Prototype Issue
Get the Scoop: LA’s Tastiest International Frozen Treats
By Jennifer Garbee
(page 1 of 2)DelicieuseCQ The petit French shop Delicieuse is open only three days a week–Friday through Sunday. But that’s plenty of time to slip in for rich, creamy ice cream in unique flavors such as cognac, lavender, fromage blanc or caramel goat milk with salt. If you’re wondering what to pair with a takeout pint of strawberry basil sorbet, the staff will gladly offer wine suggestions. How very delicieuse.
2503 Artesia Blvd., Redondo Beach 310-793-7979 www.icedreamonline.com
Filipino Ice Cream
If you’ve never tried Filipino ice cream, it’s time to pick up a couple of half-gallons of Selecta and pull out the tasting spoons. These are light, old-fashioned ice creams in flavors such as avocado (so good!), mango, ube (yam) and halo-halo (a variation on the classic Filipino dessert with preserved beans, coconut and fruits). Glucose warning: Filipino ice cream is not for the sugar phobic.
Selecta ice cream is available at many 99 Ranch Markets in LA. www.99ranch.com
La Mich Paleteria
Homemade Mexican paletas packed with fresh fruit are the coolers of choice at this hidden corner shop in the midst of a very unglam strip mall. But the fresh, classic flavors, such as spicy mango, nopal (prickly pear cactus) and mamey (a creamy pumpkin-scented fruit native to Mexico) are ripe for the licking. Finish off with a strawberry custard pop dipped in melted chocolate and rolled in nuts.
1026 Huntington Dr., Duarte 626-359-6333
Mashti Malone’s Ice Cream
Ice cream was the family business for brothers Mashti and Mehdi Shirvani in their native Iran, so setting up shop in LA almost 30 years ago was a natural progression. Delicate Persian flavors such as rosewater, orange blossom, saffron and ginger are great on their own and even better sandwiched between two wafer-thin cookies and rolled in pistachios. A sandwich counts as lunch, right?
1525 N. La Brea Ave., LA 866-767-3423 143 N. Maryland Ave., Glendale 818-662-0400 www.mashtimalones.com
Mateo’s Ice Cream & Fruti Bars
Paletas, paletas everywhere. Mateo’s has ’em all: cantaloupe, tamarind, coconut, black sapote and mango, just to name a few. The creamy pops, such as rum raisin and leche quemada (burnt milk), taste like creamsicles all grown-up. They’re individually wrapped and ready to take home from the original shop or the posh new digs in Culver City.
4222 W. Pico Blvd., LA 323-931-5500 4929 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City 310-313-7625
Mikawaya
Ever wonder how mochi, the sticky rice paste used in traditional Japanese confections, stays soft when frozen around a golf-ball-size sphere of ice cream? Mikawaya was the first to figure it out stateside, debuting mochi ice cream here in 1993. The shop’s mango, red bean and green tea mochi treats can be found at Trader Joe’s and Mitsuwa Marketplace. But for the freshest taste, go straight to the source.
118 Japanese Village Plaza, LA (Little Tokyo) 213-628-6514 www.mikawayausa.com
Pazzo Gelato
Only a year old, Pazzo Gelato has already mastered gelato classics such as stracciatella, pistachio and chocolate hazelnut. They’re good, but the spiked gelatos in racy flavors such as chocolate martini, limoncello and mad Jack (vanilla with Jack Daniel’s) are impossible to resist. Pazzo either means crazy good or crazy for letting customers lick and drive.
3827 W. Sunset Blvd., LA 323-662-1410
Saffron Spot
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