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11 Best Ice Cream Restaurants

It may not seem important to have a specific place which you visit for your favorite scoop of ice cream, whether that scoop (or bowl) is a weekly tradition, a much-needed reward, a special indulgence, or just something to help you make it through a difficult day, but knowing where to get the best ice cream can make all the difference in your enjoyment of it. Sometimes the best ice cream may come from a street vendor who has a little cart they work out of, from a little shop tucked between other buildings that you may have walked by a dozen times before you noticed it, and other times, the best ice cream can come from a well-known location which has a line out the door during the warm summer months. One of the reasons for you to find the best ice cream location you can is because the ice cream sold there will be made with much higher quality ingredients, such as the milk and cream used to make the ice cream itself. Some locations get their milk and cream to make their ice cream in-house from local dairy farms for higher-quality ice cream while others may get their ice cream from local dairy farms and customize it in the store. Rather than you having to find the best place to stop for a scoop of ice cream one scoop at a time, below is a very handy list of the best ice cream locations for you to visit.

The following list is ordered by popularity.

Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen is a popular American chain of soft-serve ice cream and fast food restaurants, which has stores across the world.
Carvel

In 1934, Tom Carvel launched his company, Carvel. Carvel's ice cream cakes, which come in a wide range of flavors and styles, are the company's bread and butter. Carvel's soft serve ice cream and ice cream cakes may be found in supermarkets and at Carvel franchisees. Other treats include shakes, ice creams, and chocolate milkshakes. Carvel ice cream is sold in grocery shops and convenience stores around the United States. More than five hundred offices are spread around the country.
Brusters

If you are someone who enjoys homemade ice cream, which let's face it, we all do - then a trip to Brusters may be on the menu! Brusters has 24 unique flavors of ice cream on the menu at any one time and is constantly rotating them out for one of the over 150 delicious homemade recipes they have in their arsenal to keep things fresh and interesting. Bruster's has managed to stay in the game so long due to the huge array of other tasty treats they have created to accompany their iconic ice cream: pies, cakes, pastries, splits, milkshakes - you want it, they got it. Their famous Bruster's Blasts allow you to mix and match to your heart's desire creating an unprecedented amount of combos to suit your unique taste buds!
Braums

Founded as a family business in 1968, Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store, commonly known as “Braum’s”, has continually served freshly made ice cream. The brand has managed to keep both the dairy farms and franchise as a family business, passing it down over the years.
Ben Jerrys

Ben and Jerry's is the quintessential American ice cream parlor. They have revolutionized the ice cream world by creating the most ethical, delicious, and varied flavors the world over.
Baskin Robbins

Baskin-Robbins has been a staple in the food franchise industry for generations. Specializing in ice cream and other frozen treats, it sits at the forefront of the ice cream industry. Baskin-Robbins started with one flavor for every day of the month but has expanded to have enough flavors that it would take nearly four years to try one a day.
Bahama Bucks

Bahama Bucks is a chain of American restaurants that specializes in shaved ice and other frozen non-alcoholic drinks.
Andys Frozen Custard

Andys Frozen Custard is a chain of frozen custard stores in America.
Cold Stone Creamery

Cold Stone Creamery was founded in 1988 by Donald and Susan Sutherland in Tempe, Arizona. The company is now owned by Kahala Brands, who also own other popular food franchises like Blimpie and Taco Time. Cold Stone Creamery is best known for their signature ice cream creation, the "Cold Stone," which is a scoop of ice cream placed on a cold granite stone and then mixed with various toppings.
Oberweis

Selling a variety of products, the Oberweis brand is split into multiple franchises to make it easy to find the products you are looking for. At Oberweis Ice Cream & Dairy Stores, the focus is on ice cream and dairy.
Friendlys

Friendlys is a popular chain of restaurants that are found on the East Coast of the United States, which has a great selection of dishes and ice creams for any time of day.

No matter what your favorite flavor of ice cream is, whether you prefer waffle cones to regular ice cream cones, whether you like to keep your ice cream “vanilla” with no additional fixings or toppings, or whether you like to pile on as many extra goodies as you can manage, everyone can agree on the importance of knowing where to get some good ice cream. If you took a trip to visit any one of the various places on the list above, you most definitely found yourself with some good ice cream at a place that has a little something for everyone and everyone always leaves with a smile on their face. Make sure to take time for yourself to enjoy a delicious scoop of ice cream every now and then at one of the places on this list because everyone deserves great ice cream that will make them smile.