Best ice cream
We asked, “Where have you had the best ice cream outside of the United States?” We requested that you name the particular shop (along with its address or approximate location) and include when you were there and the approximate price of a treat.
Last month we presented readers’ picks for best ice cream establishments in Italy. This month, the Western Hemisphere (sans USA). More recommendations are coming. If you have one to share, write to Best Ice Cream, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (include the address at which you receive ITN).
Atop El Peñón, a 656-foot-tall granite monolith in Guatapé, Colombia, some 86 kilometers northeast of Medellín, in February 2010 I had the best coffee ice cream bar ever created by man.
When you get to the top of the 649 steps, it is the place on your left, not the fancy place in the tower.
It is worth the trip down there.
Richard C. Walker
La Jolla, CA
My favorite is the coconut ice cream at any of the Bon ice cream parlors in the Dominican Republic. Although coconut isn’t a top flavor on my list, the coconut ice cream at Bon was refreshing. The coconut tasted authentic, with the emphasis on the fruit instead of the cream, though it was not a dense flavor. It cost about $1.30
Bon is a fun place with music and lightheartedness.
There is a Bon at the Malecón, the oceanfront avenue in Santo Domingo; close to Pizzarelli and Parque Independencia, it’s down the street from the major hotels. I visited the island in February ’10 (for the Independence Day parade) and again at the end of July (for the Merengue Festival).
Bon’s coconut is not always available, so when it is it seems like good luck — a simple special occasion.
Since 2001, I’ve been visiting the D.R. about three times a year; during our winter, it’s warmer than Hawaii or Puerto Vallarta and far more affordable. I’ve found the people to be unspoiled and lighthearted, and, if one is careful, problems shouldn’t ensue.
M. Greg Stathakis
Santa Barbara, CA
San Pedro in Belize is hot anytime of year. After a little shopping, the best ice cream (or so it seemed in June ’10) was at DandE’s Frozen Custard & Sorbet (closed Wednesday) on Pescador Drive (Middle Street) next to Cocina Caramba.
The story goes that Dan, from Wisconsin, while living in San Pedro, could never get good ice cream. (Others on the island use local products such as condensed milk.) He decided to import his own milk and other critical ingredients all the way from the US — not an easy task, considering that it needs refrigeration all the way.
Eileen, Dan’s wife, serves the great flavors, with generous helpings at less than $2. This cooling dessert is worth the short walk from the beach.
Kerry Brock
Santa Fe, NM
The best ice cream cone we have had recently came from M&M, a little shop on San Martín Boulevard in Calafate, Argentina. We indulged in cones there on Dec. 12, 2009. The cost was $1.50-$2 per scoop.
The shop isn’t hard to find once you set yourself the task of wandering along one side of San Martín and then the other, looking at shops and restaurants — just about the only recreational diversion in Calafate. After all, it sits in isolated splendor in the middle of Patagonia!
Jim Hester
Little Rock, AR
The best ice cream has to be at Heladería Rosalía Suárez (corner of Oviedo and Olmedo; phone 958 722), in Ibarra, Ecuador. We were at this ice cream (helados) shop in early February 2006.
The ice cream is handmade in bronze basins, which are set in large wooden bowls (about 2½ feet in diameter) lined with straw and filled with the salt/ice mixture. The workers very rapidly rotate the basin in the salt/ice mixture, scraping down the ice cream mixture as it is frozen. I was very surprised at how quickly it froze.
I had the naranjilla ice cream, which was truly heavenly.
Jonathan Hayes
Corvallis, OR
After flying from Los Angeles, we arrived at the Charlottetown Airport, Prince Edward Island, Canada, in the wee hours of the morning on May 24, 2010. With our blurry eyes, the first thing we saw in the small baggage-claim area was a larger-than-life statue of a cow. Our interest was piqued by the attached sign: “Cows Creamery Ice Cream.”
Heading north in our rental car the next day, it was about lunchtime when, in Cavendish, on the north shore, where the house of “Anne of Green Gables” fame is located, we spied the Cows Ice Cream shop — with a cow statue on the roof.
In the quaint shop, we had ample double dips in waffle cones at about $5 each. We had fun choosing from flavors with names such as Wowie Cowie, Messie Bessie, Calfe Latte, Mooie Gooey and Freckle Frenzy (this one in honor of Anne of Green Gables). Even though it was too early in the season for the gift shop portion to be open, there were several people in line for the fabulous ice cream.
This ice cream whetted our appetites for more Cows. When we returned to Charlottetown three days later, we found the Cows Creamery factory and store on the highway as we entered the city.
This store was much larger, quite new and modern and could handle tour groups. It’s open all year and has, in addition to the ice cream counter, a full-fledged gift shop. Clever cow-related names and sayings adorned T-shirts, mugs, postcards and beach towels. We were invited to tour the factory and see a short film, but we wanted to get into town.
Both the Cavendish shop and Charlottetown factory were pleasant and spotlessly clean. There are nine Cows Creamery stores in Canada, five of them on Prince Edward Island. The two Charlottestown stores are open year-round and the other PEI stores are open May to October.
Good ice cream and fun — a great combination!
Martha Lance
Fullerton, CA