A sweet treat! Here's the scoop on 23 of the coolest ice cream shops in the Rockford area
Doesn't matter if its soft-serve or by the scoop, in a bowl or on a cone, whipped into a shake or a thick malt, ice cream is a year-round favorite dessert.
Any number of syrups and toppings can be added to suit anyone's palate, and it's the perfect complement to cakes, pies, brownies, cookies and many other desserts.
Best of all, there are nearly as many places to buy ice cream in the Rock River Valley as there are flavors.
Here are some places to escape the summer heat for a tasty cold treat:
Benny's Dariette
Offerings: Flurries, shakes, malts, banana splits and sundaes
Address: 1402 Montague St., Rockford
Hours: 1 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday
Phone: 815-961-1500
Candy Cloud
Offerings: Specialty drinks such as Horchata, strawberry lemonade, and iced chai; iced Macchiato and iced latte and other coffees and a variety of layered ice creams
Address: 6286 East State St., Rockford
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Phone: 815-846-0506
Cattle & Cream
Offerings: A variety of Cedar Crest ice cream flavors are served in a cup or on homemade waffle cones
Address: 105 Cherry St., Cherry Valley
Hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Phone: 815-580-8177
Cucina Di Rosa
Offerings: A full-service Italian restaurant that features a pasticceria and gelateria. Specializing in a wide selection of gelato and sorbet that can be served straight-up, affogato-style with a shot of espresso or with Limoncello or Sambuca.
Address: 1629 N. Bell School Road, Rockford
Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday- Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Phone: 815-395-5040
Dairy Depot
Offerings: In addition to cones, flurries, milkshakes, floats, smoothies, and slushies, Dairy Depot offers a weekly special flavor of ice cream treats and specialties like banana splits, and a variety of sundaes and even ice cream nachos.
Address: 5413 N. Second St, Loves Park
Hours: 1 - 9:30 p.m. daily
Phone: 815-742-1924
Dairyhaus
Offerings: A generous selection of homemade ice cream flavors are available by the scoop in a cup, on a cone, or by the quart.
Address: 113 E. Main St., Rockton
Hours: Noon to 10 p.m. daily
Phone: 815-624-6100
Dari Fair
Offerings: In addition to selling ice cream cones that have been dipped, "twinkled" and "sprinkled," Dari Fair also sells hotdogs, hamburgers, nachos, Italian beef and chicken strips.
Address: 2813 Kilburn Ave., Rockford
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-9 p.m. Sunday
Phone: 815-968-3999
Dari Ripple
Offerings: Curious about mango takis cone or any other ice cream flavor, the good folks at Dari Ripple will let you sample it before you buy it. The Dari Ripple is a downtown fixture located next to the Kishwaukee River and enjoyed by generations of residents.
Address: 105 S. State St., Belvidere
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Sunday
Phone: 815-544-0005
Gelato Joe's
Offerings: Gelato Joe's, located behind Lino's, bills itself as Rockford's handmade Gelateria selling several varieties of the Italian ice cream such as pistachio, mocha crunch, banana candy, and velvet caramel vanilla, tiramisu and mint stracciatella.
Address: 5615 E. State St., Rockford
Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Phone: 815-397-2077
La Michoacana
Offerings: A variety of homemade ice creams, fruits and fruit drinks
Address: 3840 Broadway, Rockford
Hours: Noon to 9 p.m. daily
Phone: 815-708-6804
La Michoacana Flor De Mexico
Offerings: A variety of homemade ice creams, fruits and fruit drinks
Address: 354 W. Chrysler Dr., Belvidere
Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Phone: 815-323-5185
La Michoacana Homemade Ice Cream
Offerings: Large variety of ice cream flavors, milk shakes, mixed fruit drinks, and snacks
Address: 609 Kishwaukee St., Rockford
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Monday; 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday
Phone: 779-774-9553
La Michoacana Mexican Creamery
Offerings: Coffee crumble milk shakes, bubble gum popsicles or maybe a sundae made to your liking. There are endless varieties of ice cream flavors, fruit drinks and fruit snacks.
Address: 1714 E Riverside Blvd, Loves Park
Hours: Noon to 9 p.m. daily
Phone: 815-977-5182
Lesslys Ice Cream Shop
Offerings: Waffle cones, ice cream bars, banana splits, sundaes, fruit-flavored popsicles. Lesslys even has sugar free and vegan ice cream flavors.
Address: 1710 Rural St., Rockford
Hours: 2 to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday; 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday
Phone: 779-774-3165
M & M Dari Ripple
Offerings: Ice cream cones, specialty sundaes, shakes, slushies, flurries, hotdogs and brats.
Address: 470 Blackhawk Blvd., South Beloit
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Sunday
Phone: 815-389-1620
Quixotic Bakery
Offerings: Cedar Crest ice cream, ice cream sandwiches and ice cream cake bars (layers of cake and ice cream on a stick).
Address: 116 N. Madison St., Rockford
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
Phone: 815-209-9730
Sips and Sprinkles
Offerings: The restaurant is a marriage of soft serve and hand scooped ice creams and hot and cold coffees and teas. Other menu items include a variety of sandwiches, hotdogs, brats and Italian sausage.
Address: 221 W. Locust St., Belvidere
Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
Phone: 815-547-1546
Sweets N' Eats
Offerings: Traditional ice cream flavors and a plethora of not-so-traditional ice cream creations such as a Iced Latte-Da (Wisconsin-made caffeinated espresso ice cream with fudge swirls and chocolate chunks) or a Fat Elvis (sweet banana ice cream all shook up with a salty peanut butter ripple and rich chocolate chips) as well as a variety of candies and authentic Mexican dishes.
Address: 7096 Walton St., Rockford
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Phone: 815-397-9338
The Mix
Offerings: Ice cream, smoothies, shakes, shaved ice, sodas, expresso, bubble tea and donuts
Address: 151 Hawick St., Rockton
Hours: Noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
Phone: 815-957-1080
The Scoop
Offerings: Variety of ice creams, shakes, floats and granita.
Address: 101 S Benton St., Winnebago
Hours: 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday
Phone: 888-557-2667
The 3rd Street Station
Offerings: Cedar Street ice cream flavors, sundaes, shakes, malts, and splits
Address: 102 E. Third St., Pecatonica
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Phone: 815-239-4073
Union Dairy
Offerings: Single to tripled-dipped cones, ice cream soda, root beer floats, shakes, malts and sundaes.
Address: 126 E. Douglas St., Freeport
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Phone: 815-232-7099
Zammuto's
Offerings: Zammuto's is synonymous with granitas and is the home of the "unusual," a combination of granita and ice cream. Other offerings include ice cream cons, ice cream cups, flurries and shakes.
Address: 725 Kent St., Rockford
Hours: Noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 12:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday
Phone: 815-962-9180
Did we miss any? Please let us know how we can make our list as comprehensive as possible. If there is a business or location we overlooked, please email news@rrstar.com and let us know.
Chris Green: cgreen@rrstar.com
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford area ice cream shops bringing relief to summer heat
