11 Ice Creams Worth the Trip, According to Food Network Staffers
Here's the scoop on the best spots across the country.
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Have you ever had a place where the food was so good you kept going back time after time? While we’re all for discovering the latest food trend or experiencing the newest restaurant, sometimes all we want is a familiar and comforting treat. And, since ice cream season is here, what better way to celebrate the warm weather than with a cool treat? From nostalgic throwbacks we grew up with to vacation hot spots we’ve discovered on our travels—here are the ice creams Food Network staffer’s deem worthy of a road trip!
This is my most favorite ice cream in the entire world. Others agree, because they have a cult following. Their flavors are often sweet and salty, but not too salty: just the right balance to keep you coming back for more. Their ice creams contain more milk fat than most other brands, meaning they’re super luxurious and decadent. McConnell’s does sell its pints across the country but they’re hard to find (if I do I buy all of them). My absolute favorite flavor is Sea Salt Cream & Cookies. I could devour a pint in 10 minutes, no joke.
-Heath Goldman, Culinary Editor
Going to college in Columbus, OH, grabbing a scoop or two at Jeni’s is a rite of passage. Unfortunately, Jeni hasn’t opened an outpost in New York *yet*, so anytime my fiancé and I make it back to Ohio State for a football game or to visit friends, a stop at Jeni’s scoop shop in North Market (the OG spot) is always on the itinerary. My go-to order changes depending on what seasonal or local flavors Jeni has on the menu, but I always ask for my ice cream in a freshly pressed waffle bowl. While store-bought pints from Whole Foods tide us over between visits, they’re just not the same as a stop at our old stomping grounds.
-T.K. Brady, Senior Editor
Lauren Tom Cerone
This has definitely been a summertime favorite of mine ever since I was little. I can remember meeting up with my cousins after dinner, standing on line outside and finishing the night off with the creamiest and smoothest soft serve ice cream I’ve ever had! Usually, I’m a big toppings girl (I love my sprinkles, cookies and candy) but King Kone is so good that a plain vanilla soft serve is all you need to order. Although their vanilla/orange ice twist is worth ordering, too!
-Lauren Tom Cerone, Associate Content Producer
The Juice Bar on Nantucket is a local hot spot known not for juice but for ice cream! Everything is homemade, including the waffle cones, which are rolled to order. It’s not unusual for a line to snake down the block and around the corner as locals and tourists alike patiently wait for their scoop (or two or three!). You can smell the buttery sweetness of the cones from outside, leaving plenty of time to plan your order and dream of the frozen treat to come.
-Maria Russo, Senior Digital Editor
Debra Puchalla
We can debate whether milkshakes qualify as ice cream, but if they do, and you're heading on a road trip out west, hit LaBeau's in Utah. A few years ago, our family of five piled into a rental car and wound our way from Salt Lake City up to Yellowstone and en route stopped for locals-favorite raspberry shakes at this Garden City drive-in near the picturesque Bear Lake. Sweet, tangy, studded with berries, crazy creamy and all cool, the milkshake stands out in my memory as one of the best stops on the trip.
-Debra Puchalla, SVP, Food Network Video & Programming
I would travel far and wide for Graeter's Ice Cream! Graeter's is a regional ice cream shop based in Cincinnati, Ohio (which is very close to where I grew up). What makes their ice cream so special is their unique French Pot freezers—high butterfat is frozen with very little trapped air, yielding irresistibly indulgent ice cream. You can't go wrong with any flavor, but my personal preference is the double chocolate chip (chocolate ice cream with bittersweet chocolate chunks).
-Amanda Neal, Lead Recipe Developer
Growing up in Colorado, my favorite summer activity was going into downtown Denver and grabbing ice cream at the iconic Little Man Ice Cream location. The flavors are constantly changing and range from classic chocolate, strawberry and vanilla to unique options like Mexican Chocolate, Fluffernutter and Salted Oreo. Plus, the ice cream shop is housed in a 28-foot, old-fashioned milk can replica, which is worth a trip for the picture alone!
-Rachel Trujillo, Associate Content Editor
I feel like I need to preface this pick by saying that I am NOT a vanilla ice cream person (I almost always go with frozen treats that feature a chocolate, coconut or coffee base) so the fact that I would plan an entire trip to Philly just to get a scoop of the Franklin Fountain's Honeycomb ice cream is really saying something. It’s one of their seasonal flavors and, in my humble opinion, not one to be missed. The vanilla ice cream is gently swirled with locally sourced honey and studded with crunchy bits of good, old-fashioned honeycomb candy. Simple, but divine. Once you’ve finished your ice cream, head next door to Shane Confectionery (which is owned by the same brothers as the ice cream shop) and pick up some chocolate-dipped honeycomb candy as a souvenir!
-Kristie Collado, Digital Programming Manager
Kristie Collado
I’m not going to lie—the Coconut ice cream is the only flavor that I’ve tried at Bellvale Farms Creamery (even though I’ve visited at least 5 times!). I ordered it on my first trip, and it was so rich, coconutty and crunchy that I can’t imagine ordering anything else whenever I go. It’s that good! As the name implies, this frozen treat starts with a coconut base (handmade daily!) and features a delicious surprise: a generous dose of chocolate covered almonds mixed throughout. I don’t live too far from Warwick, NY but would happily make the trip from any distance for a scoop of this ice cream and a chance to take in the view—the creamery is located on top of Mount Peter and seeing the Hudson Valley from that vantage point is absolutely amazing.
-Kristie Collado, Digital Programming Manager
I spent a few months in the suburbs of Philly, and stumbled upon Carminati Creamery, a tiny shop with small-batch flavors that rotate every day. I don’t even live in Pennsylvania, but I check the shop’s Instagram all the time, just so I can know what they’re whipping up that day (and feed my imagination!). But on the days that I do get to taste their gelato first-hand, I can’t get enough of it. All the gelato they make is so incredibly fresh, ultra-creamy, and full of flavor (without going overboard). Most recently, I had a scoop of their Pistachio, and it had so many little bits of real, fresh nuts. It was unlike any other pistachio gelato I’ve ever had! It’s so hard to beat small-batch gelato, especially from Carminati—where you can tell everything is made with love and care.
-Maggie Wong, Editor
The Cider Mill and Al’s French Frys
I’m planning a quick trip home to Vermont this summer, partly for the creemees, Vermont’s version of soft serve. Trust me, a good maple creemee is far superior to the commercial chocolate-vanilla swirl you’re picturing right now. Writing about creemees made me really crave one, and since you can’t get them outside of Vermont, the only solution is traveling! My favorite creemee stands are the windows at The Cider Mill and Al’s French Frys, both in South Burlington. However, I would travel even further to Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks in Montpelier or Canteen Creemee Company in Waitsfield, which are both considered some of the best. I’ve never tried either, and I think it’s time to change that.
-Sabrina Choudhary, Online Editorial Coordinator
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