I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
I decided to take my girls on an ice cream tour of Charlotte! It was fun and filling and we didn’t even make a dent into our list of faves! We will have to do another tour! I’ve listed these and other favorites below for you to create your own tour. Let us know what you try! #scmk
Our first stop, and closest to our house, was The Local Scoop at Promenade on Providence. The staff was super friendly and helpful. Asking if we had ever been we answered no and he told us that everything is handmade and locally sourced. He let us try a few and we picked Cookie Dough, Vanilla and I had “It can’t be gluten free” which was their gluten and dairy free version of Cookies & Cream. We thoroughly enjoyed it all of them! The staff was great, the shop cute and tidy, and they even have ice cream cakes!
Our next stop was Artisen Gelato near downtown Matthews. It doesn’t look like much from the outside but the inside is spacious and cute. And it is totally allergen free! Free of gluten, dairy, dye, peanuts and tree nuts with 100% natural fruits so everyone is safe and happy! But don’t worry, what they do use is DELICIOUS! Once again the staff was super friendly and let us taste a few flavors before deciding. We had the Brownie (so creamy you would never know it was dairy-free) and Cherry flavors (tart with real bits of cherry).
We then headed north and went to a Charlotte institution, Mr. K’s! It’s located on South Blvd across from Atherton Mill. Don’t let the construction deter you, but I would avoid the lunch crowd (I heard the line was out the door just before we arrived). They do serve food, diner style, like hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches and fries (which by the way were amazing!!) but the soft serve cone is what we were looking for. Yummy! They also have milkshakes, sundaes, floats and others. Definitely worth trying!
We drove by Golden Cow Creamery, known for their small batch, handcrafted ice cream with 2 locations in SouthEnd and SouthPark but my girls were full (we will have to add that to our second tour) so we headed to Park Road Shopping Center to do a little shopping and try our next stop. Va da Vie! It is the cutest little ice cream shop in the middle of the shopping center. The staff was super friendly and the owners were there to tell me all about their fresh ingredients (almost everything, including the milk, comes from local farmers, other items are imported from Sicily). They make their own recipes and flavors, they were even making one while we were there. We had the Blood Orange Sorbet (non-dairy, which I could not get enough of!) and Banana (made mostly of bananas, yummy!). They also let me try the Bartlett Pear (peary yumminess) and Coconut (with real bits of toasted coconut).
By the end we were full, happy and a little silly from all of the sugar!!
Elizabeth Creamery: Elizabeth Ave
Jolly Rolls Ice Cream: locations include Carmel Village, Carolina Place, Ayrsley, Matthews, Indian Land
Ben & Jerry’s: locations include Myers Park, Parktowne Village, Foxcroft East
TCBY: Selwyn Corners, Quail Corners, Colony Place, Arboretum, Blakeney, Plantation Market, Ballantyne Village
Bruster’s: Matthews
Baskin Robbins: locations include South Blvd, South Kings, South Tryon, McMullen Creek Market, Fincher Farm, Hunter’s Crossing
Menchie’s: locations include Kenilworth Commons, Waverly
Sweet Frog: locations include Whitehall Commons, Ballantyne, Sycamore Commons
Jeni’s Ice Cream: COMING SOON in August to SouthEnd!
Of course there are lots of other places to try! We would love to hear your positive experiences so we can add more places to our next tour!
Theresa Joiner
South Charlotte Macaroni Kid/Mother of 3
