7 Days of Ice Cream in San Francisco

I ate ice cream in San Francisco every single day during my one-week trip.

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I rarely go more than a few days without eating ice cream, so I surely am not going to miss out on my favorite food during a trip. I always try to hunt out a local favorite, like that one time I went 1.5 hours into the mountains for ice cream in Puerto Rico. However, while discussing my trip plans with my local friend, Sara, she informed me that there were several truly amazing ice cream shops. She frequented some, while others she had been meaning to try.

I love being anyone’s excuse to eat ice cream

It was kind of perfect, as Sara and I happened to live in Buenos Aires at the same time, so we had been each other’s excuse to eat amazing Argentine ice cream several times in the past.

And so, faced with so many potentially tasty options, we were forced to make an “ice cream a day” pact. It was a very tough but necessary decision.

So, without further adieu, here’s a look at the shops:

On the first day of ice cream week San Francisco gave to me…

Grasshopper and coffee heath!

When we got to Mitchell’s, the line was insane. However, Sara’s boyfriend, Chris, discovered that someone had given up on the wait and discarded their numbers on top of the ticket thing. We briefly weighed out the moral repercussions of butting in line for ice cream, but hey, we were told to take a number, and that is what we did. If I had felt any guilt, it was immediately erased when I shoved this melty mess of awesomeness into my face. The ice cream was so creamy and the scoops were wonderfully oversized. I could see why Mitchell’s is considered one of the best ice cream shops in all of San Francisco.

On the second day of ice cream week San Francisco gave to me…

Secret Breakfast Bourbon and Cornflakes and Tahitian Vanilla!

Humphry Slocombe is known for its strange, experimental flavors with witty names. I honestly had no intention of ordering an ice cream made of Bourbon and Cornflakes, but once I sampled it, I actually loved it and wanted more. I balanced out the crazy with some classic Tahitian Vanilla. I have to say that while the flavors were powerful and unique, I think the quality of the ice cream was only so-so. Had I gone to this place for anything other than shock-value flavors, their ice cream would not have made a strong impression on me.

On the third day of ice cream week San Francisco gave to me…

Michoacana ice cream

Strawberry and Butter Pecan!

La Michoacana is a little ways outside the city of San Francisco. Sara and I had gone to Healdsburg to sample some wines and this place was more or less on the way back. It’s a Mexican shop that is best known for its fruit popsicles (paletas) but Sara and I did not make a popsicle-a-day pact, we wanted ice cream. I went for some classic flavors this time around. Personally, I love strawberry ice cream, but I find that most places make it taste more like strawberry syrup than the actual fruit. I trusted that this shop that was so famous for its fruit creations would not make such a rookie mistake, and they did not disappoint me. While the butter pecan was nothing to write home about, the strawberry actually tasted like a strawberry mixed with cream, as strawberry ice cream should.

On the fourth day of ice cream week San Francisco gave to me…

Ici ice cream and fresh whipped cream

Brown sugar salted pecan and hazelnut!

Ici changes its flavors every day, so its best to check their Twitter before heading out if you are looking for something in particular. They are well known for their tasty tea flavors, but I was not in the mood for that. The brown sugar salted pecan had an excellent balance of sweet and salty. The only thing wrong with my trip to Ici was that they had run out of cones, which they make on site. I settled for some freshly made whip cream on top of my cup of ice cream. Rough life I live, right?

On the fifth day of ice cream week San Francisco gave to me…

Peanut Butter and Jelly ice cream!

Peanut Butter Jelly and Butterscotch!

The Ice Cream Bar is set up like an old fashioned ice cream bar, complete with the bar stools and freshly made ice cream. I was pumped about the butterscotch, as it sounded both appropriately old-timey and delicious. However, when I saw there was a Peanut Butter and Jelly flavor, I simply could not resist. The creamy vanilla-based flavor contained swirls of jelly and chunks of bread with peanut butter slathered on top. It sounds kind of weird, but it was actually really, really good.

On the sixth day of ice cream week San Francisco gave to me…

Bi Rite ice cream

Salted carmel and coffee!

While I only actually drink coffee occasionally, I am obsessed with coffee ice cream. Bi Rite‘s coffee ice cream was absolutely devine. It paired very well with their creamy salted carmel. It was like eating one of those coffee shop drinks that are only roughly based on coffee, you know, like a frappucino that is really just a milkshake. Instead of pretending like I was just getting a coffee and really getting dessert for breakfast, I just went straight for the ice cream, with no regrets!

On the seventh day of ice cream week San Francisco gave to me…

A second trip to Mitchell’s!

I know this is kind of cheating, but that’s what happened. Actually, what happened was sometime during the week I had a milkshake from a diner. It was just an average milkshake though, so I didn’t feel the need to include it. Let’s just focus on the fact that I had ice cream every single day and also that I returned to Mitchell’s because it was so freaking good.

Mitchell’s won me over in the end, but The Ice Cream Bar was a very, very close second.

Did I miss any of your favorite places? Seriously, please tell me, because I will most certainly be returning to San Francisco and I have no qualms about doing another ice-cream-a-day challenge.