I scream. You scream. We scream: Ice cream!

It is not only because it’s summer that I eat a lot of ice cream these days.  I eat ice cream rain or shine – or in my case - snow or shine. Ice cream is to me what pasta is to Lea. Yes, I love it, but what’s new? Who doesn't love a good, delicious, sugary dessert? This summer I’ve taken the enormous responsibility to try as many ice cream flavors as I possibly can – inside my possibilities of course - and record which ones, according to moi, are the best.

SEVEN

Ben & Jerry's

I am not going to lie, I am a sucker for Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. My personal favorite is The Tonight Dough flavor: caramel and chocolate ice creams with chocolate cookie swirl, gobs of chocolate cookie dough, and peanut butter cookie dough. Tha bomb!

Vegan option and non-dairy flavor recommendation: made with almond milk, the Peanut Butter and Cookies flavor is surprisingly competitive. ;) They also have sorbets in some shops but you must ask.

SIX

Le Glacier Bilboquet

It's both a blessing and a curse at the same time to have a Le Glacier Bilboquet shop very close to home. I love to walk there after dinner and choose a different combination of flavors every time. Recently they added chocolate dips and toppings to their menu, and of course, I already experimented with some of them. My best combination has been: Red velvet ice cream + salted caramel chocolate dip + praline topping. What a beauty!

They have soft-served and ice-cream cakes too!

Non-dairy flavor recommendation: one scoop of Mango-coco sorbet + one scoop of Raspberry sorbet.

FIVE

Cremerie Pandan

This summer I discovered Thai rolled ice cream. It's basically a handmade ice cream dessert made right in front of you with milk poured over an iced board, and mixed with fruit or other ingredients. Look it up on YouTube, it is really cool and I highly recommend trying it.

Due to the nature of the quick freezing technique, we do not need to use any preservatives or synthetic additives. -Cremerie Pandan

I tried Ferrero Rocher flavor from Al & Jo Bar á desserts, made with Nutella and three complete Ferrero Rocher chocolates. It was unreal.  

Cremerie Pandan has some vegan options.

FOUR

Kem Coba

Kem Coba in the Mile End is more than a neighborhood hit. Their ice cream is worthy of a VERY LONG waiting line every time the sun decides to come out (every day). There's even a Twitter account that tracks the number of people waiting in line so you can plan ahead your visit. They recently opened a new location in Tétreaultville, but I still don't think this will shorten up their queue lines. The featured soft-serve flavor changes regularly, combining two different flavors in one single swirl. My favorite so far? Cheesecake and Blackberry. Beautiful and delicious.

Non-dairy and vegan options: sorbets, sorbets, sorbets!

THREE

The next ice cream shop has a name so poetic I don’t even need to convince you it has one of the best flavors in town: Cremerie Dalla Rose. I love them for many reasons, but mainly because:

1. Their ice cream is homemade and; 

2. They use non-disposable spoons to give samples #nowaste. 

Their specialty is ice cream sandwiches and the best part is you can choose any combination of cookies and ice cream you want!

The best flavor is Tire Eponge, not arguable. YOU HAVE TO TRY IT! 

Non-dairy and vegan flavor recommendation: They try to change their flavors every day, but they always have vegan matcha or brownies. 

TWO

Havre aux glaces at Marché Jean-Talon is another neighborhood favorite. This artisanal ice cream shop was recommended to me by a close friend, and now every time I visit the market I stop by and order one scoop of hazelnut + one scoop of coffee flavor, which has been the only combination I’ve tried because it’s too good. 

Non-dairy and vegan flavor recommendation: one scoop of sorbet au citron + one scoop of sorbet au lait de coco. 

ONE

Last but not least Paysanne Gelato. This is truly exceptional Italian gelato and my favorite ice cream in Montreal. To give you an idea of how much I love this place, I’ve already filled up 3 loyalty cards for a free ice cream, that’s how good it is. They offer a vast quantity of flavors for gelato and sorbets; and at the Eaton Center location, they also offer ice-pops and ice cream cannoli made with top quality chocolate.

My favorite combination is one scoop of yogurt & wild berries gelato + one scoop of Nutella gelato.

Non-dairy and vegan flavor recommendation: Wild berries sorbet.

*Ice cream lover pro tip: You know when you visit an ice cream shop and you are not sure which flavor to chose? - Even though I already gave you some ideas here.-  And you test and you try, and you end up with like ten little plastic spoons in your hand? When you finally decide which flavor you want, let the person serving you know that you already have a spoon, this way you will reduce the amount of trash generated.  You can also order it in a waffle cone! Saving the world one mini plastic spoon at a time. ;)

These are my favorite ice cream places. Hope you can try them and tell me what you think! Oh, and if you want to feel guilt-free from all the ice cream you will eat this summer, I recommend pairing it with at least 2 days of exercise lol. Here is a Beauties recommendation for that: Le Studio Locomotion

Cover photo credit : Lazy Angel Tumblr