi-Rite Creamery

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Houston: Fat Cat Creamery

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Austin: Amy's Ice Cream

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Phoenix, AZ: Churn

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Austin: Lick Honest Ice Creams

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Berkeley, CA: Ici Ice Cream

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Ohio: Graeter's

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Denver: Sweet Action Ice Cream

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Kansas City, MO: Glacé Artisan Ice Cream

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Columbus, OH: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

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Minneapolis, MN: Pumphouse Creamery

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Minneapolis: Izzy's Ice Cream

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Missoula, MT: Big Dipper Ice Cream

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Traverse City, MI: Moomers Homemade Ice Cream

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Greenfield, WI: Kopp's Frozen Custard

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Chicago: Margie's Candies

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