The sunny yellow shop on Broadway recently landed in the San Francisco Chronicle’s list for the best ice cream in the Bay Area. We agree! The milk comes from Marin’s own Straus Family Creamery and the waffle cones are so fresh, they are often still warm when handed to you. The chalkboard sign hanging on a tree outside is helpful on days when there is a line, which is often.
***
Don’t miss: Vanilla Honey Lavender, Vegan Coconut Fudge or Early Grey.
The Sonoma-based chain with branches in Petaluma, Healdsburg and Forestville landed in downtown Mill Valley in late June, selling out over the July 4 holiday weekend.
An entire cooler of vegan flavors – Irish Coffee, Caramel Crack, Chocolate Almond Bliss and Cookies ‘n’ Cream, for example – are right at home alongside dairy-full flavors like Italian Pistachio, Birthday Cake and Peanut Butter Crunch. Pile a scoop or two on a cone and head to the nearby Depot Plaza to enjoy on a shaded picnic bench.
Though the original is in Seattle, Marinites are all-in on the plant-based, vegan treats at Frankie & Jo's at Larkspur’s Marin Country Mart.
The tiny shop typically offers eight Every Day flavors like Brown Sugar Vanilla, Chocolate and California Cabin, a flavor inspired by California’s Sierra Nevada, as well as seasonal flavors like September’s Concord Grape Swirl and Peaches & Cream. Ice cream sandwiches, dough bites and pints are also available.
Tucked under the redwoods (next to Boichick Bagels) on the edge of downtown Larkspur, this ice cream parlor serves traditional scoops, shakes and floats. There are 12 flavors to choose from, including vanilla and chocolate, blue moon and birthday cake, oat milk vanilla and raspberry lemon Italian ice (both vegan).
Waffle cones are hand-rolled on a press and there are plentiful toppings like rainbow sprinkles, Fruit Loops, and peanut butter swirl. Many are gluten-free.
Place your order in-person or at one of the digital kiosks, then await the aroma of caramelizing sugar to tickle your nose before reaching over the counter to claim your confection.
The jars of candy on the counter are just part of the retro charm of a tiny storefront near the Safeway at San Rafael expansive Northgate Shopping Center. Take a seat at one of the marble
tables and indulge in a traditional banana split or a tall Chocolate Malt. Or a mocha shake. The business, established in 1966, makes all its own ice creams and specialty flavors like Licorice,
Pumpkin and Egg Nog shift with the seasons.
If you have a sweet tooth, Bliss certainly lives up to its name! Japanese soft serve in six flavors like Taro, Ube and Matcha as well as Vanilla, are the easy part at this shop in Novato’s San Marin Shopping Plaza. The hard part is deciding to swirl or not and choosing from toppings like Pocky sticks, crushed Oreos and fresh strawberries. Once you’ve decided, ask for a Bliss cone. It’s shaped like a gawping fish (Koi, perhaps?) and makes eating your frozen treat just that much more fun!
A vanilla FroYo shake ringed with Bob’s cookie dough and a chocolate cookie topper is just one of the decadent treats to be found at Swirl San Anselmo. Both kids and parents love to slurp up their shakes, with flavors ranging from Mint Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Lover to Very Berry.
Swirl's bountiful topping station includes everything from brownie crumbles and fresh whipped cream to Maraschino cherries and mochi rainbow rice cakes. With so many sweet options to choose from, you'll have plenty of reasons to return again and again and again!
