PHOTO at Baskin Robbins, Fairlington Centre, by Nan Ryant
Forbes magazine once called Alexandria the "Ice Cream Cone Capital of the United States.” Plus, a 2019 study from Gravy Analytics showed the District ranked third in the United States for ice cream consumption.
Fortunately, most ice cream shops in the area are open for take-out right now.
That includes the oldest shop in continuous operation in the same location, The Creamery at 110 King St., which opened in 1984. Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream, across the street at 109 King St., opened later, but its namesake Ray “Pop” Giovanni, was in the ice cream business as early as the 1940s.
Brain Freeze!
If you get the dreaded “brain freeze” headache from eating ice cream too fast, press your tongue against the roof of your mouth or drink something warm. An ice cream headache happens when your sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia nerves toward the back of your palate, which are sensitive to cold, go into overdrive.
Where to Go This Summer
Alexandria has plenty of options from traditional hard, scooped ice cream to soft serve, custard, gelato and frozen yogurt. Here’s what you should know about the differences.
Gelato — Gelato is often called "Italian ice cream" and is made with less butterfat than traditional ice cream. Most gelato — like what you would find at Dolci Gelato on N. Fairfax Street, where the most popular flavor is salted caramel — is usually lower in fat than traditional ice cream.
Custard — We're looking forward to the opening of Goodies Frozen Custard & Treats, opening in The Ice House at 200 Commerce St. in Old Town.
Custard and ice cream are both made from cream or milk and sugar — the difference is in the amount of egg yolk and milkfat in the recipe. Ice cream is supposed to have at least 10 percent milkfat and less than 1.4 percent egg yolk, while custard contains at least 10 percent milkfat and more egg yolk.
This summer, we’re looking forward to stopping by The Dairy Godmother in Del Ray, Alexandria’s famous frozen custard spot, and also trying out Goodies, a Wisconsin-style frozen custard truck operation which has plans to open its first permanent location in the historic Ice House on Commerce Street in Old Town.
Frozen Yogurt — Unlike ice cream, frozen yogurt is made from cultured milk instead of regular milk or cream. Often, the sugar content in frozen yogurt is actually higher than it is in traditional ice cream.
Soft Serve — Soft serve ice cream is gen-erally lower in milkfat than scooped ice cream, and it is produced and served at a warmer temperature than traditional ice cream. Soft serve also has air mixed into it during the production process, which is a major factor in its texture.
Looking for a summer challenge? Try to hit up every one of the frozen treat spots on the map. Pace yourself! There are 15 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so aim for an average of two per week, which will leave you some time to revisit your favorites at summer’s end.
Click here for a bigger version of the map in our digital issue. The key is below.
Illustration by Jessie Leiber
