Best Ice Cream in Tempe

[Lanyboy]

I will be visiting the Tempe/Chandler area this weekend and I know I will be craving ice cream. I want to skip the Baskin Robins and Coldstones types of places. Amy recs for me??? Thanks hounds!

[Booklegger451]

Well, a (reasonably) close supply of Red Hawk will be nice... I'm hoping that they also carry at least the Mt. Tam. I'll try to report back on their selection Monday.

[ziggylu]

I know they definitely carry Red Hawk at LGO. Not sure if I remember seeing other Cowgirl Creamery cheeses there.

[Booklegger451]

I've also enjoyed Arlecchino's, next to La Grand Orange, at 4410 N. 40th St. Just a few flavors, but outstanding gelato.

I'm looking forward to visiting them again on my next trip up to Phoenix (from Tucson), when I visit La Grande Orange to see if they actually do carry Cowgirl Creamery cheeses.

[ziggylu]

If you like chocolate don't miss the Super Dark at Angel Sweet(at Dobson/Chandler as mentioned in the above post). YUM YUM!

[johnseberg]

After a late lunch at Cyclo, a week ago, Saturday, I was denied the Super Dark. It hadn't been made, yet.

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

Lombardo's Gelato, Fiesta Mall, in Mesa on Alma School and Southern, close enough to Tempe that I have got to tell . It's my absolute favorite. Go crazy trying flavors if you want. If the matriarch of the Lombardo clan, BeBe is there, you very well might end up trying three or four flavors without even asking for one. The flavors are heavenly. Get the orange granita if they have it.

Angel Sweet is down in Chandler on Dobson and Chandler Blvd, and is another excellent gelateria. Not the same breadth of flavors as Lombardo's, but has the advantage in consistency since the flavors don't change as much. Neither place offers much in the way of toppings. Angel Sweet might offer sprinkles for the kids. But then, putting anything on either one would be sacrilege.

For traditional ice cream, go up to downtown Scottsdale for the Sugar Bowl. If you've seen the Family Circus cartoon family going to an ice cream parlor, they are going to the Sugar Bowl in Scottsdale. It's an old-fashioned place that specializes in very gooey sundaes, and the only major remodeling that I know of was expanding into the space next door a few years ago to add a private party room and gift shop.