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How do you like your ice cream? In a banana split with a cherry and sprinkles? Wedged between two fresh-baked cookies? In wacky flavors like peach habanero or peanut butter curry from an artisan small batch shop? No matter your preference, the ice-cream-obsessed San Francisco Bay Area has it. Though the choices are seemingly endless, Gogobot Foodies have their favorites: these are the top 10 places to grab a scoop, as ranked by user ratings and reviews. Read about them, dream about them, and then, when you can’t resist a visit to try them for yourself, book your Bay Area hotel here.
1. Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop
Bi-Rite draws long lines, but for good reason: the dreamy, velvety texture and unique flavors, including Black Sesame with Sonoma Honey, Balsamic Strawberry, Coffee Toffee, and Ginger Cinnamon Swirl, are the perfect combination.
2. Mitchell’s Ice Cream
by: Benedict “@superben” Corpuz – Courtesy: Gogobot
Mitchell’s may have a retro feel — it’s been around for almost 70 years, after all — but the nostalgic experience is balanced by the shop’s ahead-of-the-curve flavors, including many exotic fruits like lucuma, macapuno, and yuzu, imported from around the globe.
3. Humphry Slocombe
by: Akihito Fujii flickr – Courtesy: Gogobot
This is definitely a classic San Francisco experience — which is to say, if ever there were an ice cream as weird as the city itself, this is it. Among the non-standard flavors Gogobot users have tried over the years are cucumber ice milk, Jesus juice, peanut butter curry, and a perennial favorite, The Secret Breakfast (though it’s not really secret: the composition, which is listed on the website, includes bourbon ice cream and corn flakes).
4. Smitten Ice Cream
by: Amanda Gothard – Courtesy: Gogobot
Smitten has unique flavors, sure, but the real draw in this impressive experience is the liquid nitrogen that’s used to create the made-to-order scoops.
5. Fentons Creamery
by: Clemson flickr – Courtesy: Gogobot
Fentons’ old school ice cream parlor and giant sundaes have won them a healthy dose of fame, not only in the hearts of the locals but also on the Travel Channel, the Food Network, and even the movie “Up.”
6. Tin Pot Creamery
by: Infrogmation flickr – Courtesy: Gogobot
Tin Pot’s success is not just in its mastery of flavor — creative but subtle and not too sweet — but also in its ingredients, which are mostly organic and locally sourced. Some hometown favorite brands even make appearances in the top flavors, including TCHO Chocolate Chip and Four Barrel Coffee.
7. Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous
by: Joanna Sun – Courtesy: Gogobot
With a bit of a hipster feel, Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous reflects the vibe of its up-and-coming Dogpatch neighborhood. The cute and uber-clean shop does both creative ice cream flavors (Salty Mango, Candied Violet, Brown Butter Sage) and fresh baked goods to pair with your scoop.
8. Ici Ice Cream Shop
by: neil conway flickr – Courtesy: Gogobot
Ici (pronounced “ee-see”) offers some pretty epic flavors (Pink Peppercorn, Candied Meyer Lemon, and Peach Habanero sorbet among them), but what makes this place a little extra special in the packed crowd of great ice cream shops in the Bay Area is the hand rolled cone. In the world of ice cream receptacles, this is darn near perfect.
9. CREAM
by: Jun Seita flickr – Courtesy: Gogobot
It was tough to resist an ice cream sandwich when you were a kid, and it’s tough now — even more so with the many cookie-ice cream combos at CREAM (“Cookies Rule Everything Around Me”). The moral of this story: don’t bother resisting.
10. The Ice Cream Bar
by: Nadine C. – Courtesy: Gogobot
This old fashioned ice cream parlor has a little something extra for the 21+ crowd: boozy cocktails called “Remedies,” many of which combine ice cream and alcohol for the perfect adult dessert treat. There are also plenty of other ways to enjoy your ice cream, including sundaes, floats, sandwiches and cakes.
Source: gogobot.com