Mr. MoCo’s 15 Favorite Ice Cream Spots in MoCo

In honor of National Ice Cream Day (Sunday, July 16th), I wanted to share my current 15 favorite ice cream spots in MoCo. I say current because this list often changes with places moving in and out of my rotation. While I love just about every ice cream place there is, I’m choosing the 15 that appeal to me the most right now. I’m also including places that offer “frozen treats” because I consider it all in the ice cream family. If there’s a place not listed, it’s just not currently in my top 15, which is likely to look different than yours (I’m only one person and can only eat so much ice cream, so there are also likely places I haven’t been to yet 😊). The list you’ll see below is accurate as of July 16th, 2023:

15. Sprinkles (Potomac): A Potomac Village staple since the late 80s, I first tried Sprinkles at some point in the 90s. It’s a bit out of the way in terms of things I’ve done in general so I haven’t been lately, but I enjoy it when I go.

14. Class 520 (Rockville): I remember how fascinated I was by Thai ice cream the first time I saw it online. I was very happy to see it come to MoCo, but then I got over it. Recently, I had their “monkey business” flavor for the first time in a few years and really enjoyed it.

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13. The Family Room (Laytonsville): The Family Room offers ice cream from South Mountain Creamery and there’s a pumpkin flavor that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since I first tried it.

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12. Mr. Softee (mobile truck): Mr. Softee was like the special ice cream truck that would only come around once a week or so and I had to be outside playing to catch it. I had it again recently at Rockville’s hometown holidays and it was just as good as I remembered.

11. IC Dream (mobile truck): I’ve had the pleasure of coming across IC Dream twice in the last year, the most recent time trying a little of everything on the menu, which I enjoyed. They even have a cone made out of cookie.

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10. The Scoop (Potomac): I’ve been three times since it opened and that’s saying plenty because it has only been open since August 2022 and I don’t really live that close to it. I recently tried a banana pudding type flavor and it was great.

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9. Moorenko’s (Silver Spring): Moorenko’s was the first place I ever had the interesting flavors like “lavender vanilla bean” or something like that. When I am in the area in Silver Spring, I always make sure to stop by.

8. York Castle (Rockville): I don’t like coconut ice cream in general, but I love the coconut ice cream at York Castle (along with just about every other flavor I’ve tried). They even had a Guinness flavor that I had a sample of. Pretty interesting. I also love the pineapple ice cream.

7. Pitango (Bethesda): This is always such an interesting experience for me. I choose one of the very unique gelato flavors and always think it’s just ok for the first couple bites, but then something about it becomes addicting and I love it. Weird, I know.

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6. The Charmery (Chevy Chase):  I tried the recently opened, Baltimore-based ice cream spot The Charmery and was thoroughly impressed. Creative flavors, great taste, and even an Old Bay Caramel flavor that is subtle enough on the Old Bay to be amazing in a dessert.

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5. Jimmie Cone (Damascus): I recently discovered you can order an extra little cup of sprinkles that you can dip your soft serve into after you’ve gone through the ones that come on your cone. I manage to make it up to Damascus at least once per season for Jimmie Cone.

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4. Bear’s Shaved Ice (Rio– Gaitherburg): Bear’s has been a Rio staple for years, but it wasn’t until last week that I became reacquainted with it. They offer a version of their shaved ice with ice cream beneath it that I was told is a whole meal in itself…gonna try that one out next. Don’t forget the condensed milk on top.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuryPqKArUp/?igshid=YzcxN2Q2NzY0OA==

3. Jeni’s (Bethesda): Jeni’s, a national chain, has some of the most flavorful ice cream I’ve ever tried. They have a coffee with cream and sugar flavor that tasted exactly like coffee with cream and sugar, in ice cream form. They offer flights in case you and some friends want to try a bunch of different flavors.

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2. Carmen’s Italian Ice (Clarksburg, Olney, Rockville): Recently I received a notice on Uber Eats letting me know that I am now considered a “regular” at Carmen’s and that I have ordered a whopping 17 times. That means something. My go-to order is a gelati, which offers a cup of Italian ice in between frozen custard.

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1. Sarah’s Handmade (Bethesda): The creative flavors that are obviously sweet (it is ice cream), but not overly sweet, are great in a cup, cone, or in a milkshake. They drop new seasonal menus and I get excited and make plans to go, which tells me a lot since I don’t live near either of the Bethesda locations.

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