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

The post 6 Unique Cool Treats to Try This Summer in Sonoma County appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Whether the weather’s hot, cold or somewhere in between, there’s never a bad time for ice cream. From swirls of soft serve and sorbet to traditional scoops and creamy custard, everyone’s got a favorite flavor.

Are you a strawberry waffle cone, lemon sorbet in a cup or chocolate and vanilla swirl in a cone? But the real question is, would you dare to eat pickle sorbet?

Whatever your choice, Sonoma County ice cream shops have you covered.

Newcomers

Salt & Straw, Santa Rosa

The Portland, Oregon-based ice cream company is known for its fearless flavor combinations — think pear and blue cheese; Arbequina olive oil; strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper; or goat cheese with marionberries and habanero. Many lean more toward what you might expect on a restaurant menu than at a typical ice cream shop. Even their most popular flavors have twists, like the vegan coconut mint chip; sea salt with caramel ribbons; or fudgy brownie batter chocolate ice cream. If you’re an absolute purist, go for the double fold vanilla with gobs of vanilla bean. Gluten-free and dairy-free options abound.

The Monthly Menu Series are a food writer’s dream — weird, wonderful and divisive. At the start of each month, five time-limited, themed flavors drop. August’s Farmer’s Market series includes chocolate chip zucchini bread; tomato gelato with olive brittle; melon and prosciutto; peach jam miso brownies; and pickled cucumber sorbet. Oh, to be a taster in their test kitchen. 700 Village Court at Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa, 707-360-6349, saltandstraw.com

Pink Sugar, Santa Rosa

Furry pink swings, a wall of shimmering pink mermaid scales, retro-style pink pay phones and pink velvet barstools make for an oh-so-Instagrammable moment at Pink Sugar, Santa Rosa’s first Thai rolled ice cream shop.

Here’s how it works: Straus organic ice cream mix is poured onto chilled steel plates that almost instantly freeze it. Dual spatulas then chop, pulverize and blend in candy, cookies, fruit or cake before the mixture is spread into a thin layer and scraped into tight, frozen curls.

Favorite options include the Brookie, made with the standard vanilla base, fudge brownies, cookie dough and hot fudge; Cinnamon Toast Crunch with cinnamon toast cereal and caramel; and Banana Pudding with fresh bananas, caramel sauce and Nilla Wafers. 1224 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa. 707-368-3200, Instagram.com/pinksugarcreamery

Longtime favorites

Darling Ice Cream Shop, Sonoma

The ever-changing flavors at this charming Sonoma ice cream shop mean you’ll have plenty of reasons to return. A sister location 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

Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar, Santa Rosa and Healdsburg

This ice cream shop is worth a special trip. Unique flavors include passion fruit, Thai tea, salted caramel and Dutch cookie, each inspired by local produce and the seasons. The menu changes frequently. 539 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707-978-3392; 116 Matheson St., Healdsburg, 707-395-4426, thenoblefolk.com

Nimble and Finn’s, Santa Rosa and Guerneville

Cheeky by-the-scoop flavors include Front Porch Mint Chip (the mint is from one of the owner’s front porch), Meyer Lemon, Lavender Honeycomb and Whiskey Butterscotch. Add booze and you’ve got a sassy little float. We love the Permanent Holiday with creamy Meyer lemon ice cream, Lo Fi sweet vermouth and Goat Rock rosé cider, or the summery Strawberry Letter with strawberry sorbet, vermouth, elderflower and Champagne. 16290 Main St., Guerneville, 707-666-9411; 123 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707-666-9590, nimbleandfinns.com

Sweet Scoops, Sonoma

Sonomans go wild for this housemade ice cream spot on the square, which always has 22 flavors, from simple vanilla to lemon custard and Mexican chocolate. Ice cream flavors rotate regularly; check the website for current flavors. 408 First St. East, Sonoma, 707-721-1187, sweetscoopsicecream.com

Fosters Freeze, Santa Rosa

This old school burger and ice cream spot is all about the memories. Maybe because you’ve walked there, or your mom and dad took you in the family wagon, or it’s just Tuesday. 1400 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707-576-7028; 855 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa, 707-542-3212, fostersfreeze.com

Handline, Sebastopol

This restaurant in Sebastopol was built on the site of an old Foster’s Freeze and the swirled chocolate and vanilla soft serve is still a favorite. Don’t miss the affogato, made with eye-opening cold brew and soft serve. 935 Gravenstein Ave. South, Sebastopol, 707-827-3744, handline.com

Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, Santa Rosa

The ultimate kid spot with half a dozen flavors like crème brûlée, mudslide pie, white chocolate raspberry and Dole Whip pineapple sorbet. 2188 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-545-9866, menchies.com

Dave’s Gourmet Ice Cream, Santa Rosa

This local artisan producer uses premium organic milk, organic cream and liquid nitrogen to make their ice cream. At a cool 321 degrees below zero, the liquid nitrogen keeps fat and water molecules small, making for a creamier ice cream. 320 W. Third St. Suite A, Santa Rosa, 707-978-2635, dgicecream.com

Goguette Bread, Santa Rosa

While known for their mélange of breads and pastries, Goguette also churns out delightful, French-style ice cream, or glacée. Using locally sourced or imported (from France and Italy) ingredients, find flavors like pear, lemon, chocolate orange, Madagascar vanilla and more. The bakery now also sells ice cream cakes, with such flavors as vanilla, strawberry, pistachio and matcha. 59 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, goguettebread.com

Screamin’ Mimi’s, Sebastopol

It’s no surprise that Food & Wine magazine has named this Sebastopol ice cream spot one of the best in America. There’s always a line, there are always kids with messy chocolate grins, and there’s always a new flavor to try. When it comes to rich dark chocolate, there’s always Mimi’s Mud or Deep Dark Secret. 6902 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707-823-5902, screaminmimisicecream.com

Two Dog Night Creamery, Sebastopol

Another instant-ice cream spot that uses organic local ingredients and natural flavors zapped with liquid nitrogen for soft, gelato-style ice cream. Seasonal flavors like Pineapple Whip and Lavender are a treat, while classic scoops, including Belgian Chocolate, Bananas Foster Crunch and Cotton Candy Fizz, always satisfy. Don’t miss the ice cream tacos! 6760 McKinley St., Suite 110, Sebastopol, 707-823-9376, twodognightcreamery.com

Angela’s Ice Cream, Petaluma, Forestville and Healdsburg

Formerly known as Lala’s Creamery, this spot looks like the soda fountains of old, with a marble-topped bar and brick walls, but in addition to the traditional confections and banana splits, it serves up unique flavors. If you want to pair burgers with your ice cream, head on over to the Healdsburg location, home to Iggy’s Organic Burgers. 134 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, 707-774-6567; 1390 N. McDowell Blvd. East, Petaluma, 707-981-6910; 6671 Front St., Forestville, 707-820-1559; 109 Plaza St., Healdsburg, 707-473-8636. angelasicecream.com

Petaluma Creamery, Petaluma

This historic creamery still makes house-made ice cream along with Spring Hill cheese. Most popular is the lavender ice cream, but Meyer lemon is also a contender. 711 Western Ave., Petaluma, 707-762-9038, springhillcheese.com

Once Upon A Slush, Petaluma

Taking over the former Amy’s Wicked Slush location in Petaluma’s American Alley in 2022, Once Upon A Slush has won over slush fans with its assortment of shakes, slushies, floats and soft serve. There are childhood favorite flavors such as the blue raspberry slush and chocolate vanilla swirl soft serve, as well as seasonal summer flavors like black cherry, sour watermelon and cotton candy. Try the pickle slushie if you dare. 122b American Alley, Petaluma, 707-763-9253, onceuponaslush.com

Cielito Coffee and Ice Cream, Sonoma

This coffee and ice cream shop in the Vailetti Plaza shopping center on Highway 12 serves a wide variety of coffee beverages, milkshakes and ice cream. 205 Nino Marco Square, Sonoma, 707-343-7330, instagram.com/cielito_coffee_and_icecream

La Michoacana, Sonoma

You can’t miss this ice cream spot’s bright pink and orange exterior. It’s best known for fruit paletas, or frozen ice pops. Try their Mangonada: blended fresh mango with ice, swirled chamoy sauce, topped with mango chunks and tamarind candy, and a tamarind stick. 18495 Highway 12, Sonoma, 707-938-1773, michoacana.com

Fru-Ta, Santa Rosa and Petaluma

All natural flavors, both traditional and unconventional. Among the more unique are rose petal, guava, cheese, membrillo, chongo zamorano and mamey. Four locations in Santa Rosa and Petaluma, frutaicecream.com

Frozen Art, Santa Rosa

The Alcazars have been making Michoacana-style ice creams since 2011, originally as La Real Michoacana, and they continue to expand their lineup of 40-plus flavors. It now includes Merlot chocolate chip, Kahlua, Mexican caramel, hibiscus flower, rum raisin and strawberry butter. The family comes from Tocumbo, Mexico’s ice cream-making capital. 500 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa, 707-331-2899, frozenarticecream.com

Squatch’s Ice Cream and Coffee, Rohnert Park

This nonprofit ice cream and coffee shop near Sonoma State funds a nearby student center and serves up Petaluma’s-own Mariposa ice cream. 1451 Southwest Blvd., Suite 111, Rohnert Park, 707-992-0841, squatchscoffee.com

Swirl Time Frozen Yogurt Bar, Rohnert Park

Another locally owned Sonoma State fave serving up great fro-yo with a smile. 1718 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park, 707-795-7900, swirltime.com

Honeymoon Frozen Yogurt, Sebastopol

This local yogurt shop is a favorite because of its organic ingredients and commitment to local farms. Plus, it’s open seven days a week. 7108 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, 707-829-9866, honeymoonfrozenyogurt.com

Baskin Robbins, Various Locations

You can’t say 31 flavors without thinking of this classic ice cream spot. Daiquiri ice is among our favorite flavors. Locations in Petaluma, Windsor, Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park. baskinrobbins.com

Cold Stone Creamery, Various Locations

A longtime chain favorite featuring simple base flavors from vanilla and chocolate to cake batter with dozens of mix-ins to make a truly unique scoop. Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and Petaluma locations. coldstonecreamery.com

The post Where to Get the Best Ice Cream in Sonoma County appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

With summer sun coming on strong, the new Salt & Straw ice creamery at Santa Rosa’s Montgomery Village is one of June’s most anticipated openings. The grand opening is scheduled for Friday, June 20.

The Portland-based scoop shop is all about surprising fans with out-of-the-box flavors like Sea Salt Caramel Ribbons, Honey Lavender, Arbequina Olive Oil, and Salted Malted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Its ever-changing monthly specials offer even more unexpected combinations. In June, featured flavors will include wild-foraged berry pie (with double-baked pie crust folded in), wildflower honey and lemon chess pie, and a savory Gruyère and tomato custard tart.

Vanilla and chocolate are always on the menu, but why be boring?

Last year, Salt & Straw teamed up with Russian River Brewing to create a beer-infused ice cream using the brewery’s Supplication Ale. The ice cream included ribbons of chocolate fudge that Salt & Straw owner Tyler Malek infused with the ale, swirls of sour cherry marmalade and manchego cheese.

“It’s a bizarre mixture but totally works,” said Russian River Brewing co-owner Natalie Cilurzo last June.

The grand opening will kick off 11 a.m. Friday. Nearby Avid Coffee will provide cold brew samples in the morning and local musician Brie Page will be performing from 6-9 p.m.

Salt & Straw joins several new food and beverage tenants at Montgomery Village. Mendocino Farms opened in May. Upcoming additions include Fieldwork Brewing, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Blue Bottle Coffee and Sweetgreens. Opening dates for those businesses have not yet been announced.

Salt & Straw, 700 Village Court, Santa Rosa, saltandstraw.com

Find more of our favorite local ice cream shops here. 

The post Salt & Straw to Open in Santa Rosa With Unexpected Ice Cream Flavors appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Furry pink swings, a wall of shimmering pink mermaid scales, retro-style pink pay phones and pink velvet barstools make for an oh-so-Instagrammable moment at Pink Sugar, Santa Rosa’s first Thai rolled ice cream shop.

A steady stream of teens files into the former Yogurt Farms space (1224 Mendocino Ave.), mostly checking out each other but also sneaking videos of the mesmerizing ice cream-making process.

Here’s how it works: Straus organic ice cream mix is poured onto chilled steel plates that almost instantly freeze it. Dual spatulas then chop, pulverize and blend in candy, cookies, fruit or cake before the mixture is spread into a thin layer and scraped into tight, frozen curls. Also known as “stir-fried” ice cream, this Southeast Asian invention mimics the chopping and scraping motion of a stir fry.

While the whole thing is more theater than practicality, the selling point is an inexhaustible number of mix-and-match flavor combinations.

To avoid decision fatigue (or ordering overwhelm), check out the menu in advance —  it’s long and complicated. Or just take a seat on the swing and ponder options like the Brookie ($13), made with the standard vanilla base, fudge brownies, cookie dough and hot fudge; Cinnamon Toast Crunch ($12) with cinnamon toast cereal and caramel; or Banana Pudding ($13) with fresh bananas, caramel sauce and Nilla Wafers.

Dairy-free oat milk rolled ice cream is also available, along with fluffy mini pancakes (15 for $10) and soft-serve ice cream served in Taiyaki, a sweet fish-shaped cake. Don’t miss the Dubai strawberry cup with kadayif, pistachio, chocolate and fresh berries.

Open 3-10 p.m. Tuesday; 1-10 p.m. Wednesday to Thursday; 2 p.m. to midnight Friday to Saturday and 2-10 p.m. Sunday. 1224 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, Instagram.com/pinksugarcreamery

You can reach Dining Editor Heather Irwin at heather.irwin@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Heather on Instagram @biteclubeats.

The post What Is Stir-Fried Ice Cream and Why Do Santa Rosa Teens Love It? appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

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The ice cream man is ready to pack up and move to his next spot. It’s 2:30 on a Friday afternoon, and so far, he has sold only 10 cups of his homemade treats. Looking up at the sun, he wipes sweat from his forehead with a towel. He’s just lugged a large bag of ice on his shoulder across a parking lot. Now, using a wooden stick, he packs ice deep in the crevices between 2-gallon buckets of ice cream, sprinkling rock salt over the top to make it last longer.

But before he can roll out his cart, more customers finally come by his current spot in a fast-food parking lot near Santa Rosa’s Sebastopol Road. Olivia, who works at a discount store nearby, walks over on her break. “I don’t have my purse with me,” she says, apologizing. The vendor just smiles, telling her not to worry.

Scooping up her favorite flavor, mango, he sprinkles Tajin and drizzles tangy chamoy on top until it looks like a blood-orange sunset. He knows she will pay him the next time he sees her. She’s been eating his ice cream for more than a decade, she says. It’s the same regional style of ice cream — often called nieve de garrafa after the small, wooden carafes traditionally used in homemade ice cream churns — that she enjoyed as a kid growing up in a tiny beach town on the Mexican coast.

Loaded with fresh fruit bought from local markets, his sweet frozen concoctions are made with whole milk, evaporated milk and half-and-half. They’re often icier and less creamy than American ice creams, with a texture that falls somewhere between sorbet and snow cone. They are alive with flavors you rarely find at traditional grocery stores, including elote, a popular sweet corn style that takes all day to cook; mamey, a Central American fruit with hints of sweet potato and caramel; queso, made with Philadelphia cream cheese; tuna (prickly pear cactus fruit); and chongo, a milky, cinnamon-spiced version of the popular chongos zamoranos dessert from Michoacán.

It makes a difference that he takes the time to make the ice cream with his own hands, says Olivia, before she heads back to work.

ALTHOUGH THE VENDOR has heard this compliment before, he still laughs and shakes his head, almost embarrassed. His thin gray mustache and wavy silver hair fit his patient demeanor. When he smiles, his mouth opens wide and his eyes close to a squint. In his early 70s, he is known by the honorific Don, or elder. But the children who flock to his cart from all over Roseland call him señor de las probaditas, or “the man who gives little tastes.” (We are not using his name given concerns about potential immigration enforcement activity.)

The vendor carries several hundred plastic spoons in a small plastic bag that hangs from the cart. He pulls one out when a boy approaches to ask for a taste of peach ice cream. After a few more tastes, he settles on chocolate. His sister chooses mango, and their mother, Ana, gets elote, which is also his own favorite. Ana says the milky, sweet corn flavor reminds her of the cobbled streets of Santa Clara del Cobre in Michoacán, where she was raised.

“I remember as a kid, when we would get out of school, the ice cream man would be there waiting every day,” she said. Her favorite day of the year was April 30, a holiday celebrated throughout Mexico as el Día del Niño, when the ice cream man would give all the kids in the neighborhood free ice cream.

A small player in a close community that prides itself on resilience, he is one of many street vendors and small business owners, both licensed and unlicensed, who drive the economic engine of Roseland — a neighborhood built on street life and market culture that has as much to do with the way commerce works in Mexico as it does in America.

Everything he has, he has made on his own. His ice cream, his cart, his innovation and spirit of survival. But he is not alone. The same spirit lives in the woman selling flats of oranges in the big-box parking lot, in the tamale-cart man selling to construction workers at sunrise, in the snack sellers who roll by youth soccer games at the park on Saturdays.

But these are different times. Since January, as the Trump administration continues to order immigration enforcement actions in communities around the country, the specter of deportation hangs heavy. “The way people feel is that it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” says Marcos Suarez, the business diversity program manager for the Sonoma County Economic Development Board. Over the past few months, Suarez says he has noticed fewer street vendors along Sebastopol Road, especially those who sell from their cars in parking lots.

The vendor says he worries that ICE might make a sweep through Roseland. But they’re supposed to be going after criminals, he tells himself. “I don’t get in trouble. I don’t drink and drive. I don’t even own a car. I only drive a tricycle.”

For many, the neighborhood’s food culture is a lifeline in difficult times. Suarez says traditional cuisine like ice cream triggers memories for people all along this stretch of Sebastopol Road. It might be the menudo at a particular restaurant, he says, or a bottle of authentic Mexican Coke made with cane sugar, or the herbal remedy cola de caballo, often taken for indigestion or infections. “You gotta understand, there are a lot of people here that haven’t gone home in 30 or 40 years, because they can’t,” says Suarez. “They could, but they won’t be able to come back. So, anything that reminds them of Mexico is very special to them. It’s nostalgia.”

THE FIRST FLAVOR of ice cream he ever tasted was limón. The vendor is the second youngest in a family of 11 from Villa de Ayala, a small town in central Mexico not far from Cuernavaca. One year, on Mexican Independence Day, a school parade led to the town plaza where a vendor gave free ice cream to the kids. The only flavor was limón, dressed up with a bit of Parmesan cheese and a thin galleta Maria. It was almost magical, the way it melted in his mouth, he remembers.

His parents grew corn, beans and tomatillos, selling their produce at the local market. He made it as far as the fifth grade before he quit school to start working on the farm. When he was 18, he followed his sister to Mexico City. After working in a Pascual Boing soda factory, he learned to make limón ice cream from a recipe he got from his younger brother. Listening to feedback from customers, he continued to experiment, eventually perfecting other flavors like strawberry and chocolate.

Five decades later, ice cream is a means of survival. Since he arrived in Santa Rosa in the mid-1990s, he’s washed dishes, cooked at restaurants, and worked a warehouse gig. But ice cream is the only job where on a busy day, he can make over $1,000, selling $6 and $8 cups along with bowls of esquites street corn and mangonadas with sliced fruit. But those flush days are few and far between — a typical day nets more like $200, and margins are tight. He estimates he spends $1,600 a month in local markets on fresh fruit, evaporated milk and other ingredients.

Over the years, he’s learned to watch his back. Four years ago, he was pushing his cart home one night, when a man ran up to him with a gun, yelling “Give me the money!” When the gun, which he later realized was likely fake, wouldn’t fire, the man chased him around the cart a few times before hitting him with the stick he uses to pack ice around his buckets. He wound up in the hospital, with several staples in his head — but “he never got my money,” he says with a smile.

THE VENDOR USED TO SELL alongside his grandson, often stopping with him in the shade of a short, scrubby pine next to a soccer field. These days, more than 15 years later, he is alone, parked under a different tree near a fast-food drive-thru.

Some days, he trades ice cream for a hamburger and fries at the fast-food joint, but this day, he has other plans. As he packs up his cart to head out, his destination is another small pine at the other end of Sebastopol Road. In black running shoes, jeans and a fleece vest, he will push the cart nearly 3 miles by the end of the day.

He secures his wares like a rag-and-bone man. A small trash can is tied down with a bungee cord. An old queso fresco bucket holds his ice-cream scoops. The tall pole hung with bags of chicharrones de harina teeters as he leans into the cart, pushing with all his might to get it rolling. He made the cart by welding the back half of a bike to a two-wheeled trailer. A tricycle of sorts, it looks like he could hop on the seat and ride it, but he says it weighs several hundred pounds and is too hard to pedal and steer. Instead, he pushes it on foot, sometimes kicking out the back wheel, almost like a boat rudder, when he needs to turn sharply.

By this time, there’s a Friday afternoon vibe in the air. Kids are out of school. Ranchera music pulses from a passing car. Construction crews getting off work early carry cases of Modelo across a parking lot. Rolling past a brick-and-mortar ice cream parlor (what he calls “factory-made ice cream”), he turns right on Sebastopol Road.

Roseland’s main drag is bustling with auto shops, jewelry stores that double as soccer shops, palm readers, Mexican restaurants and more than 20 food trucks. In the late 1800s, long before the existence of Highway 12, this was a gravel road, the only east-west route between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. Now it’s the heart and soul of Mexican culture in Santa Rosa. Like the Mission in San Francisco or Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, the color palette seems to change on this side of town, whether it’s the bright pastels of quinceañera dolls in the windows of a party supply store, the soft blue halo of a sidewalk altar to Our Lady of Guadalupe, or the red clay hues of the Rancho Mendoza supermercado.

Legend has it that botanist Luther Burbank told an early landowner he should call the flat, western ranchlands Roseland for the clusters of roses that bloomed in front of farmhouses. The name stuck. But Pruneland might have been more appropriate, since prunes were far more plentiful. “I remember when it was all prune trees where FoodMaxx is now,” says Ignacio “Don Nacho” Alvarez, longtime owner of Joyeria Maria along Sebastopol Road, across from the former Mitote Food Park.

Not quite downtown, and not quite the suburbs, Roseland has always been “the west side of town.” And there’s history to prove it. On a Saturday morning in June 1876, an angry mob broke into the Santa Rosa jail and seized a 58-year-old man accused of murder, driving him in a wagon “about a mile out of town on the Sebastopol Road,” according to newspapers, where they hung him from a tree. More than a century later, in the same part of town, angry protestors held several rallies in front of the former Dollar Tree on Sebastopol Road after 13-year-old Andy Lopez was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy. More recently, vocal crowds rallying for “A Day Without Immigrants,” marched here from Courthouse Square.

He bounces back and forth between the sidewalk and a no man’s land alongside the busy road, a path he traces almost every day. He doesn’t know it, but he’s following in the footsteps of a fellow ice cream vendor from another era: Feliciano Benincasa, who started selling out of his white Dodge truck in the 1940s, before becoming one of the most popular business owners in Santa Rosa.

He passes by an orange El Roy’s truck, where he occasionally trades ice cream for tacos, and La Texanita restaurant, where Guy Fieri once filmed an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.” He nods at a paletero, or popsicle man, in a wide-brimmed hat, pushing a much smaller cart filled with store-bought popsicles that he sells for a few dollars more than he bought them for.

Up and down Sebastopol Road, people are hawking street food, often tamales or other easily carried meals. On busy days outside Chula’s Party Shop, owner Juana Cortes parks a cart with cups of sliced fruit for sale. And at Tortilleria Apatzingan, a woman serves up creamy Jell-O cups. These small-scale entrepreneurs are a tradition that goes back centuries. Years after deeding the property that would become downtown Santa Rosa, local founding father Julio Carrillo scraped by selling his wife’s tamales from a cart in Courthouse Square.

“In Mexico, that’s what you do,” says Suarez, who remembers family stories of his own grandmother selling tacos on the streets. “When you’re trying to make ends meet, you turn to that entrepreneurial spirit, and you sell food.”

GLANCING OVER HIS SHOULDER, he pushes his cart out into traffic, carving a diagonal line across the road. A line of cars slows to a stop without honking, as if it’s something they see every day. He’s crossing to see the women who work at a local flower shop and a photography store, a halfway point where he can catch his breath and visit with friends. In early May each year, he stops near here to give away free ice cream to children and their mothers. It’s his way of celebrating both el Día del Niño on April 30 and Mexican Mother’s Day on May 10.

A few blocks farther down, he leaves his cart on the sidewalk while he ducks into a small market to buy a half-pound of queso fresco, a serrano chile and an avocado. At his cart, he cuts the fresh ingredients with a knife, rolling them in tortillas for a late lunch.

By the time he reaches the other end of the road, he is tired. He splashes water on his face and wipes his face with the towel again. He rolls the cart into a familiar spot, where the grass is still flattened from the day before, setting up shop in the shade of another lonely little tree. Someone driving by in a car honks and waves, and he waves back. He often buys menudo from Lola’s to take home for dinner. When he does, he gives ice cream to the women who cook it. It’s his way of thanking them.

It’s not long before a couple he recognizes stops by. They laugh about how long it’s been since they’ve seen each other. The husband, Jorge, is from Mexico City, and his wife grew up in Patzcuaro, which she says is famous for its ice cream. Both retired, they drove over an hour from Vallejo this day to get food a few blocks away at the Delicias Elenita taco truck, “and to eat this ice cream that we can’t get anywhere else,” Jorge says.

A few days earlier, in his garage, while he offered samples of his ice cream, laid out in a long freezer like you would see inside an ice cream parlor, he shared how loyal customers will log his phone number into their cell phones and call him if he misses a day, asking, “where are you?”

It feels good to be wanted, he says, joking that he might be one of the most popular people in all of Roseland. By now, he realizes, “More than ice cream, I sell happiness.”

He used to walk up and down Sebastopol Road with his grandson, but his grandson moved to Tijuana. When his wife would work the cart with him, often during popular events like Cinco de Mayo, he used to tease her that her servings were too small. But she died four years ago, and now he lives with his son. His other three children live in Tijuana.

Both of his parents lived into their mid-80s. Now in his 70s, the vendor hopes to work the streets for another decade before he retires. It would be easier on his body if he could get an electric cart, but the $2,500 cost is out of reach for now.

Customers will often ask for his recipes, but he remains tight-lipped. “I tell them, ‘I can sell it you for $80,000,’” he says, laughing. He thinks his recipes will probably die with him. “My children are not interested in selling ice cream. I will take the recipes with me to the grave.”

Looking around at the rush hour crowds coming in and out of Lola’s Market, he talks about how people like to buy ice cream on Friday evenings. But you should see the weekends, he says — that’s the busiest.

He checks the melting ice with his stick, poking it deeper into the cracks between the buckets and covering it with fresh towels. He’ll sell ice cream until the sun sets, making around $250, and then he’ll make his way back up Sebastopol Road, past the jewelry store, where people line up at 5 a.m. Saturday morning to catch the bus to Michoacán for $240 one way. He’ll pass the altar to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the spot where several months ago a demonstrator held a sign that read Nadie es ilegal en tierra robada (“No one is illegal on stolen land”).

Then back at home, he will restock his ice cream buckets, fry up a new batch of chicharrones, and fall fast asleep.

Produced by Raquel Issenberg of La Prensa Sonoma.

The post ‘I Sell Happiness’: Cycling Santa Rosa Ice Cream Man Delivers a Smile with Every Treat appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Restaurant openings galore in Sonoma County, with new eateries in Cotati, Santa Rosa and Kenwood. Learn more below on where to satisfy your pizza, ice cream and coffee cravings.

Slow Co. Pizza

We’ve been watching the progress of this family-run pizzeria for a while now. Focused on slowly fermented, naturally rising dough and local ingredients, the newcomer to the Cotati food scene has a brief but well-curated menu. Offerings include The Bird (red sauce, mozzarella), R-Grated with mozzarella and zesty Estero Gold Reserve cheese, “Pretty Fly for a Fungi” (pesto, white sauce and mushrooms) and Hogwarts Express (red sauce, sausage, shaved fennel, mozzarella and shallots). Slow Sauce is a ranch-style dipper because every pizza should come with ranch. Open 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. 8197 La Plaza, Cotati, 707-796-5124, slowcopizza.com

Pink Sugar Creamery

Huzzah, Sonoma County finally has rolled ice cream. It’s a thing, kind of like bubble tea in the 2010s, imported from Southeast Asia and viralized on social media for years. Pink Sugar Creamery, which replaced the long-running Yogurt Farms (RIP), uses a liquid ice cream base poured onto a freezing metal plate, instantly freezing the cream. It’s mostly a do-it-yourself affair with over two dozen toppings, including Sour Patch Kids, Biscoff cookies, Ferrero Rocher and Captain Crunch cereal. Soft serve and mini pancakes are also available. Every wall is bathed in Pepto pink with Instagrammable neon signs, furry swings and roses galore. Open daily from 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. 1224 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, instagram.com/pinksugarcreamery

Pillowfight Coffee

Just in time for sweater weather (or so their Instagram says), this Kenwood coffee shop is serving croissants, breakfast sandos, muffins, quiche and all the pumpkin spice or eggnog lattes you could possibly want. The name is an homage to the much-missed Kenwood Pillow Fights, a summer tradition that pitted neighbor versus neighbor, pounding each other with pillows while sitting on a greased pole above a mud pit. Though the event officially ended in 2006 due to party poopers (the official line was it got too big for tiny Kenwood), we think it should be revived because real mudslinging is a lot more fun than the virtual stuff. But we’re happy to relive the glory days over coffee and some neighborhood banter. Open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 8910 Sonoma Highway, Suite 12B, Kenwood, pillowfight.coffee

You can reach Dining Editor Heather Irwin at heather.irwin@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Heather on Instagram @biteclubeats.

The post New Kenwood Cafe Pays Homage to Town’s Former, Epic Pillow Fights appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

This Independence Day, celebrate the bounty of Sonoma County by serving up these local treats. Click through the gallery above to discover Sonoma County foods and drinks that are a must for any 4th of July party. 

The post 10 Delicious Sonoma-Made Foods & Drinks for Your 4th of July Party appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

Hello summer! As the sizzling season arrives with meltingly hot days and everlasting nights, thoughts turn to ice cream and its cousins, gelato and sorbet, to cool things down.

In honor of the 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins (natch) or maybe just because July has 31 days to enjoy a cool lick, we’ve put together a list of 31 ice creams you should check out, because one man’s rocky road is another’s Meyer lemon sorbet.

Keep in mind, flavors change up seasonally and sometimes daily, so if you’re really dying for a particular favorite, be sure to call first.

So let’s get to scooping…

Artisans

1. Bourbon bacon brittle ice cream at Nimble and Finn’s. There’s a reason why river-goers line up for some of the best ice cream in Sonoma County. Nimble and Finn’s cheeky by-the-scoop flavors also include white nectarine lemon thyme sorbet, lavender honey comb and cinnamon cookie. Go a la mode with a slice of sweet apple and cherry pie with a drizzle of chile-infused honey from nearby Chile Pies. Guerneville Bank Club, 16290 Main St., Guerneville, 666-9411, or on Sundays at Santa Rosa’s West End Farmers Market at Railroad Square.

2. Coconut Lime ice cream at Noble Folk Ice Cream and Pie Bar. It’s worth a special trip, along with unique flavors like cardamom, blackberry rosemary, cookie butter and Swiss chocolate, each inspired by local produce and the seasons. The menu changes frequently. 116 Matheson St., Healdsburg, 529-­2162.

3. Meyer lemon ice cream at Healdsburg Shed. Small batch ice creams in exotic seasonal flavors at the coffee bar. 25 North St., Healdsburg, 431-7433.

4. Lavender fig ice cream at Sweet Scoops. Sonomans are crazy for this homemade ice cream spot on the square, which always has 22 flavors, from simple vanilla to lemon custard and Mexican chocolate. 408 First St. East, Sonoma, 721-1187.

On Wheels

5. Apricot-almond frozen ice pop by Real Cool Frozen Treats. Don’t call these Popsicles. Chef Maria DeCorpo’s ice cream cart is stocked with pops made from seasonal produce and organic ingredients, flavors like melon-mint, lemon and key lime, strawberry and Mexican chocolate. She’s a regular at the Wednesday night market in Santa Rosa and the Rohnert Park Farmer’s Market on Fridays. facebook.com/realcoolfrozentreats.

6. Pineapple whips at Trader Jim’s. This little retro camper does only one thing, a little aloha in a cup. It is non-dairy soft-serve that you can get with or without a float of fresh pineapple juice. Off The Grid, Sundays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa. facebook.com/traderjimsfloats.

Childhood Memories

7. Daiquiri ice at Baskin Robbins. You can’t say 31 flavors without thinking of this classic ice cream spot. 282 Coddingtown Center, 544-9516, or baskinrobbins.com.

8. Root beer float at Foster’s Freeze. This old school burger and ice cream spot is all about the memories. Maybe because you’ve walked there, or your mom and dad took you in the family wagon, or it’s just Tuesday. 1400 Fourth St., Santa Rosa.

9. Olive oil ice cream at Screaming Mimi’s. It’s no surprise that Food & Wine magazine has named this Sebastopol ice cream spot one of the best in America. There’s always a line, there are always kids with messy chocolate grins, and there’s always a new flavor to try. When it comes to rich, dark chocolate, there’s always Mimi’s Mud or Deep Dark Secret. 6902 Sebastopol. Ave., Sebastopol, 823-5902.

10. Black cherry amaretto gelato at Häagen-Dazs. Did you know the company’s name was made up by the founders in 1961, and become synonymous with rich, artisan ice creams long before that was a thing? 1071 Santa Rosa Plaza, Santa Rosa, 545-2722.

Yogurt and Gelato

11. Vanilla/chocolate swirl frozen yogurt with maraschino cherries and Sour Patch Kids at Menchie’s. There are more toppings than you can possibly mix in without going into a sugar coma. Pineapple sorbet is another favorite. 2188 Santa Rosa Ave., at Santa Rosa Marketplace. 545-9866.

12. Berry patch tart yogurt at Moxie’s. 8930 Brooks Road, South, Windsor, 836-1665.

13. Classic tart yogurt at Yogurt Farms. It’s just that, classic and tart like real yogurt, lovable it for its simplicity. Get Hawaiian shave ice here as well. 1224 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, 576-0737.

14. Taro and milk tea fro yo at Tutti Frutti. Fascinating Asian flavors worth a sample. 1425 Fulton Road, Santa Rosa, 988-3737.

15. Ghirardelli chocolate with pretzels at Honeymoon Frozen Yogurt. This local yogurt shop is a favorite because of its organic ingredients and commitment to local farms. Plus, its open until 10 p.m. 7108 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, 829-9866.

16. Raspberry gelato at Powell’s Sweet Shop. 720 McClelland, Windsor, 836-0808.

Traditionalists

17. Banana split at Lala’s Creamery. This spot looks like the soda fountains of old, with a marble-topped bar and brick walls, but in addition to the traditional confections, is serves up unique flavors like horchata, honey goat cheese and dairy free lemon curd chia seed. 134 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, 763-5252.

18. Blackberry swirl at Petaluma Creamery. This historic creamery still makes housemade ice cream along with Spring Hill cheese. Most popular is the lavender ice cream, but Meyer lemon also is a contender. 711 Western Ave., Petaluma, 762-9038.

19. Cookie Sundae at Shuffles Magical Ice Cream Shoppe. Magic and ice cream collide like a tasty Reese’s peanut butter cup at this entertainment venue. Recently relocated to Railroad Square, it has the usual chocolate, cherry and bubblegum flavors along with unique creations like orange tarragon zest, avocado lime, double fudge bacon and espresso chip. 123 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 544-3535.

The Wow Factor

Customized ice cream? Your choice of mix-ins added to ice cream or yogurt are at these ice cream stops.

20. Fudge brownie batter ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. Yes, it’s a chain, but there’s probably one near you. And sometimes you just need a warm churro sundae. Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and Petaluma locations, coldstonecreamery.com.

21. Ice cream nachos at Flavors Unlimited. This favorite stop after a long day on the river adds fruit or candies to ice cream. Or you can go whole hog and try the ice cream nachos with ice cream, broken waffle cones, hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream and cherries. 16450 Main St., Guerneville, 869-2927.

Liquid Nitrogen

22. Espresso almond at NitroKarma. Two former social workers have opened this pop-up ice cream shop at Dave’s Market and Deli, stirring up “happy scoops of delicious and delectably darn good delights.” Pick from various add-ins to create a stellar personal creation in seconds. At Dave’s Market 1-9 p.m. Friday through Sunday, 320 W. Third St., Santa Rosa, 542-8333; or at the Wednesday Night Market in Santa Rosa.

23. Fresh strawberry custard with cheesecake pieces at SubZero Ice Cream. Choose your base (yogurt, custard or nondairy), a flavoring and mix-ins that include bubblegum, mints, gummy bears or chocolates. 6760 McKinley St., Sebastopol, 823-9376.

South of the Border

24. Cinnamon tortilla ice cream at Frozen Art. The Alcazars have been making Michoacana-style ice creams since 2011, originally as La Real Michoacana, and they continue to expand their line-up of 40-plus flavors. It now includes maple bacon, lemon olive oil, zinfandel chocolate chip, champagne and Gansito, a Twinkie-like cake popular in Mexico. The family comes from Tocumbo, Mexico’s ice cream-making capital. 500 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa.

25. Mangonada at Fru-Ta. This mango puree is topped by with chamoy, lemon and salt, making it totally crave-worthy. Their unique ice cream flavors include rose petal,  guava, tequila, guanaba, chongo zamorano and mamey. 2770 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa, 542-6026, and 279 N. McDowell, Petaluma.

26. Pineapple paletas at La Michoacana. You can’t miss this ice cream spot’s bright pink and orange exterior. It’s best known for fruit paletas, or frozen ice pops. 18495 Highway 12, Sonoma, 938-1773.

A Few More We Had to Add

27. Spicy chocolate at Companey’s Ice Cream Cafe. It’s the favorite flavor. 8252 Old Redwood Hwy., Cotati, 242-6359.

28. Sour plum slush at Quickly. A surprise treat from the Taiwanese bubble tea shop. 1880 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa; 1451 Southwest Blvd., Rohnert Park.

29. Sundae becomes Fundae at Sift. The cupcake place takes two scoops of Three Twins ice cream (salted caramel, brownie, cookies and cream, vanilla), raspberry or chocolate sauce, whipped cream, a cherry and a Sift treat like a macaroon, cookie, cruffle, blondie or cupcake. Three Sonoma County locations (Santa Rosa, Cotati and Petaluma).

30. Strawberry ice cream with real strawberries at Oliver’s Market. Students and weary moms know that there are $1 scoops of ice cream at the coffee counter. Not everyone knows, so impress your friends by buying a round or two. 560 Montecito Center, Santa Rosa, 537-7123.

31. Salted Caramel frozen yogurt at Yogurt Time. It will melt in your mouth and leave you craving more, so get an extra cup for the freezer. 531 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa, 539-7876.

Did we miss one of your very favorite spots, or flavors? Add you thoughts below. Because no scoop should get left behind.

The post 31 Flavors: Best Ice Creams of Sonoma County appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.

The accolades for Screamin’ Mimi’s in Sebastopol is no hype. Their “Deep Dark Secret” is out of the freezer and available every day as one of their best-selling mainstays, and locals describe the shop’s original flavors as “yummylicious.”

Screamin’ Mimi’s magnificence hasn’t escaped the nation’s attention, either. The Sebastopol ice cream parlor has been nominated for USA Today’s 10Best Contest in the Ice Cream Parlor category. This contest names the best of the best around the entire country. To spread the word about Screamin’ Mimi’s ice cream cheer and secure them in the 10Best, vote here. Voting ends May 23 at 9 a.m.

Located in the heart of Sebastopol, Screamin’ Mimi’s is a quirky quaint spot that often has a line out the door. It’s been a notable fixture of the town center for 21 years. With signature flavors like Peanut Butter Galaxy and Java Galaxy, their tasty treats are out of this world.

Priced by weight, the scoops are custom served to meet any appetite. Local fresh seasonal ingredients are the highlight at this exceptional ice parlor.

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Though the safe is now a photo booth and tellers replaced by ice cream scoopers, there’s still a grandiosity to the Guerneville Bank Club only fitting of a former financial institution. Rehabbed by locals, the 1928 bank building has become an ice cream and pie shop with retail space, an art gallery and the Russian River Historical Society a la carte.

We’re smitten with Nimble and Finn’s cheeky scoop flavors including Manhattan (whisky, vermouth and cherry chunks), blueberry cheesecake and vegan strawberry, rose and geranium sorbet.

Paired with Chile Pies’ sweet apple and chile pie with a drizzle of chile-infused honey? Solid gold.

Guerneville Bank Club featuring Nimble and Finn and Chile Pies: 16290 Main St., Guerneville.

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