WINNIPEG - When it's sunny and hot out, there's no better way to beat the heat than with some ice cream. Here are our 10 favourites, as we celebrate Chocolate Ice Cream Day.
1. Sub Zero Ice Cream (298 Jamison Ave., Winnipeg)
Specializing in parfaits and boasting Manitoba’s largest ice cream menu, Sub Zero offers cones, shakes, and banana splits in addition to over 50 specialty parfaits like Down Under, Naughty Nutella, Cherry Cheesecake, and Peach Cobbler Parfait.
2. The Bridge Drive-In (766 Jubilee Ave., Winnipeg)
Near the Red River for 60 years, and affectionately known as the BDI, treats include Sleeping Beauty, Peach Velvet, and the Goog to Go, in BDI’s own freshly-made waffle cones.
3. Sargent Sundae (2053 Portage Ave., Winnipeg)
A must-have visit after any trip around Assiniboine Park, this Winnipeg tradition has served the city since 1984.
4. Lazy Bear Café (313 Kelsey Blvd., Churchill)
Here’s a Manitoba treasure that’s worth the trip when you can make it. Unwind by the fireplace with one of Lazy Bear Lodge’s famous milkshakes, or one of their other cool deserts topped off with some of Churchill’s 15 kinds of wild berries. If you have the appetite for something more, enjoy some made-from-scratch local cuisine with 100% organic produce from their greenhouse, and specialty tea or coffee at Manitoba’s top coffee shop as voted by Reader's Digest Canada.
5. Dickie Dee (Wherever they roll)
When it’s time to stay home, there’s nothing like being lucky enough to have the ice cream trike ride down your street. Dickie Dee started in 1957 with eight icicle tricycles out of a garage on McGregor. Katy Banman is one of their ice cream truck drivers, serving freezies, Popsicles, and other cold treats to customers in St. James and Charleswood. She started a page on Facebook called "Dickie Dee Lady - Charleswood/St. James" to reveal the route she’ll take every day.
6. Half Moon Drive-In (6860 Henderson Hwy., Lockport)
Half Moon has a great selection of hard and soft serve ice cream, sundaes, frozen yoghurt, flavour burst ice cream with a ribbon of extra flavour, and famous thickly-blended ice cream called comets.
7. Milksmith (651 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg)
Milksmith is a rolled ice cream shop that produces a large variety of delicious, innovative treats and drinks, including dairy-free options. Their latest flavours are inspired by the macaron, and include Birthday Cake, Cookie Dough, and Salted Caramel Macaron ice cream blended with macaron shells.
8. Eva’s Gelato (1001 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg)
If you’ve never had gelato, give one of Eva’s 35 flavours of creamy gelato a try, like a Cookies and Cream Gelato in a waffle cone, or one of their dairy-free options.
9. Beausejour Dairy Bar (813 Park Ave., Beausejour)
This Manitoba diner serves ice cream so good you’ll want to go back for seconds, but also makes some delicious chicken burgers. If you’re looking for one of the best diners in the province, you have to visit some day.
10. Velvet Dip (820 Victoria Ave., Brandon)
This family-owned ice cream shop has been around for more than 55 years, and is renowned for their soft serve made from real cream, with local favourites that include their Velvet Dip parfait with hot fudge, their Velvet Turtle Supreme, and the bacon-topped Miss Piggy Parfait.
What's your favourite ice cream shop? Let us know!
What do you think?