It's hard to beat a frosty cup or cone of ice cream—and there's no shortage of spots around town to sample the very best scoops. Here are four of our favorite creameries around town.
Ice Cream Jubilee
Navy Yard/U Street Corridor
Victoria Lai, a former lawyer, churned her way into greatness at Penn State's famed ice cream course, where she was voted class president. In just a few short years, her small ice cream company has blossomed to include two stores in Logan Circle and at the Navy Yard, not to mention a line of pints sold at Whole Foods and other local shops.
Lai owes much of her success to her unusual flavors: standards include caramel popcorn and honey lemon lavender, and there are also some adults-only boozy flavors, like gin and tonic sorbet and dark & stormy ice cream.
Dolcezza
Multiple Locations
With five locations around the city, Dolcezza's gelato—made fresh every morning, using produce from local farmers—is a D.C. favorite. There are 14 different flavors to choose from; some favorites include champagne mango sorbetto, lemon ricotta cardamom, and peanut butter stracciatella.
Thomas Sweet
Georgetown
Thomas Sweet got its start in Princeton, NJ before expanding outside of the Garden State and opening a storefront in Georgetown. The company's motto is "We live to make you happy," and if the lines that consistently form outside the shop's doors are any indication, the plan is working. Even President Obama has dropped in to try the company's signature scoops, in flavors ranging from coffee Heath bar to bittersweet chocolate to Heavenly Cherry.
Pitango Gelato
Penn Quarter/Capitol Hill
As a child, Pitango owner Noah Dan spent his summers in Trieste, Italy, and the gelato he enjoyed there inspired him to open a shop of his own. A decade later, Pitango has become a smash hit, with five locations spanning D.C., Maryland and Virginia. That's likely due to its big selection of flavors: each shop carries 15 different kinds of both gelato and sorbet, making it a great stop for those who can't consume dairy.
