Summer means a few things. It means hanging by the pool, the smell of sunscreen, and blazing 100+-degree weather every day. But it also means ice cream. Lots and lots of ice cream.
Whether you like the sweet treat on a cone, with chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top, or dairy-free, Tucson has enough ice cream shops to make your heart sing. Here are five of them.
Jennifer Newman, owner of Cashew Cow, left, makes change for Belia Encinas, middle, and Shiyu Cheng. All the ice cream is cashew-based and dairy-free.
CASHEW COW
16 S. Eastbourne Ave., 326-8558, cashewcow.com
For those who can’t enjoy the dairy-filled treat that is ice cream, Cashew Cow is the place you want to be. And for those who want something vegan-friendly, Cashew Cow is the place you also want to be.
The ice cream is cashew-based, and dairy free. It’s made from scratch and comes together when cashews are soaked in water and blended with sugar and ingredients such as vanilla. The mixture is eventually frozen and turned into an ice cream texture.
It may not be made with dairy, but it sure tastes like ice cream to me.
Kahlua Almond Fudge ice cream at Cashew Cow, 16 S. Eastbourne Ave., May 30, 2018. All the ice cream is dairy-free.
Other fun flavors are also added to the mixture. Some of the customer favorites at Cashew Cow are Kahlua Almond Fudge, Mango Tamarind and Maple Walnut. Owner Jennifer Newman says her favorites are Lemon Poppy Seed and Banana Chocolate Chip.
Newman, who has a background in nutrition, started Cashew Cow in 2014.
“For me, it was about finding a healthier version of ice cream,” she says, adding that making the cashew-based ice cream is certainly a process, though “a lot of love goes into it.”
And if you’re longing for more than just a scoop, Newman also makes ice cream cakes. They’re made to order with whichever ice cream flavor your heart desires. Perfect for a summer party.
Samples from Hub Ice Cream Factory include, clockwise from upper-left, a choco taco with salted caramel ice cream, an ice cream sandwich, a scoop of raspberry and peach sorbet and a fresh guava popsicle dipped in chamoy and tajin.
HUB ICE CREAM FACTORY
245 E. Congress St., 622-0255, hubicecream.com
When the restaurant portion of Hub started serving ice cream, the staff noticed such a high demand that they decided to open a separate shop for just the cold stuff.
The restaurant still serves select flavors of ice cream, but the real party happens across the street at Hub Ice Cream Factory, where 24 flavors are offered — out of 300 rotating ones.
“My favorite part about making ice cream is that first spoonful of quality control straight out of the machine,” Executive Pastry Chef Dominique Stoller said in an email. “It is like a fluffy, creamy, sweet cloud of velvety goodness that melts all over your tongue.”
Stoller started at Hub a little over two years ago. She calls it her dream job.
A scoop of raspberry and peach sorbet paired with a scoop of vegan Almond Joy ice cream at HUB Ice Cream Factory, 245 E. Congress St., on May 30, 2018.
“I think that when things are made fresh and from scratch, you get higher quality. People can taste the love,” she says.
As for flavors, Stoller says her favorites are S’mores, Orange Dream, and Queen Bee — a vanilla base with honeycomb toffee and dark chocolate.
Beyond scoops of ice cream, Hub offers floats, ice cream cookie sandwiches, choco tacos and popsicles.
Server and assistant manager Claudia Flores stuffs a cup with strawberry and chocolate gelato at Pistacchio Gelato Naturale Italiano. Gelato is denser and served warmer than ice cream.
PISTACCHIO GELATO NATURALE ITALIANO
4500 N. Oracle Road (inside Tucson Mall). 528-6202, pistacchiogelato.com
Okay, so maybe this story isn’t just about ice cream. You can’t forget about Italy’s favorite — gelato.
According to Pistacchio Gelato’s website (formerly known as Allegro-Gelato Naturale Italiano), gelato is a lot different than ice cream. The gelato at Pistacchio contains less than half the milk fat than ice cream. Gelato is also denser, which provides a creamier texture. It’s also served warmer than ice cream because it’s not as frozen, thus “enhancing its flavor as it melts in your mouth,” the website says.
Server and assistant Manager Claudia Flores serves up a chocolate gelato to Kylee Battor, 12, as friend Leah LeClair watches at Pistacchio Gelato Naturale Italiano in the Tucson Mall food court on June 4, 2018 in Tucson, AZ.
“It seemed to us that Tucson was a great location because it’s warm, and there were not too many gelato stores,” CEO and Executive Manager Pietro Rapella, who is from Italy, said in an email. He added that his gelato uses “fresh and natural ingredients supporting the local farmers and small businesses like us.”
Pistacchio serves up many classic flavors, but Rapella says his favorite is Stracciatella, which he says is the Italian version of chocolate chip. The shop also offers natural fruit sorbets.
The Screamery bills itself as an all-natural-ingredients ice cream shop.
THE SCREAMERY
50 S. Houghton Road (721-5299); 2545 E. Speedway (777-3080); 250 E. Congress St. (207-7486); 5920 W. Arizona Pavilions Dr. (328-8145), thescreamery.com
The Screamery started in 2014 and has since blossomed into four locations across Tucson and one coming soon in Phoenix.
Linda and Kenny Sarnoski started The Screamery after trying a new diet, which consisted of only consuming natural and simple ingredients. At the time, they couldn’t find any all-natural ice cream choices. So, they made it themselves.
The ice cream is made with milk from grass-fed cows, cream, sugar, eggs and whatever flavor they’re currently playing with. It’s then pasteurized, sits for 24 hours, churned, and placed in a hardening cabinet to freeze for another 24 hours.
A flight of ice cream (flights contain six samples) at The Screamery, 2545 E. Speedway Blvd., June 1, 2018, in Tucson, Ariz. The Screamery has four Tucson locations, with one more in the works and another in Phoenix.
And despite four locations in Tucson and a fifth one two hours away, the ice cream is made the same for every spot.
“I still love our ice cream,” Linda says. “I still crave it, and I know that I’m eating a good, chemical-free dessert.”
Among her favorite flavors is the Sweet Cream Honeycomb, which is also a customer favorite. It’s made with local raw honey mixed into a sweet cream base.
She also loves Coffee Toffee, which is a coffee base with homemade butter toffee. She says customers also reach for Rough At Sea — a sea salt base with a honey-butterscotch swirl and candied nuts.
“What we try to do is stay true to old-fashioned roots of ice cream flavors,” Linda says. “That’s why we have common staples, but we also like to include fun, invented flavors to keep people interested.”
The Screamery is also serving banana splits for the summer. Get ’em while you can.
Omar Elfarmaoui, co-owner of Wrap N’ Roll, makes a Nutella strawberry ice cream roll. He starts with a below-freezing steel plate, then places milk and flavor add-ins on the plate and stirs until the mixture reaches ice cream consistency.
WRAP N’ ROLL
1011 N. Tyndall Ave., 490-9958, wrapnrolltucson.com
You’ve probably seen those videos on Facebook of folks overseas, specifically Thailand, making rolled ice cream. They start with a below-freezing steel plate. On top of that goes milk and flavor add-ins of your choice — fruit, cereal, candy, you name it.
The add-ins are chopped and stirred until the mixture reaches ice cream consistency. It’s then spread across the plate and rolled into ice cream cylinders.
That’s what Wrap N’ Roll offers. That, and sandwich wraps. But we’re only here to talk about the ice cream.
“I took a trip to the Middle East, and they had a mini stand where they were serving ice cream rolls,” owner Omar Elfarmaoui says. “It was my first time trying it, and I loved it.”
A Nutella and strawberry ice cream roll from Wrap N’ Roll. After stirring a milk/add-in mixture, it is spread across a sub-freezing plate and rolled into ice cream cylinders.
He loved it so much that he wanted to bring the concept to Tucson. At the time, he was only 19. But after about a year, he opened up the shop with help from Ari Baban from the Mediterranean restaurant Za’atar.
“The best thing is that you can see the ice cream being made in front of you,” Elfarmaoui says. “Just watching how the ice cream is being made really catches people’s eyes.”
Elfarmaoui says the most popular mix-ins are cheesecake, Oreos and Nutella, though they offer a total of 17 sweets and eight fruits to try.