Every town has a go-to ice cream shop, and if you ask someone what his or her favorite place for ice cream is, that’s the one that will likely come to mind first. But, if we’re being honest, some people have been blessed with a local ice cream shop that’s a little bigger, better, or sweeter than the rest.

Photo courtesy of Azucar Ice Cream Company

• Azucar Ice Cream Company, Miami, FL
  When you think of Cuban food, ice cream might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But this Miami ice cream shop has created dozens of Cuban-inspired flavors that are anything but ordinary. They’re most famous for the Abuela Maria—vanilla ice cream infused with pieces of guava and cream cheese, and topped with a galletas Maria (a kind of tea biscuit). But regulars also love the platano maduro (sweet plantain) and caramel flan flavors.

• Bassetts Ice Cream, Philadelphia, PA
  Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market is packed with delicious delicacies you won’t find at many other places, including Bassetts Ice Cream—a mainstay in the market since it opened in 1892. The shop has dozens of flavors that run the gamut from butter almond to pomegranate & blueberry crunch.

Photo courtsey of Elijah Reeder | Lick Honest Ice Creams

• Lick Honest Ice Creams, Austin, TX
  What could be better than (nearly) guilt-free ice cream? At Lick, guests can enjoy their ice cream and feel good about it, too, with flavors made exclusively from locally sourced ingredients. For adventurous ice cream connoisseurs, the shop offers scoops like roasted beets and fresh mint; dark chocolate, olive oil & sea salt; and caramel salt lick, as well as a number of vegan and dairy-free options.

• Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream, Lexington, KY
  Mike and Toa Green originally made ice cream to sell at their Thai restaurant, but they quickly shifted gears to a different business entirely. Their signature coconut-flavored ice cream grew into several other notable flavors—Kentucky blackberry & buttermilk, blueberry lime cheesecake, and bourbon & honey, to name a few. They also make all of their cones and sauces in-house and offer a “spiked scoop” (a single scoop of any flavor with a shot of liquor on top).

Photo courtesy of McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams

• McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams, multiple locations in Southern California
  For seventy years, this Southern California shop has focused on crafting ice cream made from the best, high-quality ingredients it could find and has maintained strong partnerships with local farms and dairies. If you’re looking for a taste of California, try the shop’s wild berry chip or Eureka lemon & marionberries flavors.

• Zaharakos, Columbus, IN
  For a real trip back in time, Zaharakos ice cream parlor has been serving guests in the Columbus area for more than one hundred years! That’s a long time to perfect its ice cream, and, though you won’t find crazy flavors (raspberry chocolate chip is about as wild as it gets), the shop does offer traditional classics like ice cream floats and malts, as well as banana splits and sundaes.

• Rowley’s Red Barn, Santaquin, UT
  People may visit this ice cream shop for its incredible views of Utah’s mountains, but they stay for the amazing ice cream and fun family activities on this 900-acre farm and orchard. Rowley’s Red Barn isn’t just an ice cream parlor; it’s a family-owned fruit farm, so you can imagine how delicious the fruit-based flavors are—such as raspberry cheesecake and peaches 'n cream.

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