Main Freezes
The Area’s Hottest Frozen Desserts
Here’s the Scoop (1187 Coast Village Rd., Montecito; [805] 969-7020; scoopsb.com)
If you hanker for gelato, it doesn’t get any better than this unless you’ve got a plane ticket to Italy. Bob and Ellie Patterson, Independent Foodie Award winners in 2012, have a way with local fruit and develop amazing flavors like Maple Syrup with Bacon. That’s right, gelato plus bacon.
Rori’s Artisanal Creamery (1024-D Coast Village Rd., Montecito; [805] 770-2266; rorisartisanalcreamery.com)
Since December, Rori Trovato has been serving up her organic, delightfully rich desserts from a shop in the Montecito Vons plaza, making it even easier to indulge in flavors like New York Strawberry Cheesecake (complete with graham-cracker crust, of course) and the divinely inspired Malted Milk Ball. Available at some area stores, too.
Spoon (1222 State St.; [805] 962-1838)
Yeah, the go-go boots on the scoopers are a bit sexist retro. But close your eyes and just taste the gelato, and all is forgiven. Spoon won a Downtown Organization Chocolate Dessert Taste-Off a couple of years back, so you might as well go for a classic like Gianduia, which is chocolate and hazelnut.
Sugar & Salt Creamery (a cute little blue truck; sugarandsaltcreamery.com)
Not only is this outfit mobile-only, but it also caters to those for whom dairy is a no-no: Its product is hand-crafted, raw, sprouted-almond-milk sorbet. Check out a flavor like Thai Tea or Organic Mango, and see if you can tell the difference.
