Here are the best ice cream shops in Miami because Florida is hot and we are hungry

Is there any better time to eat ice cream than summer? No.

Although let’s face it, ice cream is still pretty good in the frozen heart of Florida winter, when temps drop into the 60s and all your neighbors fire up their fireplaces and act like they’re in Montreal.

July is National Ice Cream Month (a real holiday, obviously), with National Ice Cream Day falling on the third Sunday in July (that’s July 21 this year). To celebrate it in all its fattening glory, we have assembled a bucket list of ice cream spots in and around Miami.

We know there are many more, and some day we hope to get to them all - and still fit into our pants.

MadLab Creamery

140 NE 39th St., Miami

Pastry chef Soraya Kilgore opened this Design District destination in 2018 and serves gourmet soft serve, house-made chocolate bark and Japanese cheesecake that will change your life (and it’s not even ice cream).

Azucar

1503 SW Eighth St, Miami

With flavors like flan, mamey and passionfruit, this little Havana spot, owned by Suzy Batlle - is the most Miami ice cream mecca you will find. Our favorite is the most Miami flavor: Go to Hell Fidel, a spicy chocolate. You can also grab a cone at Time Out Market Miami in Miami Beach.

Dasher & Crank

2211 NW Second Ave., Miami

The menu rotates at this Wynwood gem., which serves what it calls artisanal ice cream that ranges from sour pear sorbet to elderflower ice cream with candied hemp seeds. But the real eye-opener is buttermilk ice cream with crispy chicken skin and maple soaked waffles from Kush in Wynwood. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

Taiyaki New York/Miami

143 NW 23rd St., Miami

This New York import at Wynwood’s 1-800-Lucky makes the cutest cones, and by that we mean the most Instagrammable. But take your photos fast - this stuff melts fast in the summer. A bonus: there’s bean paste in the bottom of the cone. This is much less gross than it sounds.

Rolly

Bayside Marketplace, 401 Biscayne Blvd., Miami

Cones are so old timey. Cups get soggy. If you want an unconventional way to eat ice cream, head to Rolly at Bayside Marketplace, where they roll your ice cream. Why? Because they can. You choose your flavor and ingredients, and the folks at Rolly lay it out on a freezing slab like they do at Cold Stone Creamery. Then it’s scooped into a shape resembling a fruit rollup. If they ask you if you want whipped cream, SAY YES.

Whip’n Dip

1407 Sunset Dr, Miami

Whip‘n Dip has been a destination in the part of Coral Gables that everyone thinks is South Miami since 1985. Located on Sunset Drive, this shop serves no frills ice cream, with only about a dozen homemade flavors every day because less is more. Fan favorites are the Cookies ‘n Creme and the Mango. This is the place to go when you crave smooth creamy soft serve in flavors beyond chocolate and vanilla. Our favorites? Chocolate peanut butter or pistachio.

The Frieze

1626 Michigan Ave, Miami Beach

The OG of South Beach of ice cream stores, named for the architectural details on Art Deco buildings, has been making its ice cream daily since 1987. On a side street off busy Lincoln Road, it draws tourists and locals alike. If you ever see Whopper - an ice cream that tastes exactly like Whopper malted milk balls - on the menu, order it.

Chill’N

Various locations, including Lincoln Eatery food hall on South Beach

You never get freezer burn with ice cream from Chill’N, a South Florida chain, because it’s made to order with liquid nitrogen. Chill’N’s periodic table of ice cream elements may be slightly confusing, but don’t worry. There aren’t many bad choices here, and the coconut base version is dairy-free and vegan. Our pick is the unusual but delicious biscotti, but you can’t go wrong with Krispy Kreme or Cuban coffee flavors.

This story was originally published July 1, 2019 at 10:57 AM.