When the summer heat hits, nothing tastes better than a frozen treat (except maybe a beer). Everyone already knows about the deliciousness served up by Dairy Del, Dairy Kastle, The Comfy Cow and Steel City Pops. So LEO decided to dig a little deeper for spots you may not have heard of and that have confections and flavors you may have never tasted. So here is LEO’s list. If you know of others, please tell us at [email protected].
502 Water Ice – Premium Italian Ice
6405 Greenwood Road
Store times TBA
502 Water Ice specializes in flavored Italian ice, and offers 10 flavors including watermelon, strawberry-kiwi, mango, strawberry-lemonade, sour apple and cotton candy. But before you go, check the stores Facebook page to see if it has officially opened. So far, the shop has hosted only a soft opening, but owners plan to open the doors to the public soon. According to the store’s Facebook page, prices range from $2 to $7, and customers can mix up to three flavors in their cups of Italian ice.
Cocoberry
323 W. Woodlawn Ave.
Open Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, noon-10 p.m.
Cocoberry’s goal is simple: to “make delicious and healthy pops like they were meant to be. From real ingredients and local, organic fruits,” according to its website. You’ll find this shop in the Beechmont neighborhood, right across the street from another celebrated eatery, Annie’s Cafe. Our suggestion? Grab a pop from Cocoberry and take a stroll through Iroquois Park. Then grab lunch or dinner at Annie’s Cafe, and another pop for dessert. Trust us, you’ll want to have more than one. For a longer review of Cocoberry’s frozen treats, see LEO food critic Robin Garr’s take here.
Erhler’s Ice Cream
201 E. Main St.
Open Sunday–Thursday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Chances are that if you’ve lived in Louisville for a lick, you’ve tasted the deliciousness of Ehrler’s hand-dipped ice cream at the Kentucky Exposition Center. The Louisville ice cream maker used to operate multiple locations around the city, but had downsized to an events-based business, until now. Ehrler’s recently opened a storefront downtown, and it’s worth stopping in for a big waffle cone of its ice cream.
Panchitos Ice Cream & Taqueria
2245 Bardstown Road
Open Monday–Sunday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Panchitos defies labels by being both a taqueria and an ice cream shop. Two things you wouldn’t think work together, until you eat there, and then you wonder why no one ever did it before. The taqueria offers freshly-made tacos, quesadillas and other Mexican antojitos. And the ice cream shop offers ice cream and popsicles that are made fresh daily. If the Bardstown Road location is out of your way, Panchitos also has an ice cream only shop at 8112 Preston Highway. Read more about Panchitos tacos in Michael C. Powell’s “Tacoquest 2018.”
SnoWhat
3801 Poplar Level Road
Open Wednesday–Friday, 3-8 p.m.; Saturday noon-8 p.m.; Sunday noon-6 p.m.; Closed Monday–Tuesday
SnoWhat served its first snoball in a tent at The Flea Off Market. Now, it’s a storefront and a food truck. The store serves what the owners call “authentic New Orleans-style snoballs made with soft, fluffy snow and all-natural ingredients.” The flavoring is made with vegan, gluten-free and allergy-free ingredients. You can get classic flavors or even a few exotic flavors such as “Tiger’s Blood.”