It’s hot. But here in the Bay Area, we have great places to lower your internal temperature with ice cream and shave (not shaved!) ice. Here’s a sampling of where to go:
Hawaiian Drive Inn, San Jose
Anyone who’s been to Hawaii has probably tasted shave ice, a smooth concoction of finely cut ice granules and super-sweet syrups from all colors of the rainbow. This restaurant serves shave ice flavored like watermelon, fruit punch, sour apple and tiger blood, a strawberry combo with a hint of coconut. They’ll even top it with condensed milk, if you like – so you can enjoy a taste of paradise while turning your head numb!
Open 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily at 1095 Tully Rd., San Jose; hawaiiandriveinnsanjose.com
Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, Fremont (and other locations)
On the other end of the icy spectrum is Italian ice, which features a mix of coarser ice particles. Rita’s does a fine version with classic flavors like cherry and lemon or, depending which location you visit, odder ones like Sour Patch Kids and “Unicorn.” They can also mix it up into a frozen drink or (people from Philly cover your ears) top it with rich dollops of frozen custard.
Fremont location open 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, and noon to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday at 39006 Paseo Padre Pkwy., Fremont, CA 94538; for other locations check ritasice.com
Milkbomb Ice Cream, Berkeley
What’s better than an ice-cream sandwich? What about an ice-cream doughnut? Milkbomb obliges with a top-tier selection of international doughnuts — glazed, brioche, Portuguese malasadas, Filipino ube pandesal the color of Barney the dinosaur, and more — stuffed with ice cream. You can get them topped with sugary kid’s cereal and marshmallow fluff toasted under a blowtorch. The owners display advanced creativity with their rotation of ice-cream flavors, having fooled around with activated charcoal, coffee-mint mojito and durian imported from the Philippines.
Open Thursday-Sunday (check Yelp for current hours) at 2079 University Ave., Berkeley; milkbombicecream.com
Trueburger, Oakland
This highly rated joint has made a name for itself with classic burgers and garlic fries, but what some might not realize is its milkshakes are top-notch, too. They’re hand-spun, heavy bombs of ice-cold dairy that you can make even more sumptuous with a variety of mix-ins. Some swear by the peanut butter and fresh bananas, others the Oreo cookies and toasted marshmallow, but for a unique experience go for the shake supplemented with everyone’s favorite post-apocalyptic snack, Twinkies.
Two locations at 146 Grand Ave. and 4101 Broadway, Oakland; check website for hours, trueburgeroakland.com
Cauldron, San Jose
Hailing from SoCal, this ice-cream shop impressed locals when it opened a couple years ago with concoctions whipped up in billowing clouds of freezing vapor. The flavors change regularly and have dipped into such tasty offerings as Vietnamese coffee, s’mores, milk and cereal, and rosewater. The ice cream gets stuffed into a “puffle cone” made from sweetened egg batter that looks like delicious, edible bubble wrap.
Open daily (check Yelp for current hours) at 1088 E Brokaw Road, Suite 60, San Jose; www.cauldronicecream.com
Source: www.mercurynews.com