Scoop, There It Is

Growing up, I always enjoyed ice cream, especially at my grandpa's house. I can remember being there and no matter what the time, after dinner, my grandpa would ask who wants an ice cream float? As a little kid, I always wanted one (obviously), and although I've gone through stages of trying to eat really healthy, it's hard for me to turn down one of my grandpa's ice cream floats. Now, the thing to know about my grandpa's ice cream floats is that they aren't like most. He makes them with whatever Blue Bell (his favorite) ice cream he has and whatever drink (soda or even milk) he has and sometimes adds whipped cream and a cherry. Not going to lie, sometimes the combination is very random (and maybe even a little weird), but they are so good. Maybe that's because he's my grandpa, and I've grown up with these types of ice cream floats. Or maybe they are just that good. Who knows? All I know is that I think this is what started my love for ice cream.

I have definitely gone through stages of loving ice cream. And recently, I have fallen back into one of those stages. Austin likes ice cream a lot too, so maybe he's the reason why I've been wanting ice cream so much lately. If we want a dessert (or snack), it's very likely we'll go get ice cream. The good thing about ice cream is that there's so many different places you can go. I prefer local stores when shopping, so ice cream is no different. Good news is that there are a lot of local ice cream stores, especially in the New Orleans area. One of the most known ones is Creole Creamery. If you look up ice cream places to go to in New Orleans, this is probably one of the first to pop up. It's on lists of states' best ice cream parlors, and let me tell you, it does not disappoint. Creole Creamery is amazing! They always have different/random/weird flavors and are constantly changing. But if you're someone who prefers the classics, don't worry! They have those year round. Their seasonal flavors are my favorite though. Austin and I really like to try the interesting flavors, like Olive Oil and Sea Salt or Pear and Balsamic Caramel, and sometimes, they end up being some of our favorites. When we go, we like to get 2 or 3 scoops and split so that we can each try them. So far, we haven't had a flavor we didn't like. The only sad thing about seasonal flavors is that before you know it, they are gone :( It's okay though because right after that, they probably will have other fun flavors, so it makes you want to go back to try the new ones (if you're like us of course).

Next on the ice cream list is Parish Parlor. Now, this one is pretty new to the Magazine Street area. It opened this past fall right on Magazine Street, closer to the Krewe store (if you know where that is). Similar to Creole, they sometimes have some more interesting flavors, as well as the classics. Austin and I have been a few times. It's close to his house, so it's hard not to go. Personally, I like to walk there so that I feel better about myself after I eat a bunch of ice cream 🤷🏼‍♀️ Their flavors are constantly changing, which makes it fun. One of my favorite things about Parish Parlor is that they have dairy-free flavors, so if you're sensitive to dairy, Parish Parlor might be your new place. My favorite dairy-free flavor that we got is the Pb&j. Even if you don't think you would want a dairy-free flavor, you should give this one a try (if they have it) because it's THAT good! We got this one as a scoop, along with 2 others, and Austin liked it so much that he went back in to get a Pb&j shake. Since it's a dairy-free flavor, they offered to make the shake with almond milk or another type of diary-free milk, but Austin just got regular milk because he doesn't care as much about that. The other flavors that we have gotten before are the Mojo Roasters (local coffee place) Coffee Bean, the Lemon Ricotta Honey, and Peppermint Bark. They are all so good! The texture of their ice cream is slightly different than Creole in that their's is more icy but not at all in a bad way. In someways, the texture reminded me of gelato, but it's definitely more creamy than gelato.

Speaking of gelato, have you found yourself in the New Orleans area, craving some good Italian gelato? Well if you have, then you need to check out Piccola Gelateria! Austin found it and wanted to go, so 2-3 months ago, we decided to go. It's located on Freret Street in New Orleans. They have gelato, coffee, and even crepes. Similar to the other 2 places, they are constantly changing their flavors, except for the classics. We got coffee and sea salt caramel, and they were both amazing! I haven't seen too many gelato places in the New Orleans area, so this was a great surprise. When we went, an older Italian lady was working, and she was so sweet. She had an accent, which made me think she was from Italy, which made the whole experience seem more authentic. It almost made me feel like I was in Italy...almost :)

The last stop on our ice cream tour is Lucy Boone. Like Parish Parlor, this is also a newer ice cream. Austin and I first heard about them from our friends, one of whom is related to the people who started this company. It's a homemade ice cream business. They don't have a store yet, but we have heard that they are planning to open one within the next year. You may be thinking, "well if they don't have a store, how would I get their ice cream?" Well, I'll tell you! They do pop-ups at different places around New Orleans, from Port Orleans to Coquette to Coffee Science and so many others, and their flavors are constantly changing. The first time Austin and I tried to get this, we went to Coquette on a Saturday for their little market. At first, we didn't realize it was going to be a whole market, so we waited in line for around 30 minutes. When we got inside, they were sold out of Lucy Boone ice cream! We were so upset :( Well, a few weeks later, around New Years, we saw that they had a pop-up at Cherry Coffee in the middle of the day, so we decided to go. I was hesitant at first because we went an hour into the pop-up, but I am so happy we did! They only had hot chocolate and lemon shortbread left, so we got one of each. Y'all...this was some of the best ice cream I have ever had! The texture is great--so creamy. The flavor is absolutely amazing. You can tell it's homemade. Although hot chocolate may sound a little basic, they somehow made it not. Now, I'm sad that we ate it all :( Guess we'll have to get more of another flavor soon 🤷🏼‍♀️

So, after hearing about these few different places, which sounds the best to you? Feel free to put it in the comments :) If you can't decide, you should definitely go to all of them!! I know I'll be going back to all...and soon!

~Cheers 🥂~