Ice Cream, Baby!

Melting away on a sunny day? Well, there’s only one relief: ice in the sunshine! The usual three scoops in a cone, yummy popsicles, or spectacular molecular gastronomy: when it’s over 30 celsius in the shade a day without ice cream is a wasted day! With more than 500 ice cream parlours in the capital it can be quite tricky to find the right one – and it is not like you don’t owe your taste buds anything lesser than the best ice cream in town! The first week of summers have been promising, so I decided to sacrifice myself and munch my way through town in order to find the most delicious one for you. Here are our top 5 best ice cream parlours in Berlin:

Sugary and sweet: vanille & marille

(Copyright: © vanille & marille)

Close your eyes and think about all those collected summer holiday memories from your childhood: Doesn’t it feel like you’re floating on a fluffy cloud through them rosily nostalgic dreams of swimming in the lake, licking some delicous ice cream, and spilling half of it onto your shorts? The founders of Eismanufaktur vanille & marille have found a way to turn these memories into delicious ice cream, made from 100% natural ingredients. Traditional flavours have been perfectionised using vanilla from Mexico, finest rich Belgian chocolate, or pistachio from Sicily, while brand-new creation like cinnamon-lemon or dried apricot on caramelized pine nuts with white pepper (no kidding, this is delicious) may just drive you out of your mind. The choice is varied yet manageable (yes, you should try them all), and vegans will love the minty vegan chocolate just as much as everyone does with the fruity sorbets (caipirinha with real lime). There’s a flavour of the month that often comes with a local touch, as for instance when it’s based on honey from real Berlin-based big city bees. What started basically as a summer flirt in a Kreuzberg backyard has since become a story of success, told by no less than six branches by now. The closest one to Industriepalast Hostel is the one on Reichenberger Straße in Kreuzberg. Insider’s tip: subscribe to their newsletter here and get a free scoop every month.

||  vanille & marille. Reichenberger Str. 118 in Berlin Kreuzberg. 12 pm – 11 pm.  ||

All about the waffles: Fräulein Frost

Reuterkiez borough in Neukölln is about as trendy as Berlin gets – and that’s Brooklyn-lumberjack-Tokyo-harajuku trendy. Every borough gets the ice cream parlour it deserves (as they say) and Fräulein Frost is the one for this kiez. And no surprise: It’s a revelation! On a sunny day the comfy little tables are packed with local residents, hipsters, families, and foodies, while people line up until the far corner of the street. The overall vibe is that of hungry anticipation and fulfilled desires. When it comes to the flavors, experimental is the new traditional here, and whatever customers love, stays. Who would have thought that mint-lemon-cucumber or wasabi-chocolate have the makings to be a classic? Many a flavor hides behind a mysterious-sounding name. The vendors are always relaxed and happy to share the respective story with you – or let you try the flavours before making your decision. The freshly made waffles with a hint of icing sugars are a bloody revelation (pardon my French) and are best served with a gourmet take on the classic: non-yellow vanilla ice with real bourbon vanilla minus eggs or artificial coloring. Ok, for real now: what are you waiting for?

||  Fräulein Frost. Manfred-von-Richthofen-Str. 30 in Berlin Neukölln. 2 pm – 6.30 pm.  ||

Popsicle Paradise: California Pops

Picture: Datei: #148571323 | Urheber: Jenifoto – fotolia

Ice pops, paletas, lollies – the good old popsicle has somehow managed to become the trendiest thing since perfectly good tumblers were replaced with mason jars. And you know what: yes, please! Yummy! One of the best places in town for shiny fresh ice pops is California Pops on Kreuzberg’s Falckensteinstraße. Founders Tom Schulte and Jörg Ellmer brought inspiratio and techniques from California and Latin America, now they offer organic pops in some 20 flavours. Vegan sorbets and heavenly chai-latte-flavoured milk pops lie side by side and look so breathtakingly gorgeous that you just want to hold and watch them for a half hour before devouring them – if only the sun wasn’t that merciless. Still, take two at least and go for a leisurely walk between Oberbaum Bridge and Görlitzer Park.

||  California Pops. Falckensteinstr. 4 in Berlin Kreuzberg. 12 pm – 6 pm.  ||

Vegan Dreams: Kontor Eismanufaktur

(Copyright: © Kontor Eismanufaktur)

Being vegan and craving ice cream is not always a pleasant combination. More often than not you have some two watery flavours to choose from, and still you’re supposed to be thankful they offer anything for you at all. Not so at Kontor Eismanufaktur in Prenzlauer Berg: How many flavours are vegan? Simple – all of them! And delicious, too. Or, to be more precise: They are so delicious, you don’t even have to be vegan in order to enjoy them. Even vegan donuts find their place on the menu, and suddenly vegans, too, find themselves in a tricky situation we all know way too well: “So what do I choose…?”. To be fair: there are worse problems in the world. And if you still can’t decide – well, you just might have to come back then. It’s always worth it, that much is for certain.

||  Kontor Eismanufaktur. Danziger Str. 65 in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg. 1 pm – 7 pm.  ||

Cold, colder: Woop Woop

What do you actually need in order to produce the most delicious ice cream? Easy: fresh fruit, quality ingredients – and –196 celsius cold liquid nitrogen. At least that is what Philipp Niegisch and Boris König found, the masterminds behind Woop Woop. The ice is not manufactured the traditional way here, rather it is produced freshly right before your ice, scoop by scoop, by adding the ingredients to a blender and flash freezing them with the nitrogen. You can’t go any fresher than that. And even though that all does sound a bit like grown-up foodies playing with a chemistry set: fruit, chocolate, nuts, and herbs are natural, and the nitrogen is nothing you wouldn’t breath all day anyway. In any case, this is not only delicious ice cream, it’s also quite an experience. And to be found – so far at least – only in Berlin. Woop Woop own an ice cream truck as well as a store. Check it out!

||  Woop Woop. Rosenthaler Str. 3 in Berlin Mitte. 12 pm – 8/10 pm.  ||

Copyright Headerpicture: Datei: #155400670 | Urheber: anaumenko – fotolia