Lemon gelato at Dolce Neve
WITH TEMPS NEARING the triple digits, we’re all screaming for ice cream! If you haven’t hit Houston’s many scrumptious ice-cream shops this summer, here’s the scoop on eight of the best.
Dolce Neve Gelato
Dolce Neve
This Austin-born sweet shop wows with real deal Italian gelato — more than a dozen flavors daily along with seasonal scoops and ice cream sandwiches. Perfect for summer: refreshing organic watermelon sorbet, ricotta-honey-pistachio gelato, and lemon gelato.
Fat Cat Creamery
Fat Cat (photo by Chuck Cook)
Paws up for this Heights favorite dishing up scoops crafted with hyper-local ingredients like Waterloo strawberry buttermilk and milk chocolate ice cream made with Convict Hill oatmeal stout. Retro confections tempt like push-up pops, sundaes, milkshakes and floats (remember those?!).
Frohzen at Cafe Leonelli
Frohzen case at Cafe Leonelli (photo by Emily Chan)
A summer day at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston isn’t complete without popping in for a chilly treat. Popular gelato flavors include cookies and cream and guava Maria; there’s also mango sorbet. Expect novelties like artful ice cream sandwiches and frozen pops.
Honeychild's Sweet Creams
Honeychild's Sweet Creams (photo by Lauren Marek)
Handmade frozen custard made from all local ingredients is the star of this scoop shop. Flavors like buttermilk pie, creamed corn, and Texas sheet cake keep the regulars coming. Cucumber shishito lime sorbet is another must try.
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams
Dairy-free cones at Jeni's
This national brand peppered around town features flavors that mimic restaurant desserts: think mango cheesecake; sparkling cherry pie; and brandied banana brûlée. Summer flavors include sweet cream biscuits with peach jam and golden nectar ice cream. The newest shop is in Rice Village, and like all the locations, it offers gluten- and dairy-free options.
Sweet Cup
Sweet Cup Gelato
With 200 rotating flavors, Sweet Cup in Montrose crafts handmade gelato, sorbets and frozen yogurts from scratch on-site. Wildly inventive flavors like turmeric-mandarin gelato, lychee basil, and Blue Moon swirled with marshmallows and local blueberries are gaining a cult following. Want to stock up? Pints are sold at all Houston Whole Foods Markets and Central Markets statewide.
Tiny's Milk & Cookies
Tiny's Milk & Cookies
This precious spot with several locations has a secret weapon that isn’t in the name — ice cream! You’ll want to grab a few of the famous chocolate chip cookies to go along with classic scoops like rich coconut milk chocolate, fresh strawberry and birthday cake.
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream
Van Leeuwen ice cream
The Brooklyn-based ice cream shop specializes in French ice cream and also offers vegan ice cream, sorbet, sundaes, milkshakes, and ice cream sandwiches. Three Houston locations are scooping indulgences like peanut-butter-brownie-honeycomb, buttermilk-berry-cornbread, and chocolate-caramel-cheesecake. Anticipate midnight cravings? Central Market carries pints and ice cream bars.
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Isabel Leonard (photo by Michael Thomas)
Leonard in rehearsal (photo by Michael Bishop)
Organist Brett Miller