A Bite of San Diego: ice cream

Even as weather starts to cool, it’s always ice cream season in sunny San Diego

Ashley Ingraham / A&C Contributor / The USD Vista

 A Bite of San Diego took a look at our reader-suggested ice cream shops to put together a comprehensive list for all Toreros looking to try something new. These locations are great for late-night cravings with friends, date night spots, or indulging and treating yourself a little. Better than that, ice cream tends to be an affordable dessert for college students with a sweet tooth who are balling on a budget. So if ice cream is a favorite dessert of yours, read on to find out some of the best spots to try out. 

The Baked Bear
4516 Mission Blvd. 
San Diego, CA 92109 

First up on the list is Baked Bear, which is a franchise that has been consistently growing in popularity. The company now has shops scattered across the country, but their first location was actually in San Diego on Mission Boulevard. The owners of this ice cream spot wanted to bring inventive sweets to their hometown of San Diego, and they definitely succeeded in doing this. 

This shop has ice cream sandwiches that are out of this world, made with cookies baked from scratch. They pride themselves on the quality of their product and will only serve cookies fresh from the oven. To order at Baked Bear, you first pick your top and bottom cookie options. You can mix and match any cookie or brownie of your choosing, which is no easy task with over a dozen options to chose from. Whether you’re a fan of chocolate chip, red velvet, or snickerdoodle; there’s plenty to pick from. Step two is choosing your ice cream flavor, arguably the most important part. All of Baked Bear’s options are original recipes, so your experience with their ice cream here will surely be unique. Their Bear Batter, a bright blue cake batter ice cream, is always a great choice. They also have Vegan Chocolate Chip for anyone out there who is on a vegan diet. Next up, you choose your toppings. From sprinkles to oreo crumbs, they have seemingly endless options to choose from for each ice cream fanatic. And lastly, you decide whether or not to have your sandwich warmed up, which is highly recommended.

The items here typically range from $2 to $6, making this place an even more perfect pick. Not only that, but this location also shares a parking lot with Urban Outfitters, so finding parking won’t be a stress.

Salt & Straw
1670 India St. 
San Diego, CA 92101 

What sets Salt & Straw apart from its ice cream competitors is their abundant and ever-changing menu that features unique seasonal flavors. This month’s “October Spooktacular Series” includes The Great Candycopia, Creepy Crawly Critters, Mummy’s Pumpkin Spiced Potion, Dracula’s Blood Pudding, and Black Cat Licorice and Lavender. 

This ice cream shop is a little pricier than others on the list with cups and cones costing around $6 for one scoop, but their unique options make the extra few dollars worth it. Customers love their original flavors that you can’t find anywhere else. They have classic flavors loved by many like Freckled Mint TCHO-colate Chip and Salted, Malted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. They also have options that you can’t get at other shops such as Honey Lavender, Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache, and James Coffee and Bourbon to name a few. 

Parking can be scarce since Salt and Straw is located in Little Italy, but customers definitely won’t regret taking some extra time to find parking for this excellent quality ice cream. 

Hammond’s
3077 University Ave. 
San Diego, CA 92104

Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream is the perfect place to pick for all your ice cream needs with their menu holding 32 flavors of Hawaiian ice cream and sorbet. Their ice cream is “super premium,” meaning it’s handmade with 18 percent butterfat, adding a rich and creamy texture you can taste. With a menu as wide-ranging as Hammonds, every customer can find a perfect flavor that they’ll surely love. Items like Ginger Cream, Chocolate Coconut Macadamia Nut, and Peanut Butter Guava Jelly to name a few are fun flavors that you definitely need to try. If you can’t decide on one flavor, order their “mini flights” so you can try different flavors in a small serving.

Hammond’s tends to be on the pricier side compared to some of our other ice cream locations, with a small scoop being $4, and their street parking can be challenging to find at times, but their high-quality product makes it all worth it. 

Mr. Frostie
1470 Garnet Ave. 
San Diego, California 92109 

This popular location for ice cream in Pacific Beach specializes in soft serve, reduced-fat ice cream. Customers love Mr. Frostie’s “All-American” theme, as they serve up snack bar food and classic ice cream items. The lines that can last almost to the end of the block just prove that this place is worth the wait; no one walks away from Mr. Frostie’s unhappy. Their servings of ice cream are massive, which makes the relatively cheap pricing even better. Whether you’re looking for a banana boat ice cream or a hot fudge cake, this shop has it all. The local favorite is known for their shakes, which are the perfect consistency and chock full of all the mix-ins a person could desire. Fans of Mr. Frostie’s say the search for parking in Pacific Beach is never a regret with the great time spent at this joint. Better yet, their options only range from $4 to $6.

Gelato Paradiso
789 W Harbor Drive 
Ste. 117, San Diego, CA 92101

Readers love this location, evident in the fact that many sent it in as a suggestion to our media poll. At this restaurant, gelato is the name, and authenticity is the game. They’re passionate and genuine in their approach to serving authentic Italian gelato to customers, and fans of this restaurant rave about the amount of gelato you get for such a great price. 

Their options for flavors are bold with artisanal cocoas, extracts, and fresh fruits folded into each batch. If you’re a fan of the fall season and flavors, their flavor for the month of October is pumpkin. One of our highly recommended favorites is their banana flavor. The sweetness is perfectly blended out, and it’s made from freshly-ripe-Guatemalan bananas. Parking can sometimes be a little tricky to find since it’s located in Seaport Village, but the exceptional quality makes it a must for all ice cream lovers.