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Business & Tech

Great Escape: Celebrate National Ice Cream Month at Local Parlors

Solon and the surrounding area has tons of great ice cream spots to indulge your craving for summer's favorite treat

Here’s the scoop: July is National Ice Cream Month! 

Great news for me as one of my first rules of summer vacation is to indulge at least once daily, twice as needed and even more in emergency situations. Fortunately, there are shops conveniently interspersed around our main pathways so that you don’t even need to go far out of the way for a quick, midday escape to ice cream nirvana.

From reliable Rocky Road to soft-serve to sorbet and gelato, here are some local favorites for an ice cream shop hop:

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in Solon and Beachwood has been voted Cleveland’s best many times over.  Brothers Pete and Mike are passionate about their creations and everything is homemade including the special recipe hot fudge and waffle cones.  Don’t expect to get chocolate chips in anything you order here; it’s all chocolate chunks.

The latest craze is “fro-yo” — frozen yogurt, back in the day — and although it’s not really legit, it is still a deliciously, cool treat.  Menchies, at Eton Place in Woodmere, has flavors so eye-poppingly authentic, you’ll think you’ve actually taken a bite out of a real Carrot Cake or Apple Pie, only not warm out of the oven.  It’s self-serve, so you can try a dollop of every flavor or swirl a pair, and make it even better with your choice of fresh fruit, nut or candy morsel toppings. 

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For traditionalists, there is the old-fashioned taste of frozen custard diner style at in Solon, Lyndhurst and Mentor on the east side of town.  Servers shovel it out of a chute as it descends slowly in a thick, creamy ribbon out of the mixer.   You will be reminded of the “good old days” as you enjoy the variety of yummy new flavors.

And for those that are into nouveau, there is the ice cream “boutique” named Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream in Chagrin Falls.  Jeni’s uses milk and cream from cows that eat only grass to create a base — completely organic ingredients — then adds some unusual “seasonings” like cayenne pepper, sea salt and lavender to create their one-of-a-kind flavors.  It may sound unorthodox, but the end result is unique and tasty. 

When the only questions you have to think about are a cup or a cone and one scoop or two, it’s a great escape.

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