It’s a sunny day at your vacation destination. The temperature is rising, and everywhere you stop is surprising. With the heat a-blazing like a flame torch, the possibility to continue your outdoor leisure is nil. A brisk balance to this unbearable heat is needed. Although the water is hydrating you, you require something cool and refreshing, but sweet. What’s sweeter on a scorching summer day than a sugary, soft scoop of ice cream? Cup or cone, these creamy concoctions make the vacation experience more flavorful. It’s easy to buy from an ice cream brand you are familiar with. However, vacations are the time to do something different from your classic cycle. Therefore, we at ecomadic compiled nine local, environmentally-friendly ice cream shops to treat yourself to during your journeys.
Whipped Urban Dessert Lab (New York, USA)
Not too far from Chinatown resides the world’s first oat milk ice cream shop! A Black, women-owned business, founders Courtney Blagrove and Zan B.R. created the shop to promote a healthy and cultural lifestyle, which they classify as “UbranLuxe”. From the vanilla and chocolatey signature bases, to a selection of sauces and toppings that are dairy free, egg free, nut free, soy free and gluten free (some vary), the possibilities of an affluent ice cream dish are endless! Unsure which mixture to create? Choose from their hand-selected fusions, such as coffee waffle crunch, cinnamon apple crisp, and strawberry shortcake. As you leave the shop, head a few blocks down with a sweet spoonful each step, and you’ll find more ice cream at the Museum of Ice Cream NYC. For an elevated, ice cream experience, stop by Whipped Urban Dessert Lab in New York!
Rori’s Artisanal Creamery (California, USA)
Before you melt away in the Southern Californian heat, cool off with a delicious cone or cup of Rori’s. From seeing her grandmother freshly-churn ice cream after dinners as a child, Rori Trovato created Rori’s to share her love for the dessert, while using local, organic, and artisanal ingredients. Sink your taste buds into flavors like the sassafras and birch based Root Beer Float, the vegan, coconut and berry mixture Tropical Wild Berry, or the dark and rich Roman’s Chocolate Coconut. The few places Rori’s is located throughout California, you’ll never be far from a beach! Enjoy your treat while feeling the ocean breeze, or exploring the nearby attractions like the Santa Monica Pier, or the Santa Barbara Public Market. Have a remarkable experience at this SoCal ice cream shop!
Paradise City Creamery (Las Vegas, USA)
Even in the city of sin you can taste a scoop of Heaven. From plant-based and gluten-free ingredients, to every cone, flavor, topping, and garnish made from scratch, Paradise City Creamery wants each delicious treat to reflect their values of conscious indulgence, celebration, and inclusion. Delight yourself in the fruitful Goddess Nectar, the festive Birthday Cake Handie, or the opulent Mint Money Magic that you’ll feel the shop conjured up these recipes with you in mind. The shop is also based in the arts district of downtown Las Vegas. Stop by the various art shops and galleries nearby to put your taste and sight senses to use and embrace the local culture. Gamble on Paradise City Creamery for a pleasurable time during your Vegas vacay.
Fat Cat Creamery (Texas, USA)
Everything is big in Texas: the stars, the hats, and the cats! Maybe not actual cats, but a large group of dreamers known as “the cats” manifested making an ice cream shop, and Fat Cat Creamery would later fulfill that dream! Using local ingredients, and bio-friendly, compostable packaging, Fat Cat Creamery puts all nine lives into handcrafting delicious flavors for patrons’ indulgence. Immediately after the pure Cat’s Meow Mexican Vanilla, the dairy-free Chai Tea Coconut, or the creamy Birthday Cake graces the tip of your tongue, you will meow for more! The parlor also sells push-up pops, sundaes, and milkshakes if you would like an alternative to an ice cream cone or cup. Located in the Houston Heights area, this is a great stop before or after venturing into the Houston Zoo, the Memorial Park, or the Third Ward neighborhood where superstar Beyoncé grew up. Lavish yourself with a local ice cream delicacy at Fat Cat Creamery’s purrfect parlor.
Le Bac à Glaces (Paris, France)
It’s nothing like a sweet scoop of ice cream or sorbet while strutting through the city of light that could make your Parisian visit scream “parfait!” Since the 1950s, the Yoel family has always had a taste for innovative recipes, starting with the Bac à Glaces’ founder, Sam Yoel. With every Yoel generation succeeding the other, there are new means of making ice cream, from using raw materials from ethical farmers and market gardeners, to using vegetables, herbs, flowers, and other organic ingredients to compose sublimely unique flavors. As the enticing essence of banana flambé, seasonal vegetable and almond milk ice cream, or the peach-rosemary sorbet meets your mouth, your body will get a cold rush of authentic, natural flavors with little to no sugar and zero additives included. To make this experience more authentic, be sure to stroll by Le Palais du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Palace) and frolic in the flora and fauna of its gardens. For a “promise of quality,” bon appétit at Bac à Glaces.
Edoardo il Gelato Biologico (Florence, Italy)
In the city of lilies, and the capital city of Tuscany, lies the region’s first ever organic gelateria. Edoardo il Gelato Biologico (or Edoardo Gelato, for short) champions its usage of biological produce, natural ingredients, and never using any chemical elements, OGM or colourings in their gelatos or sorbets. The gelateria also prides in producing flavorful creations based on the season. There will always be something different to try depending on the time you visit Italy. In the summertime, strawberries and various wildberries are often used to make delicious gelatos and sorbets. You should also try their year-round signatures, such as the chocolatey hazelnut Il Gianduia Secondo Edoardo gelato, or the white straw wine-infused Lo Zabaione di Nonna Antonietta. The gelateria also crafts dessert delicacies that cater to one’s vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free needs. As you leave, enjoy your treat while being surrounded by captivating cathedrals, and within walking distance of the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (Museum of Opera of Saint Maria of Fiore). May Edoardo Gelato and your Florence vacation treat you bensì.
iHalo Krunch (Toronto, Canada)
Come on over to the dark side of ice cream cones to delight in Toronto’s first charcoal ice cream. Besides the halal and natural ingredients used in their ice cream and cones, the activated charcoal used in the flavors aids in detoxing and discarding unwanted substances from the body when ingested. The menu often changes flavors, but its non-traditional signatures like the perky, purple yam flavored Ube All The Way, the coconut charcoal Black On Black, and the captivating and caffeinated Meet Your Matcha will bring a creamy cleanse to your body, while broadening your palate. The shop also has vegan and non-dairy options for your choosing. Nearby, visit the Ossington Strip where you’ll find many local shops, eateries, and nightlife venues during your Toronto trip. It’s also not far from Lake Ontario, where you can sail your way to the many beaches of the Toronto Islands. Have a creamy, coal-ted time at iHalo Krunch!
Bushtucker Ice Cream (Adelaide, Australia)
Deep down under South Australia lies a family-run ice cream business using ingredients fresh from the australian ecosystem. Whether you visit its stall at the Adelaide Farmers’ Market, or the actual store, Bushtucker pleasantly serves an assortment of ice cream that are gluten, gelatin, and preservative free. There are also dairy-free, sugar-free, and vegan options. Enjoy flavors like the Australian-native fruit Quandong, the citrusy Lemon Myrtle, and the flowery but feral Lilly Pilly & Wild Ginger that will take you outback for an eternity. Be sure to soak up the sun while enjoying your sweet on West Beach, which is in close proximity to the ice cream shop. Bless your taste buds in the city of churches at Bushtucker Ice Cream!
Ruby Violet (London, UK)
As you galavant off in the land of Big Ben and Spice Girls, stop by a parlor that will make you zig-a-zig-ah. Ruby Violet founder Julie Fisher combines organic milk, fresh produce, and abstract, but natural ingredients to conceive exotic ice cream flavors that will eternally linger on your lips! Indulge in intriguing flavors like Brandy Parfait, Peach and Sour Cream, and Rice Pudding for a topsy-turvy, yet tasty trip down your throat. Ruby Violet also dishes out vegan sorbets and other delectable British confections and sweets to relish in. Both locations where Ruby Violet resides – Tufnell Park and King’s Cross – you’ll find beautiful outdoor areas to lounge and lick, and neighboring small businesses to support while sightseeing London. Let’s all scream for ice cream and stop by Ruby Violet, as well as the aforementioned ice cream shops, for a cold, creamy concoction!
ecomadic is a sustainable tourism brand that empowers travelers to make more conscious decisions. By curating a marketplace to easily find and identify responsible businesses to support, and providing educational publications through our online green travel magazine, ecomadic is committed to helping empower travelers make responsible choices throughout their journeys.
