Local List: Best Ice Cream Around (Plateau/Villeray)

Happy first-day-of-summer!

Can't think of a better way to ring in the new season than with scoop (or three) of the best ice cream in town.

These are my favorite spots in the neighborhood. Rest assured, I know my freaken ice cream. You're in good hands. Don't forget your lactaid ;)

TRENDY

Kem Coba (60 Fairmount W.): Number One. Frankly, this is the best ice cream on the island. 

Les Givres (334 de Castelnau E.): Creamiest soft serve around. 

L'Armoire A Glaces (6220 St. Hubert): Interesting flavors. Love building an ice cream sandwich.

TRADITIONAL

Ripples (5554 Jeanne Mance): Homemade hard ice cream. PERFECT strawberry, PERFECT mint chocolate chip. They make popsicles, too!

Le Patio (836 Mont Royal E.): When you want a double-scoop of Super Kid but Laura Secord is nowhere near. Also, their scoops are GENEROUS.

DQ (4604 Parc): Sometimes you need to get basic with a blizzard or a chocolate dip.

HONORABLE MENTION

Gema (6927 St. Dominique): I recently ordered a chocolate/vanilla twist with cherry topping from their window. It. Was. Excellent! (And expensive.)

Bilboquet (1600 Laurier E.): Their sorbet is incredible. Blood orange, strawberry, and lemon are my flavors of choice. Josh is a big fan of pear.

Ca Lem (4223 St. Dominique): They might have hooked me with the watermelon soft serve. Will have to do more research ;)

Places I still have to visit in the neighborhood: Monsieur Cremeux, Swirl, Unicone.

Here's to a season full of frosty treats! Would love to hear how you are ringing in the new season :)

Image credit (top): Time Out

Image credit (middle): Tastet

Image credit (bottom): Zomato

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Le Flotteur

I tried my first Flotteur (pictured above) from Noble Café last Thursday. Since then, I've had three more. That's four ice cream cocktails in one week.

I'M HOOKED.

The treat is nothing fancy. It's basically a tweaked version of caffè affogato. Instead of pouring hot espresso over a scoop of ice cream, the folks at Noble offer vanilla soft serve in a puddle of unsweetened cold brew.

And it tastes so damn good.

If you don't typically drink black coffee, have no fear! I was also concerned about their cold brew (because I'm a baby) and my first sip was definitely clouded by its strong, intense flavor. However, as your ice cream melts, it actually becomes a rich, super sweet creamer. Genius!

Essentially, we're talking about a highbrow iced capp (in a great way). A small Flotteur costs five-ish dollars and will give you a decent jolt of caffeine :)

Regarding pandemic anxiety, I feel comfortable stopping by Noble when there isn't a big crowd. The staff does a good job following health guidelines -- spacing out the line, serving behind plexiglass, wiping down the debit machine pre- and post-transaction, etc. Customers are served at the window, so you're always outside in fresh air.

Next time you're in the area and need an energy boost (or just jonesing for dessert), consider trying one of these! Maybe I'll even see you there lol.

Image credit: Better Be

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