Hear that? It’s the sound of one million Minnesotans screaming for ice cream. We’ve waited a long time for summer to hit, and now that we’re in the heart of it, we intend to enjoy it fully, gosh dang it. Full enjoyment entails summer-worthy refreshments such as ice-cold beer, grilled hot dogs, vine-ripe watermelons and, of course, ice cream. Nothing tastes better than a sweet, cool treat right about now, whether it’s ice cream, milkshakes, sorbet or frozen custard: Bring. It. On. Here are some of our favorite local chilly delights. Get ’em while the getting’s good (as if you needed any encouragement).
TRUFFLE PIE
Adele’s Frozen Custard
Adele’s Frozen Custard was founded in 1988. Frozen custard is a lot like ice cream but it incorporates egg yolk for a richer, denser product. Adele’s makes no fewer than 80(!) different flavors; check out the custard calendar on the website to find out the flavors of the day, or just roll the dice and show up. Choosing a flavor—with several samples to help you arrive at a decision—is one of the pleasures of the ritual. Chocolate and vanilla are constants; purists will be pleased with the fresh flavor and silky texture of these classic flavors. The rotating flavors are seasonal: In the summer, fresh peach is divine, as is raspberry lemonade, which is also available fat-free. Ice cream pies are on hand as well, and a delicious and bedazzling option is the truffle pie, a crushed-Oreo crust filled with fudge, chocolate custard, raspberries and truffle drizzle. Ice cream, small dish or cone, $3.85; pie, $22.
800 Excelsior Blvd., Excelsior; 952.470.0035
DOUBLE SCOOP IN A CUP
Licks Unlimited
Licks Unlimited in Excelsior is a delightful place to visit. The old-fashioned ice cream parlor is more than 39 years old and makes more than 30 flavors of ice cream. A visit to Licks floods the senses with the aroma of waffle cones and boggles the mind with the agony of choosing a flavor; this is quintessential summer giddiness. Queue up and ease the agony by picking two flavors. We’d pick the not-too-intense chocolate paired with raspberry, chunky with fruit and prettily pink. The final challenge is to slow down while you eat your treat so you don’t get brain freeze, which is a real buzzkill. The lake is but a spit ’n’ holler away: Stroll down to the shore, pick a perch and lick at your leisure. Double scoop in cup, $4.75.
31 Water St., Excelsior; 952.474.4791
VERMONSTER
Ben and Jerry’s
The 1980s saw the advent of premium ice cream—thicker texture with a higher fat content—and Vermont-based Ben and Jerry’s was one of the pioneers. The chain just celebrated 37 successful years of slinging ice cream and inventing wacky flavor combinations like Cherry Garcia (cherry ice cream with chocolate chips), Chunky Monkey (banana ice cream with chocolate chips and walnuts) and Chubby Hubby (vanilla malt ice cream with peanut-butter filled pretzels and fudge ripples). Gather a gang to tackle the Vermonster—a monster of a sundae—built from 20 scoops of ice cream, hot fudge, banana, cookies, house-baked brownies and four more toppings of your choosing. Or order the Mini Vermonster, which is only four scoops of ice cream with the brownie, cookie, banana, fudge, whipped cream, et al. $35.
539 E. Lake St., Wayzata; 952.473.1705
HOMEMADE GELATO
Bacio
Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream. It has a lower milk-fat content and a silkier texture than regular ice cream. Bacio makes their gelato in-house, and flavors change according to the season and the chef’s whim. You can almost always count on vanilla here, and it’s anything but boring in its velvety, understated elegance. We’ve swooned over chocolate orange, deep and rich with cocoa underlined with a puckery citrus pop, and an amazing honey-rosemary, an unusual, subtle combination of aromatic herbs and soft honey, and an especially nice complement to the robust Italian fare on the dinner menu. $8.
1571 Plymouth Road, Minnetonka; 952.544.7000
(Left: Homemade gelato from Bacio; Right: Butterscotch malt from Snuffy's Malt Shop.)
BUTTERSCOTCH MALT
Snuffy’s Malt Shop
Get a solid burger or healthy sandwich to justify an order of Snuffy’s decadent butterscotch malt. Malt is made from germinated cereal grains, most often barley, dried in a process called malting. It has a distinctive nutty-earthy flavor that most people love (malted milk balls, anyone?), and appears to have originated in malt beverages in the early 1920s. Snuffy’s butterscotch malt—which contains neither scotch nor butter, mind you—is a classic that harkens back to the days of pudding for dessert; and tell us: Who doesn’t love butterscotch pudding? $3.75 half, $4.90 full.
17519 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka; 952.475.1850
WHITE CHOCOLATE BANANA QUESADILLA WITH CINNAMON ICE CREAM
Lago Tacos
A lot of desserts come with ice cream—think apple pie a la mode, or a brownie sundae. In these cases, the ice cream is an enhancement for the bulk of the dish, but in some cases, the ice cream is the very point. That’s the case with the white chocolate banana quesadilla with caramel sauce and cinnamon ice cream at Lago Tacos. Sure, the melty white chocolate melded with squished hot banana and sweet caramel sauce is exquisite, but the cinnamon ice cream not only pulls it all together with spice and verve, but it also deserves a spotlight all its own. In fact, try not to eat the ice cream first, because the quesadilla will get jealous. $7.95.
30 Water St., Excelsior 952.300.8495
