Sweet Rose Creamery
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How to describe this Westside gem? Well, according to its website, “Sweet Rose Creamery is a neighborhood ice cream shop where whimsical, childhood nostalgia meets thoughtful, locally-sourced ingredients.” It’s a locally owned business where “nearly everything from scratch — marshmallows, chocolate chips, sauces, waffle cones, and so much more within our Brentwood Country Mart location’s very, very small kitchen.” Flavors change monthly and “with the micro-seasons.” So, when they offer Carrot Cake ice cream (handmade cake batter full of organic carrots and spices, baked until golden brown and hand folded into organic cream cheese ice cream) as a monthly flavor, get your butt over there! Want froyo? They offer exotic varieties throughout the year, like my fave Guava, or the Cherimoya (Organic yogurt made from the flesh of ripe cherimoya creates a heady custard with complex notes of creme bruleé, mango, and pineapple). Of course, they also make traditional flavors, all excellent. But, will you ever taste a better Strawberry? It’s pricey ($11 for a double scoop), and worth every lick!
McConnell’s
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With four locations around LA… Studio City, Third Street Promenade, Pacific Palisades, and Downtown, McConnell’s is a 70-year-old, 3rd generation, family-run start-up. Unlike some others on this list that serve the whackiest of flavors, McConnell’s boasts that “Keeping things simple is the most complicated thing we do.” They use just a few simple ingredients such as milk, cream, eggs, and cane sugar with inclusions such as chocolates, caramels, nuts, booze, cookies, and crumbles to produce some of the finest ice cream in Los Angeles. Be sure to try their Birthday Cake ice cream, even if and especially if it’s not your birthday. Treat yourself!
Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream
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It’s flavors galore at Handel’s in Northridge, Calabasas, Santa Monica, Culver City, and several other Southland locations. Started in Ohio in 1945, Handel’s still makes ice cream the old-fashioned way. Their flavors stand the test of time, like Cinnamon Roll, a yellow cake batter ice cream with brown sugar cinnamon ripple. Or cheesecake ice cream made with Oreo Cookie pieces and cheesecake chunks. And what kid (or grown-up!) could resist Cotton Candy, made with cotton candy ice cream and mini chocolate rainbow chips? Here’s a scoop for vegans with a sweet tooth: they serve up a variety of frozen desserts, like chocolate almond milk ice cream, and fruity sorbets, including strawberry, mango, and pomegranate. Yum!
Honeymee
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Is a serving of the best soft-serve true milk Matcha ice cream, drizzled in organic natural raw honey, worth a drive to L.A.’s Little Tokyo district worth the drive? You bet it is! The frozen dessert is perfection; not too sweet, refreshing, and delicious. Ask for a taste and see for yourself. If matcha tea isn’t your thing, the Plane True Milk soft serve milk ice cream is yummy too. In the mood for an offbeat milkshake? Try flavors like Lavender, Green Apple, Sea Salt Caramel, Sea Salt Chocolate, Yuzu, or Misugaru (a blend of true milk ice cream, natural raw honey, multi-grain powder and brown rice.) Of course, you can always order something more vanilla, like strawberry or cookies and cream! Can’t go wrong. They also have several locations, including Downtown and Sawtelle in L.A., K-Town on Wilshire, and Buena Park. Here’s a fun fact: their California milk ice cream is made from a family-owned kosher-certified dairy farm.
Mashti Malone
Veliavik/moviestillsdb
In the mood for an aromatic flower-flavored ice cream? Then this is the right place for you! They’ve been offering exotic flavors, such as Creamy Rosewater, French Lavender, Ginger Rosewater, Orange Blossom, Persian Cucumber, and Saffron Rosewater, way long before floral flavors became the mainstream trend. They even offer a Vegan Saffron Rosewater and a dairy-free Rosewater Sorbet! Other cool flavors include Turkish Coffee, Persian Cucumber, Cherry Faloodeh, Date, Herbal Snow Sorbet, and Pomegranate Sorbet, as well as Madagascar Vanilla, Matcha Green Tea, and Pistachio Almond. According to their website, “It’s 2500 Years in The Making!”
SomiSomi
fulcrumsf
Ever tried some fish with your ice cream? Well, not fish exactly, but a crisp waffle cone in the shape of an aquatic critter? Then get your butt over to SomiSomi for some yummy yummy! With locations in Korea Town, Little Tokyo, and Sawtelle, you can run into this delightful serving of ice cream all over the city. First select your flavor from Cookies n Cream, Matcha, Milk, Ube, Milk Tea, and Strawberry. You really can’t go wrong, but if you want to go right — get the Cookies n Cream. Next, you can either be boring and simply get it in a to-go cup, or choose to get the ice cream inside their signature goldfish-shaped waffle cone. But we’re not done yet. We have fill that fish up — with your choice of Nutella, Custard, Red Bean, or Taro. If we’re picking, go with the Nutella and get ready for an other-worldly mouthgasm. Finish up your trip to SomiSomi with toppings such as Rainbow Sprinkles, Strawberry, Coconut Flakes, and Fruit Pebbles among other delights.
Rori’s
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At Rori’s, with locations in both Santa Monica and Bel Air, you can find truly unique flavors of ice cream you’re not going to find anywhere else. So let’s start with our favorite — Malted Milk Ball. Rori’s site describes it as “Malt ice cream mixed with old fashioned malt balls creates this nostalgic favorite. Kids and grown-ups love this one!” Seriously, skip the Whoppers and try this instead. It’s akin to a malt ball you’ll only find at the best candy stores and it’s mouth-wateringly good. I could come back every day for this flavor. This is not a joke. Some others to try out include Cinnamon Toast Cereal Crunch, Brown Sugar Banana, and a Nutella-flavored ice cream.
Jeni’s
SMarina/istock
Want to try a Maple Soaked Pancakes flavor?! Then head to Jeni’s in Calabasas. They have loads of off-wall flavors, so you’ll never get bored. One of their most popular flavors, Wildberry Lavender, is refreshingly tasty, with a fruity, floral twist. Check out their other zany flavors such as Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Tart pineapple with red cherries, golden cake, and a gooey caramel swirl, or Skillet Cinnamon Roll, “Bursting with cinnamon (it’s in the ice cream and caramel sauce), like the classic roll. A dark caramel sauce tastes like caramelized sugar on a hot skillet.” And if you’re bananas about bananas, get Banana Cream Pudding, which is an assortment of “Real bananas, ultra-rich coconut cream, and scratch-made vanilla wafers.”
Sloan’s
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Located in the Village in Westwood Topanga, it feels like you’re walking into a candy land the moment you step through Sloan’s doors. With dozens of flavors in stock, you’re sure to find what you like no matter your taste buds. If I’m going, with my personal favorite, it would be Cookie Monster, which Sloan’s website describes as, “sandwich cookies and homemade chocolate chip cookies.” It seriously tastes like cookies came right out of the oven and were meshed perfectly into some ice cream. If you want to try something more adventurous, try the Balboa Banana Chocolate Chunk “loaded with ripe bananas and big chunks of chocolate.” I’m personally not nutty about nuts in desserts, but if you are, check out Luscious Sloan’s Dark, “chocolate ice cream with brownies, pecans, almonds, peanuts, toffee and caramel.”
Wanderlust
ASIF IQBAL PATEL/moviestillsdb
Want to try the ice cream shop that originated the Sticky Rice and Mango flavor? Look no further than Wanderlust, which hosts 7 shops around LA. According to the Wanderlust website, their ice cream flavors are “inspired by our own feelings of wanderlust, every flavor is made from memories, the flavors that remind us of our childhoods, the places we’ve been and the places we want to go.” Their Abuelita Malted Crunch is a must-have and was inspired by the founders’ SoCal childhoods. It’s a mix of malted milk, Mexican stone-ground chocolate with cinnamon and chili, Belgian dark chocolate freckles, and crunchy malted milk balls. They usually have about four seasonal flavors as well, so be sure to check their website so you don’t miss out!
