The Polar Vortex is over (knock on wood) and the sun is finally coming out, which can only mean one thing, ice cream time! There is nothing better than a cold ice cream cone to cool you off on a hot day, so I decided to search downtown Iowa City for the best. I decided to include frozen yogurt and frozen custard in my search because they are equally as good for eating on a hot day.
How I judged: I judged each treat on flavors, texture and price. Since I do not have a car and delivery app fees are expensive, I decided to only go to places that are walking distance from campus.
Aspen Leaf Frozen Yogurt
I decided to be adventurous and tried one of the swirled yogurt cups. I got cookie n’ cream and cake batter for the cookies n’ milk flavor. I also added cookie dough because you can never have too much cookie. Luckily, I happened to go on Two Punch Tuesday, so I got two punches on my new punch card. Eight more and I get a free 16 oz for free. The promotion is nice, but the froyo was a little on the expensive side even though I didn’t get that much. It also lacked the creaminess that I desired.
Price: $5
Score: 3.5/5
Molly’s Cupcakes
If you have ever walked into Molly’s Cupcakes and wondered what those five random signs are that hang off the menu, they are ice cream flavors. I tried the cookies n’ cream and was impressed. I got the single scoop, although they give you two scoops so that’s a bit inaccurate. The cookie was soft and chocolatey and the ice cream was full of flavor. I did wish that they had more than five options for flavors and more information on their menu to make ordering easier. I had no clue how much each of the sizes was and had to blindly pick one.
Price: $3
Score: 4/5
Yotopia
I decided to stick with my swirl theme and got cake batter and sea salt caramel. For my toppings, I chose Molly’s Cupcake crumbs. I got the four dollar cup so that the weight of my froyo didn’t affect the price. I was happy with the quantity I was able to get for the price and the froyo had a creamier flavor than Aspen. I also like that Yotopia has so many flavors, topping options and it’s easy to get samples, which I definitely took advantage of.
Price: $4
Score: 4.5/5
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
I ordered a double vanilla cone from Freddy’s and I got a lot more than I expected. I only had the option of chocolate or vanilla for the cone, which was disappointing, but the lack of choice was made up by the quality of the flavors. The custard was creamy and smooth, and the cheapest out of all the places I went to. Unfortunately, it melts fast, so make sure to grab a napkin if you plan on walking around in the sun.
Price: $2.59
Score: 4.7/5
These are only some of the places I found around the Downtown area. I’m sure that there are plenty of other places that serve delicious frozen treats around Iowa City. As someone with an enormous sweet tooth, I hope to try them all at least once.