Weird Ice Cream in Puerto Rico
Weird ice cream is still ice cream, and no one, and I mean no one loves ice cream as much as I do. In fact, one of the first questions I asked Pedro about Puerto Rico was “where do you get the best ice cream?” His answer was Heladeria Lares.
Heladeria Lares is considered by many to be the very best ice cream shop is Puerto Rico.
45 minutes out of our way and in the middle of a tiny mountain town? That’s do-able
Lares is not a big town, nor is it on the way to anything or even particularly accessible. However, multiple people told me that they have the best ice cream in Puerto Rico. I was also told that they make a lot of their own unique flavors, such as rice and beans and garlic. So obviously, I was not about to let mere obstacles such as distance and inconvenience stop me from getting to this ice cream shop.
Do you want a down payment for that ice cream?
When I arrived, I immediately started snapping photos of the weird ice cream flavors and delicious looking creations. I had every intention of trying several of them before making my final purchase. However, the sassy teenage employee did not seem to like this too much. She let out a long, exasperated sigh after I requested my third sample. The shop was getting busy, so I had to just take photos of the rest and leave them un-tasted. I later considered that perhaps I should have offered her a downpayment to assure her that I would eventually pay for some ice cream. Alas, this idea came too late.
Fun ice cream flavors
From left to right/top to bottom: Sweet rice, Corn, Cinnamon Coquito, Carrot, Guama (sweet pea-pod like thing?), and Sweet Potato.
All the interesting ice cream flavors!
From left to right/top to bottom: Cazuela (sweet potato, pumpkin, and coconut pie), Requezón, Rice and beans, Coffee, Pumpkin, and Ginger.
These flavors were for real
You remember that scene in Willy Wonka? “The schnozberries taste like schnozberries!” Well my experience in Heladeria Lares was a lot like that. The rice and beans truly tasted like rice and beans in ice cream form. The corn flavor tasted like a sweet corn muffin. The pumpkin was much more pumpkin-y than any other pumpkin-flavored ice cream I had ever had, so much that I did not wish to order it. Too much of a good thing! In the end, I actually went with pretty basic flavors: pistachio and vanilla with caramel and chocolate. While the unique flavors were fun and interesting to try, I really wanted to enjoy a large serving of ice cream without getting bored with the insanely bold taste.
Ice cream!
The Verdict?
Totally worth the drive. Of course, that’s easier for me to say, since I wasn’t the one driving and I’m the one obsessed with ice cream. I would not say that this is the best ice cream I have ever had, but after eating Argentina’s ice cream, I’ve become incredibly hard to impress. If you are anywhere near Heladería Lares, I definitely recommend the experience.
SAD UPDATE: The owner of Heladería Lares passed away and the family closed the shop. A few people have tried to open similar shops because the town of Lares depended so heavily on this shop for tourism. I have yet to try to new shops, but I have heard that it’s good, but not quite the same. So I would say, if you are in the area, stop by for a few hours, but don’t make a special trip to Lares just for the ice cream.
