Ice cream on a hot summer day is the ultimate comfort food. And when it’s homemade, there’s an extra lick of yumminess.
Many can taste the difference: Homemade often seems richer, creamier and tastier than store-bought. In South Florida’s homemade ice cream shops, you can usually meet the creators right behind the counter. They train for years to achieve the perfect consistency and sweetness and show their artistry with revolving flavor options and unexpected combinations of ingredients.
Check out this sampling of locally owned homemade ice cream joints — and bring along some friends next time you venture out. Several shops even have Kitchen Sink options with lots of scoops, offering a shareable thrill when it’s scorching outside.
BROWARD COUNTY
Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlour & Restaurant, 128 S. Federal Highway, Dania Beach; 954-923-4445; jaxsonsicecream.com
Open since 1956, this iconic landmark — a must-visit for both locals and tourists — maintains its kitschy traditions. The restaurant has license plate decor, photos, knickknacks, stuffed animals and homemade food and ice cream, including the signature Original Kitchen Sink, a colossal bowl of ice cream ($19.95 per person; four person minimum). A Classic Sundae, with two scoops, goes for $13.45; a banana split costs $19.25.
Cleveland’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream, 6933 Miramar Parkway, Miramar; 754-888-9152; papacleve.com
Owner Cleveland Smith left Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlour when the founder died in 2014 and opened this Miramar scoop shop a few years later, in 2020. The 2,500-square-foot store serves ice cream ($6.50 for one scoop) made on the premises, as well as soft drinks — birch beer and soda floats — that are also homemade. Smith loves to churn out creative flavor inventions, such as cinnamon, grapenut, coconut rum cream and Dragon Stout.
Let’s Chill Homemade Ice Cream, 9739 W. Sample Road, Coral Springs; 754-702-3513; letschillicecream.com
What a treat it is to order an ice cream flight: four flavors of your choice served in separate cups on a wooden plank ($10.35). Imaginative flavors include Bourbon Butter Pecan, Honey Lavender and Pomegranate ($6.45 for a scoop). The shop is owned by a married couple, Cristina and Ricardo Braga, who are U.S. Army veterans. Cristina runs the shop full time, while Ricardo is a Broward Sheriff’s deputy.
The Magic Cow
4298 S. University Drive, Davie, 954-382-1677
10274 W. Sample Road, Coral Springs; 954-688-9010
magiccowcreations.com
Owners Andy and Alison Mcknight, originally from Scotland, have lived in Florida since 2007. They have 40 years in the ice cream business and say they know what works, selling sundaes, milkshakes, cakes, cupcakes and cups and cones ($4.49 for a scoop) with a lengthy list of toppings.
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Razzleberry’s Homemade Ice Cream
3412 E. Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach; 954-943-6944
1499 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale; 954-870-7894
901 NE 20th Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-440-3337
razzleberrysicecream.com
The parlors dish out 30 flavors ($5.99 a scoop), ranging from pistachio to vanilla Reese’s to Bailey’s Irish cream, along with sundaes and Key lime pies. An ice cream lover raved about the ice cream and marshmallows on ” Let’s Eat, South Florida,” the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s foodie Facebook group: “Gourmet marshmallows in all kinds of colors, flavors and combinations as well as handmade ice cream in amazing flavors. Staff is super friendly and happy to answer questions. The marshmallows are my absolute favorite. I got adventurous and had a marshmallow shake.”
Yo Mama’s Ice Cream, 901 Sunrise Lane, Fort Lauderdale; 954-982-2141; yomamasicecream.com
Yo Mama’s makes its own kosher, hormone-free ice cream on the premises ($5 to $7 a scoop, depending on weight). Milkshakes are a specialty: There are nine varieties, including The Village, an over-the-top mixture of chocolate, coconut and birthday party ice cream, brownie bites, coconut flakes, caramel sauce and whipped cream.
PALM BEACH COUNTY
Lily’s Handmade Ice Cream, 4900 Linton Blvd., No. 4, Delray Beach; 561-501-4301; lilyshandmadeicecream.com
Ori Gilinsky, son of the owner of Lily’s, has spent five years learning to make the parlor’s creative, kosher-certified flavors ($5 a scoop), including Shiva’s Ultimate Cookie Chaos, which has a blue cookie-dough base and cookie mix-ins. As one fan wrote on “Let’s Eat, South Florida”: “The place is absolutely adorable and the ice cream (which is made on site) is super high quality. Very sweet girl working behind the counter told me they are a family run, local business (which we always love to support) — but the product is what will bring us back. The flavors were so fresh and not artificial tasting — and the texture was super rich and creamy.”
Matty’s Gelato Factory, 867 Donald Ross Road, Juno Beach; 561-557-3539; Facebook.com/mattysgelatofactory
South Florida native Matthew Cairo learned to make gelato from an Italian master in New Haven, Connecticut, and opened this shop in 2017. He makes gelato on site daily, with flavors ranging from strawberry shortcake to cinnamon toast to OMG Coffee Chocolate Mascarpone ($4.55 for a small cup). He also crafts custom-made pies and ice cream sandwiches.
Boardwalk Italian Ice & Creamery, 209 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach; 561-600-9593; Facebook.com/theboardwalkice
This little white building with red-and-white striped awnings is home to a creamery that makes its own 24 flavors of ice cream ($5.89 for a single scoop), as well as Italian ice, gelato and custard. The shop takes the boardwalk theme to the limit, selling caramel popcorn, cotton candy, fried Oreos, fried pretzels, salt water taffy, waffles and ice cream sandwiches. The Beach Bowl is also a draw: It’s a mash-up of four to 16 scoops of ice cream with a choice of toppings ($17.07 for four scoops, $70.57 for 16). There’s also an actual boardwalk, funhouse mirror and carousel horse.
La Michoacana Natural, 636 Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach; 561-514-3030; la-michoacanaus.com
This Mexican creamery offers flavors not found in traditional shops ($4.25 a scoop): How about some chongos (made of curdled milk, sugar and cinnamon), mamey (an orange-fleshed fruit) or soursop (a fruit with a strawberry-apple taste)? There’s also vanilla, chocolate and strawberry for the traditionalists. The site makes its own popsicles, mangonada (fruit slushies), esquites (toasted corn) and other Mexican desserts.
