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food

Living the cream: 7 Austin places to quell your ice cream cravings this summer

(Gati/Instagram)

In Texas, ice cream is a must every time summer rolls around. With an abundance of cows and locally-grown produce, it is no wonder Texans love their ice cream so much.

Austin has some excellent small-batch creameries, so here are seven to get you started.

For the classic Austin scoop: Amy’s Ice Creams

If you haven't had Amy's yet, you haven't experienced everything Austin has to offer. With a dozen locations and over 350 rotating flavors, Amy's is the handcrafted, acrobatic ice cream of Austin. Amy's has been serving Austinites since 1984 and Amy's employees have been tossing and catching scoops for entertainment for almost as long. Mexican Vanilla is Amy's world-famous flavor but you can also branch out with flavors like Butter Beer, Chocolate Triple Berry Tres Leches and Mango Habanero.

For a sophisticated scoop: Lick Honest Ice Creams

The owners of Lick Honest Ice Creams believe that ice shouldn't just taste good, it should be good. All Lick claims to use the highest quality, locally sourced ingredients, meaning no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or preservatives. As a result of using local ingredients, Lick has a large selection of unique, in-season, rotating flavors. Goat Cheese, Thyme & Honey, and Roasted Beets & Fresh Mint are staples in store but you can only get Honeyed Peaches with Rosemary or Lemon Lavender while the season lasts!

For an all-new flavor: DipDipDip ice cream 

Soy sauce, crispy fried parsnips, shiitake mushrooms and black pepper are probably not ingredients you would normally put in your ice cream, but DipDipDip ice cream is fixing that. Brought to Austin by the minds behind Ramen Tatsu-Ya and known for its hyper-unique, umami-filled flavors like "Shroom of Doom," a chocolate-caramel-shiitake hybrid, and Miso PB&J, with plum jelly and miso brioche croutons, this ice cream is unlike anything you have ever had.

For an inclusive cone: Thai Fresh

Creating a cream that nearly everyone can comfortably eat, all of Thai Fresh's coconut milk-based flavors are vegan and served with traditional sweet sticky rice. The nearly two dozen handcrafted flavors are usually made with fewer than four ingredients and range from well-loved, like Texas peach and coconut lime, to more adventurous fare, like Golden Milk Turmeric, Black Sticky Rice Horchata and Texas Corn. If that still isn't different enough for your liking, Thai Fresh's spin-off ice cream joint, Gati, houses even more flavors like Coconut Ash, Thai Tea and Japanese Red Bean.

For an elevated ice cream sandwich: Baked Bear

The cookies in your ice cream sandwich are no longer just a vessel for ice cream, they are the main attraction if you visit Baked Bear. This choose-it-yourself establishment has you choose from one of a dozen original cookie flavors to sandwich around one of 13 ice cream flavors from the classic Mint Chip to the daring Blackberry Crumble or Toasted S'Mores. Once you've got the basics picked out, roll it in sprinkles, nutella, fruity pebbles and more "toppings." You'll never look at an ice cream sandwich the same way again.

For a simple soft serve cone: Connor’s Creamery

Bring on the soft serve nostalgia with Connor's Creamery truck, which offers a classic soft cone with a twist: eight different swirl flavors. Starting with a traditional vanilla base, you can swirl in bubble gum, butter pecan, chocolate, banana, strawberry, pineapple, blue raspberry or tropical orange before you cover it in toppings to your heart's delight. The truck is always on the move but you'll have better luck catching it using its calendar tool before it hits the road again.

For ice cream’s Italian cousin: Gelateria Gemelli

After traveling to Italy to learn how to make traditional gelato, ice cream's lighter relative, from the pros, Gelateria Gemelli owner Andrew Sabola offers traditional flavors, fresh variations and bougie cocktails. Fresh Strawberry Buttermilk, Earl Grey and Lemon Curd are just a few of the creamy flavors Gemelli offers but you can also get a classic Negroni or Sgroppino to drink when you stop by.

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