New Haven, CTIce Cream

Wentworth's has scooped homemade ice cream in Hamden near Sleeping Giant State Park and Quinnipiac University for decades, with benches and a gazebo built for eating a cone outside. CTbites' 2024 guide calls out its Salty Buttered Cashew, pairing it with a Peanut Butter Oreo. It is a classic summer stand where the drive out toward the Giant is part of the outing. Get the Salty Buttered Cashew, and grab a bench if the line is short.

La Fenice makes gelato downtown with imported Italian ingredients, and CTbites points to a case of Gianduia, Stracciatella, and Nutella among the flavors. This is proper gelato, denser and less cold than American ice cream, churned in the Italian style rather than scooped soft. Order a small cup of the Gianduia and Stracciatella together for a read on the house, and take the Nutella for anyone who wants it rich. It anchors the Ninth Square end of Chapel Street.

Elena's is an East Rock soft-serve shop at the corner of Orange and Canner, open since 2022, and CTbites gave it a dedicated feature for its test-kitchen approach: a new soft-serve flavor debuts every Wednesday, from cookie butter to mango chai to hibiscus and ube. The signature order is the house soft serve dipped in chocolate and finished with sea-salt flakes. There is a dairy-free oat-based chocolate too, plus warm cookie sundaes in winter.

Ashley's has churned its own ice cream since 1979, and the York Street shop near Yale is the 1979 original of the small Connecticut group. CTbites' guide flags the Bourbon Brown Sugar among its churned flavors, made without artificial colors or flavors, alongside frozen yogurt, cakes, and shakes. It is a long-running student-and-local standby steps from campus. Order the Bourbon Brown Sugar in a cone and you have the house at its best.

Milkcraft freezes its ice cream to order with liquid nitrogen, which CTbites notes makes for smaller ice crystals and a smooth texture, plus a bit of a show at the counter. The guide calls out unusual flavors like Strawberry Balsamic and Vietnamese Coffee, served in a Hong Kong-style bubble waffle cone. Order a scoop of the Vietnamese Coffee in the bubble cone for the full effect. It sits among the downtown blocks near the Green.