Summer is almost here. The winter is long gone. There won’t be snow again until next December, maybe November. It’s going to get hot, real hot. What better way is there to beat the heat than ice cream? None. Ice Cream is king of the cool down treats and always will be. Whether we are talking Dippin’ Dots or your classic vanilla in a sugar cone, ice cream always hits the spot. The Mass Media has taken the task of exploring the areas in which we reside in order to find the best ice cream eateries in the Boston area and beyond. We will venture across the river into Cambridge. We will venture across the canal to Cape Cod. We have taken one for the team here and tasted the ice cream. Now, we will let you in on the secret. Ice Cream is pretty darn good.

JP Licks659 Centre StreetJamaica Plain, MA

When we are talking ice cream in Boston, we have to mention JP Licks. The original store is located on Centre St. in Jamaica Plain with 6 others in the Boston area. More than just an ice cream parlor, JP Licks offers cakes and some pretty damn good coffee drinks too. But, it is the ice cream that makes visitors come back time and again. Even in the dead of winter there are people inside any JP Licks location, slurping away at a Cappuccino Crunch in a waffle cone or maybe just vanilla in a cup. Whatever you choose, something familiar like chocolate or strawberry, or something a little more on the wild side like Fresh Banana Peanut Butter Ripple or Hibiscus Lemon Sorbet, you are sure to fall in love with JP Licks. My favorite, mainly because of the little kid in me, is Cake Batter. Sure, everywhere has their Cake Batter ice creams now, but none compare to JP Licks. Smooth, creamy, and, oh, so good. JP Licks is at the top of the heap when it comes to ice cream in Boston.

Review by Michael Hogan

Herrell’s15 Dunster StreetCambridge, MA

If you happen to join the throngs of tourists scouring Harvard Square this summer, make sure to cool off at Harvard Hot Spot Herrell’s Ice Cream. Herrell’s boasts one of the most impressive selections of Ice Cream I’ve ever seen. All flavors are made at the store and change periodically. So potentially every time you walk into the store, you can have a whole new ice cream experience. Their flavor selection can become nearly infinite if one takes advantage of their smoosh-ins. You choose the toppings and your scoopers mix them right into the flavors. If you want that Twinkie ice cream with butterfingers in it, well, you can order right up. Wish the pumpkin ice cream (my personal favorite) had gummy bears and toffee? They can do that too! The gooey texture of the ice cream is different than most any other brand you’ve had. It may not be as full of flavor as Toscanini’s or Ben and Jerry’s, but that just means you can eat more of it before you feel sick! If you’re looking for friendly service, short lines, and a sparkling clean environment, Herrell’s is not the place for you. Ice Cream servers are generally poorly trained, not particularly friendly (even rude), and totally unknowledgeable about their own products. Service can be slow and the store is generally dirtier than your average college student’s apartment. Highly recommended!

Review by Taylor Fife

Ice Cream Sandwhich66 Route 6ASandwich, MA

Ice cream and Cape Cod just go together. The Cape is full of great places to go for a cold treat on a hot summer day, but there’s no place quite like Ice Cream Sandwich located on Rte 6A in Sandwich. Entering its 26th year of business, the shop is set back from the street atop a small hill in a beautiful wood building surrounded by trees. The large covered front porch provides charm that is uniquely Cape Cod, while the giant wood carved bear out front adds volumes of character. The shop boasts a variety of homemade flavors with names such as Boardwalk Mud and Cake Batter, but the signature flavor has to be Coffee Heath Bar Yogurt, a flavor that is unlike anything else you can find on the Cape. The three flavors assimilate into an experience you’ll be craving all winter. Best of all its non-fat!

Review by Chad Cid-Hogan

Toscanini’s

99 Main StreetQuincy, MA

One of the famed ice cream parlors in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Toscanini’s offers a uniquely classy environment to enjoy fine ice cream. Offering distinctive flavors as well as the classics, Toscanini’s provides customers with options such as Coco Crisp, Vienna Finger Cookie and Malted Chocolate Chip. Also among the list is Burnt Caramel, comparable to Ben and Jerry’s new Creme Brule, and the infamous Cake Batter, now widespread throughout the Coldstone Creameries. Personally a fan of Toscanini’s Cake Batter, but unfortunately, I found the Burnt Carmel to have espresso undertones, which I was not expecting nor did I enjoy. However, Toscanini’s does have numerous, rare flavors that are delicious. Tasting the Burnt Caramel and Malted Chocolate Chip on my one trip to the ice cream shop, I’ve quickly become an admirer of the latter and plan to return and indulge in their other irresistible flavors.

Review by Raleigh Keagan

Carvel10 Oak StreetBrockton, MA

Standing between the borders of Brockton and Stoughton, stands Carvel. Here, the store is built for fast service. Ice cream store chain Carvel is known for their ice cream cakes and their signature flavor Ice Cream Cake, a mixture of chocolate and vanilla with chocolate cookies and cake. With ready-made ice cream cakes on display and options between soft-serve or regular, Carvel is second to no one. The ice cream is delicious and not numbing to the palette. The flavor is just right and even with regular ice cream, it isn’t hard; it just glides down. It is highly recommended.

Review by Reggie Themistocle

Dairy Freeze635 Adams StreetQuincy, MA

With the coming of summer, so too come the hordes of people looking for good outdoor ice cream stands. South of Boston, in the historic city of Quincy, that very stand exists. The Dairy Freeze, or “The Sleaze” as it is known in the colloquial, offers good, traditional soft-serve ice creams that bring most Quincy-ites out from slumbering winter hibernation. But don’t fear the moderately long lines of growling stomachs at “The Sleaze,” workers at the window move people in and out at a substantially good rate.

“The Sleaze’s” specialty usually deals with soft-serve twist cones, and on any given day you will find a plethora of overheated people indulging on these twisty treats. The most popular are Chocolate-Vanilla, Orange-Vanilla, and Raspberry-Coffee twists. Chocolate-vanilla is good for those pragmatic ice-cream connoisseurs who remain unwilling to decide on a flavor. But the most indulging flavors are the Raspberry-Coffee, and Orange-Vanilla twists; both offering an initial smattering of fruity-citrus delight that overwhelms your taste buds, only to be gradually smoothed back to normalcy by subtleties of vanilla or coffee. The Orange-Vanilla remains the staple of “The Sleaze” primarily because it offers two flavors on a more even keel, whereas the Raspberry-Coffee smacks you with deluges of raspberry that become restrained by a smooth coolness of South American cocoa beans.

Also, for those insatiable moments of nostalgia for Dairy Queen, “The Sleaze” offers several options for soft-serve dips, but take heed; this option is intended for the truly daring who don’t mind a little melted goodness on the hands. Napkins are a must for these treats.

Review by Tim Dixon