Summer is the perfect excuse for eating ice cream, drinking slushies, and not giving a hoot about the calories because you’ll certainly sweat them off, right? And while there are more than a dozen usual suspects when it comes to favorite summer sweets, this list goes a little deeper, featuring new and unexpected spots to quench your cravings.
Best Boozy
Cooperage Brewing
On a hot day, nothing beats a cold beer — unless it’s a hard seltzer slushy. This Santa Rosa brewery’s seasonal Sparklepants seltzer releases are spun into icy, dangerously delicious drinks that beat the summer heat with a sneaky kick. A tropical moment on sweltering days. 981 Airway Court and 575 Ross St., Santa Rosa. 707-293-9787, cooperagebrewing.com
Best Seasonal Selection
Darling Ice Cream Shop
The always-changing flavors at this charming Sonoma ice cream shop mean you’ll have plenty of reasons to return. A sister shop to Sweet Scoops on the Sonoma Plaza, this neighborhood fave is known for its Watmaugh strawberry, salted caramel and, if you want to go the soft-serve route, a sunny Pineapple Dole Whip. 201 W. Napa St., Suite 6, Sonoma. 707-343-1482, darlingsonoma.com
Best Pickle Slush
Once Upon a Slush
More like Italian ice than a Slurpee, these Boston-style slushes need a spoon — at least to start. And yes, they have a pickle slush that tastes precisely like a pickle. Not feeling that adventurous? Go for fruit flavors like cherry or orange creamsicle and add sprinkles, drizzles and layers of soft-serve ice cream for the full experience. 122 B American Alley, Petaluma. 707-763-9253, onceuponaslush.com
Best Halo-Halo
Tambayan Filipino Eatery
The name of this traditional Filipino dessert means “mix-mix” in Tagalog, and what a mix it is. This colorful combination of crushed ice, evaporated milk, coconut strips, sweet beans, fruit jellies and a scoop of purple yam ice cream is — trust me on this — the most surprisingly delicious dessert you’ve probably never had before. 600 Larkfield Center, Larkfield-Wikiup. 707-843-3824, tambayaneatery.com
Best Rolled
Pink Sugar Creamery
Ice cream is a treat in any form — it just seems more delicious in scroll-like rolls. At the former Yogurt Farms, wall-to-wall pink decor (including swings with fuzzy pink seats) sets the stage for rolled ice cream, a street-food treat from Thailand. Here’s how it works: A cream mixture is poured onto chilled steel plates that almost instantly freezes it. Dual spatulas then chop, pulverize and blend in candy, cookies, fruit or cake before the mixture is spread into a thin layer and finally scraped into tight, frozen curls. Fun for the whole family. 1224 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. 707-368-3200, Instagram.com/pinksugarcreamery
Best Ice Cream Sando
Sebastopol Cookie Company
It’s all about the cookies at this hole-in-the-wall bakery. Fresh chocolate chip cookies are outstanding on their own, but in the summer, they add an ice cream middle. Just like milk and cookies, but better. 168 N. Main St., Sebastopol. 707-824-4040, sebastopolcookiecompany.com