Grand Ole Creamery
No. 1 seller: "It comes down to a top two," said co-owner Gary Huffman, who opened his popular shop 34 summers ago. There's Cookie Monster, a vanilla ice cream (tinted blue, natch, to match the "Sesame Street" character) packed with chunks of Oreos and a chocolate chip cookie-like dough. And then there's Black Hills Gold, which folds Oreo pieces and praline pecans into a caramel ice cream. "President Obama loved it," said Huffman.
Insider's favorite: Black Hills Gold. "My wife came up with the flavor combination," he said. "She was pregnant at the time, and she was having weird cravings. Our son is now 25 years old, that's how long it has been a favorite of mine."
Critic's choice: Butter Brickle, because the vanilla-toffee pairing always takes me back to the Bridgeman's in the neighborhood of my childhood, with my siblings and I begging our parents to stop for a cone.
Prices: $5.50 single, $7.50 double.
Addresses: 750 Grand Av., St. Paul, 651-293-1655; and 4737 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., 612-722-2261; grandolecreamery.com.
La La Homemade Ice Cream
No. 1 seller: "It used to be Charlottes' Web, hands down," said owner Jennifer Lisburg. It's easy to see why, given the unbeatable mix: Lisburg's dreamy vanilla ice cream, blended with toasted coconut and semisweet chocolate. "But now it's a toss-up," she said, noting that raspberry-honey and mocha almond crunch are total contenders at this Uptown scoop shop, which opened last August.
Insider's favorite: She didn't hesitate. "Sweet basil-vanilla," she said. "People say it tastes like summer." It does indeed, with a refreshing blast of garden-fresh basil. It's a basil sorbet, carefully swirled into a vanilla ice cream. What a brilliant idea.
Critic's choice: The mint chip is nothing like the cartoon-green version lurking in the supermarket freezer case. For maximum natural flavor, Lisburg soaks mint leaves in cream for three days before converting it to ice cream, then adds semisweet chocolate. It's another by-the-scoop embodiment of our rare warm-weather months.
Prices: $5 single, $10 double.
Address: 3146 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., 612-824-5252, lalahomemadeicecream.com.
Milkjam Creamery
No. 1 seller: "It's Ridin' Duuurty, hands down," said co-owner Sameh Wadi, demonstrating that half the fun of visiting this south Minneapolis shop is catching the names of flavors, often in tribute to his favorite rappers and movie stars. "It's an Oreo milk base with salted peanut butter mousse and chunks of Oreos. It's my guilty pleasure, the go-to when I want to be at home in my PJs, eating a pint."
Insider's favorite: "That's a tough one, it generally goes by the day, and the weather, so it changes all the time," he said. "I tend to go for fruit-based flavors, and one I like right now is Waka Flocka Flakes. It's a vanilla bean ice cream with caramelized cornflakes and a blend of whatever berries we can get. Right now it's blackberry, black currant and raspberry. There's something very comforting about it."
Critic's choice: A flavor called just Black, always and forever. Wadi and his crew have a skilled way with nondairy ice creams, making them so rich and luscious you'd never guess that they were cream-free. This particular concoction is a swoon-worthy mix of almond milk, coconut milk, four chocolates and an earthy, jet-black cocoa, a formula that delivers a powerful chocolate wallop. Also, Milkjam's ice cream cakes? Wow.
Prices: $4.25 single, $7.50 double.
Address: 2743 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., 612-424-4668, milkjamcreamery.com.
Pumphouse Creamery
No. 1 seller: "Overall, it's sea salt-caramel," said owner Barb Zapzalka. But seasonal flavors at this farm-to-table shop also tend to be major crowd-pleasers. Right now, that means local rhubarb, cooked into a sauce and folded into the shop's sublime vanilla ice cream.
Insider's favorite: "It always has — and it always will be — vanilla," she said with a laugh. "I used to make it when I was a kid. Even today, when I'm making a batch, I set aside a bowl, and that's my treat for the day."
Critic's choice: If there's butter pecan in the case at this 14-year-old shop, that's it, every time. But I'm also partial to the tangy buttermilk ice cream that pops with crumbled — and delectably tart — pieces of lemon bar (culled from A Baker's Wife's bakery in south Minneapolis), and I'm clearly not alone. "I think I'd be hunted down and punished if I stopped making it," Zapzalka said.
Price: $3.20 single, $5.10 double.
Address: 4754 Chicago Av. S., Mpls., 612-825-2021, pumphouse-creamery.com.
Sebastian Joe's
No. 1 seller: A flavor simply called Oreo, said production manager Greg Hefferan, explaining its attraction this way: Some Oreo ice creams are ice cream peppered with bits of Oreo cookies, but the Sebastian Joe's version feels and tastes more like a preponderance of Oreo cookies held together with rich ice cream.
Insider's favorite: "I always say that it's the flavor that I happen to be eating," he said. "But I'm also a traditionalist, so that means strawberry."
Critic's choice: Count me a member of that traditionalist society as well, which at Sebastian Joe's translates to Pavarotti, a divine blend of banana and caramel in a vanilla ice cream and stuffed with chocolate chips that's one of seven always-on-hand signature flavors. A close second? Raspberry ice cream blended with chocolate chips, an ideal flavor marriage. Oh, and because the Pellizzer brothers also operate a well-run bakery, this is the place to indulge in a first-rate ice cream sandwich.
Price: $4.20 single, double $5.66-$6.74 double.
Addresses: 1007 W. Franklin Av., Mpls., 612-870-0065; and 4321 Upton Av. S., Mpls., 612-926-7916; sebastianjoesicecream.com.
Sonny's Cafe
No. 1 seller: "The flavors are always rotating," said co-owner Ron Siron. "People are always looking for different stuff here, they always want something new. I try things, but I have no idea if they'll sell. I made a chocolate sorbet with fresh ginger root and wasabi, and people loved it."
Insider's favorite: "I've been making ice cream for 50 years, and I'll figure that out one of these years," he said with a laugh. "A couple of years ago, I did lilac. I'll probably do that again."
Critic's choice: The one flavor that always has a place in the Sonny's scoop case is Crema, and it's superb, made with cream infused with roasted arabica beans; the smooth taste mimics an espresso's froth. No wonder that Siron and spouse/business partner and fellow ice cream artisan Carrie Gustafson can't give it up. It's also the foundation for an unbeatable affogato.
Prices: $4.25 single, $7.45 double.
Address: 3403 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls., 612-824-3868, sonnysicecream.com.
Rick Nelson • 612-673-4757
@RickNelsonStrib
