We won’t patronize you by explaining the special bond Phoenicians hold with ice cream. It gets hot. Real hot. All the “but-it’s-a-dry-heat” optimists in the world can’t change that.
Temperature woes aside, it’s already January (and pretty reasonable outside). That means you’ve successfully barreled through the holiday season. Congratulations — you’ve earned the right to try five of the best ice cream spots from around the Valley.
SPM presents the crème-de-la-crème of icy treats, the unbeatable spots for dessert in the desert. Below each description we’ve listed a flavor or specialty to use as a jumping off point. Just think of us as your post-dinner roadmap.
Sweet Republic
The owners of Sweet Republic, Helen Yung and Jan Wichayanuparp, are the mavericks of the local ice cream industry. By boldly going where no other ice cream parlor has gone before, with flavors like bleu cheese and bacon, they've earned nods in local and national publications including "Bon Appetit" and "USA Today." But Sweet Republic has a lot more to offer guests than double-dog-dare taste bud challenges. Popular flavors like salted butter caramel and Belgian chocolate are sure to bring a tear to the eye of even the most critical ice cream aficionado. As for those "experimental flavors," as Yung calls them: "We really just think they taste good," she says.
Where to start: Salted butter caramel in a homemade waffle cone.
If you go: 9160 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale. 480-248-6979, sweetrepublic.com. Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, noon-10 p.m.
The Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl has been an Old Town Scottsdale staple since 1958, and the interior doesn't look like it’s changed much since then. It's a classic '50s-style parlor complete with marble tables, linoleum floors and comforting Grandma's-house-pink walls. Check out the "Family Circus" art on the menu and in the gift shop, courtesy of comic strip creator and Paradise Valley resident Bil Keane. Also take a gander at the back of the ice cream parlor, which can be rented out for birthdays and other special events — that is, if you can handle 10 to 40 kids letting loose on Skee Ball in the grips of an ice cream binge. Where to start: The Buster Brownie chocolate sundae.
If you go: 4005 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-946-0051, sugarbowlscottsdale.com. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-midnight.
Cookiez on Mill
Cookiez on Mill, a build-it-as-you-like-it cookies and ice cream shop, lets customers mix and match up to 25 flavors of ice cream (depending on what's in stock) and up to 14 types of cookies. Do the math: that's a potential 350 combinations, enough to try something new every day for two weeks shy of a year. Owner Richard Steed has learned some ancient ice cream wisdom in his four years at the destination.
"Everybody doesn't like the same things," he says. "If they did, we'd have one cookie and one ice cream."
It's a sad thought, but we can rest easy knowing Cookiez is there to meet our creative dessert needs.
Where to start: Chocolate chip cookies mixed with cookies and cream ice cream.
If you go: 514 S. Mill Ave., Tempe. 480-557-7051, facebook.com/cookiezonmill. Hours: Monday through Thursday, noon-midnight. Friday through Saturday, noon-2 a.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-midnight.
Udder Delights
Besides being one of the more clever uses of a pun in a Valley establishment, Udder Delights sets itself apart by using all-natural, locally produced ingredients. Flavors come ready to please kids (bubble gum and cotton candy) or those with more refined sweet tooths (farmer's market, white chocolate raspberry). They're the creations of another locally produced ingredient, Chef Jennifer Johnson, a dessert scholar from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute. With 11 years of experience, Johnson mans the whip cream with a surgeon’s precision. She also cooks up ice cream cakes so good-looking you might feel bad about digging in.
Where to start: Birthday cake or red velvet ice cream.
If you go: 1385 E. Warner Road, Gilbert. 480-507-3859, udderdelightsaz.com. Hours: Monday through Tuesday, 2 p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday through Thursday, noon-9 p.m. Friday through Saturday, noon-10 p.m. Sunday, noon-6 p.m.
Mary Coyle's Ol' Fashion Ice Cream
Mary Coyle's Ol' Fashion Ice Cream takes a, well, old-fashioned approach to making ice cream, from back when times were simpler and ice cream was made with 16 percent butterfat. OK, so maybe it's not your healthiest option, but it skips the preservatives and other add-ons that chain ice cream stops load up on. "Everything is natural," says Robert Kelly, owner of Mary Coyle's. The ice cream shop became a Gilbert landmark after founder Mary Coyle moved to Arizona from Akron, Ohio, in the 1950s, and it now boasts 60 flavors. There's also non-fat yogurt available, in case Mary Coyle's ol'-fashioned recipe doesn't sound up your alley.
Where to start: The Jolly Green Giant mint chocolate chip sundae.
If you go: 5527 N. Seventh Ave., Phoenix. 602-265-6266, marycoyle.net. Hours: Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Reach the reporter at clecher@asu.edu
