Zara Denison
staff writer
Whether it comes from a small homemade batch or just a scoop out of a popular chain’s most adored flavor, good ice cream is undeniable. The sweet, rich and creamy frozen dessert comes in all shapes and flavors from thousands of different places. The question is; which places have the best ice cream?
Although known for their ice, Carmen’s Italian Ice whips up a delicious batch of ice cream. Technically Carmens sells “custard” not ice cream. The only difference between ice cream and custard is that the latter is made with a little bit more egg, only adding to its creaminess. Carmen’s custard is thick, smooth and has an adequate variety of flavors. Their wide selection of flavors gets rotated regularly and they alternate between 44 flavors. The taste of the custard does vary from flavor to flavor, some being more muted than others. “My favorite is just the plain chocolate. It’s such a classic, good flavor. I feel like when places try to get too crazy with their flavors it just doesn’t taste like it should,” senior Julia Bogart said.
Overall, Carmens provides customers with new and delicious options every time they come, making it one of the best options around for custard.
Another hot spot for mouthwatering treats is Sprinkles in Potomac Village. Despite the homemade and small business vibe of Sprinkles, the ice cream they provide is actually from Thomas Sweet and Hershey. However, that doesn’t make it any less delicious. The cost of their ice cream is on the higher end, starting at $5.25 for a small. One thing Sprinkles has that can’t be matched by other establishments are their fronanas. “We have a dish like ice cream, but it’s made out of bananas. It’s hard to make, but customers love it because it’s healthy and tastes really good,” Sprinkles employee Brian Katz said.
Sprinkles is a good option for healthy, organic treats. Due to their higher prices, it might not be the best choice for a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Brusters Real Ice Cream truly lives up to its name. Brusters is the real deal with over 100 flavors of ice cream and 13 sugar-free flavors. Another amazing feature about Brusters is how much ice cream you get for such a low price: $3 for a small. The other nice thing about this is that they have a bigger portion size than most, so a “small” isn’t very small. Another nice thing about the ice cream at Brusters is that it’s not only smooth and creamy, but often includes extra stuff inside the ice cream. For example; chocolate covered banana with fudge ripples and nuts.
The versatility and uniqueness of Brusters ice cream paired with their low prices, makes them an elite ice cream shop option. “I haven’t had anything as good as the pistachio ice cream from Brusters anywhere else,” junior Zenia Kaovasia said. It’s hard for ice cream to not be amazing, and almost every place near this school has good options. Ice cream connoisseurs out there know the value in finding a place with great taste, great variety, and great value in their ice creams. Brusters fit all parts of this criteria, making it a one stop shop for deliciousness.
