Where to get your top treats in a lick
You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream.
It’s everyone’s favourite way to beat the heat, and I’ve scooped out the South Okanagan’s top treats in a cone or a cup. There’s never been a better time to get your licks in.
Gelato, the Italian version of ice cream, is denser than its counterpart and utilizes less sugar and cream, resulting in a treat that is silky smooth and intensely flavoured. Such is the case at Roberto’s Gelato on Park Place in Osoyoos.
Celebrating his 13th year as a “gelatician,” owner Robert Klei scoops out 24 flavours from the classic to the exotic, handmade on site. Lemon, mango and Belgian chocolate mousse are the house favourites, but the adventurous will be rewarded with rose petal, blood orange, dulce de leche, or kulfi, redolent of pistachio and cardamom.
The dairy-free and vegan sorbettos are also of note, particularly his signature blackberry merlot — a one-two punch of berry intensity — and the chocolate-chili, a match made in heaven. Served traditionally in a cup starting with three scoops, waffle cones are also available.
A 28-year ice cream scooping landmark Tickleberry’s is a must stop when passing through Okanagan Falls. With the toasted sugary aroma of freshly made waffle cones in the air, peruse the extensive list of 64 flavours, an invitation to mix and match for the introductory three-scoop cone or the adventurer’s seven-scoop tower of power.
The creamery sources ice cream from all over B.C., but get your brain freeze on with the Hoy family’s impressive housemade flavours. They include smooth maple bacon with real chunks of bacon, 50 Shades of Earl Grey and a vegan lemon ginger. Seasonal flavours put the accent on local with summer peach and sparkling sangria ice cream, and pumpkin spice in the fall.
With recent training at the Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna, Italy — yes, there really is such a school — Chris Heisler rolled out his cart and scoop this past summer in Naramata as Chabendo Gelato. Seven flavours are the stock in trade for this newcomer with chocolate, coffee and pistachio vying for top honours along with densely-flavoured fruit varieties, including local orchard fruits and berries.
Bonus points for using compostable cups and spoons. Find him at Wednesday’s Naramata Farmers Market or in front of Shades of Linen clothing store. And for the summer, Heisler’s custom-made gelato sammies can be found at nearby Mocojo and Joie Farm wineries.
Ube, a yam known for its vivid violet-coloured flesh, is a treat in the Philippines. With a natural sweetness, it’s used as a flashy base for cakes, cookies and, yes, ice cream. Luckily for us, we can find the ice cream at Penticton’s Filipino Edsa Market on Martin. The Atienza family has brought in three varieties: deep purple regular, with keso (cheese), or with young coconut — my current favourite. Best eaten right out of the carton.
Penticton’s icon, The Peach, is soft-serve headquarters for the most “wow” ice cream creations in the South Okanagan. Hang on to your sunhat and dig in to one of owners Diana and Dustin Stirling’s Crazy Cones, a colourful carnival of teetering multiingredient concoctions.
For example, the Unicorn sees cotton candy swirled ice cream showered with cotton candy sprinkles, strawberry sauce and finished with a skirt of cotton candy, or the adult favourite of PB & C with velvety chocolate-dipped vanilla ice cream, rolled in chocolate peanut crumbles and topped with peanut butter and drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce.
Throw caution to the wind with the Crazy Shakes amped up with toppings such as layer cake, brownies, pretzels, cereal or Rice Krispie squares, accented with syrups and surrounded by a moat of whipped cream. Each an architectural wonder and a double-dog-dare-you experience for a youthful metabolism. Stay cool!
With fork and pen in hand, and a passion for culinary adventure, Shelora Sheldan, writer, cook and traveller, goes in search of the delectable.