You'll Scream for These 8 Ice Cream Shops

Nothing sets off a hot summer day like cold ice cream (preferably dripping down the side of a chocolate–dipped waffle cone). Minnesota is a sweet destination with its abundance of creameries specializing in small–batch sizes. Plain chocolate and vanilla are suitable to satiate a midnight craving, but summer is the perfect time to give these new flavors a try.

This $&@! Just Got Serious is a crowd favorite at Cold Front in St. Paul—smooth salted–caramel ice cream with rich sea–salt fudge and salted cashews. The recently opened ice cream parlor took over Lynden’s Soda Shop and now offers ice cream treats along with old-fashioned sodas. Or opt for Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, a blend of smooth cheesecake ice cream with a sweet raspberry ripple, chocolate chunks, and Oreo pieces—aptly named after a punk rock girl band.

Branching out of the cities and into the suburbs, head over to Adele’s frozen custard shop on Lake Minnetonka to try their Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, offered every other Sunday—each decadent scoop has chocolate custard with raspberries and truffle chocolate. Another top seller is their Puppy Chow flavor, which combines peanut butter and chocolate custard with Chex cereal and powdered sugar. Each flavor is made in small batches—check their “Custard Calendar” to see what will be available each day.

Honey and Mackie’s colorful, contemporary shop in Plymouth is known for its rotating roster of inventive flavors. This summer’s offerings include a refreshing non-alcoholic mojito sorbet bursting with lime flavor and fresh–cut mint. Their blue–raspberry sorbet and Lemon Drop ice cream are also perfect fruity selections for summer. Stave off your sugar rush with a cup of the shop’s fresh–cut fries.

Count yourself an ice cream connoisseur if you manage to hit all three locations this summer—but don’t discount the classics (here’s lookin’ at you, Sebastian Joe’s). We’ve rounded up a list of the crème de la crème of Twin Cities creameries. Just pace yourself, unless you’re ready to sign on for a pretty bad brain freeze.

Adele’s
800 Excelsior Blvd., Excelsior

Cold Front
490 Hamline Ave. S., St. Paul

Grand Old Creamery
750 Grand Ave., St. Paul
4737 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis

Honey and Mackie’s
16725 County Rd. 24, Plymouth

Izzy’s Ice Cream
1100 S. 2nd St., Minneapolis

Pumphouse Creamery
4754 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis

Sebastian Joe’s
1007 W. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis
4321 Upton Ave. S., Minneapolis

Sonny’s Café (formerly Crema Café)
3403 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis