As D.C. continues to swelter in the heat, Cone E. Island is a main stop for GW students to cool down. But there are other District destinations to find an even sweeter scoop.
Max’s Best Ice Cream
2416 Wisconsin Ave., NW
This shop has the comforting aroma of a small-town creamery, with its ice cream flavors like Mexican vanilla and maple walnut etched on a chalkboard. Owner Max Keshani, who has run the shop since 1992, mans the counter and cleans the mixers in the back, waiting until he feels it’s closing time.
Keshani’s heart is still with his ice cream. A small ($3.80) is a few reasonable scoops. Café Vienna, coffee-flavored with cinnamon, has a balanced taste with no dominating flavor. Best of all, it passes the spoon test: The spoon submerges just deep enough into the ice cream, showing that the
consistency has reached an ideal creaminess.
Other sweets: The shop also offers cakes and a classic quarter gumball machine, but come for the ice cream.
Rating: 4.5/5
Larry’s Ice Cream Shop
DuPont Circle 1633 Connecticut Ave., NW
In this subterranean old-school shop with its classic white tables and neon lights, DuPont-priced ice cream (2 scoops, $6) tastes less like cream and more like ice.
Larry’s strength lies instead in his variety of flavors. The flavor called Decadence boasts chocolate ganache with a syrup that runs through it as a pleasant surprise, but the flavor enjoyment is short-lived. After a DuPont dinner, Larry’s is a good place to pick up a dessert, but be prepared for disappointment if you choose its ice cream.
Other sweets: For a shop whose name promotes its ice cream, Larry’s actual hidden treasure is their cupcakes.
2/5
Moorenko’s Ice Cream Cafe
8030B Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD
The hipster joint with its teal-painted walls lauds “ultra premium, hormone-free ice cream” with flavors like the in-demand salted caramel with praline, and others like honey lavender (“It’s the taste of the smell of lavender”). A small ($3.65) of the milk chocolate tastes rich like Olvatine in a very creamy ice cream form. Enjoy the creamy treat indoors with young local residents, like those who are serving behind the counter, or in its alleyway-turned-outdoor seating section.
Other sweets: a slice of cake but try a pre-packed pint with flavors like red hot chocolate for $5.99.
4/5
Thomas Sweet
Georgetown 3214 P St NW
With its Princeton, N.J. flagship shop, the Georgetown one carries the same right to quality ice cream. “The best” signs hang around the store along with candids of Obama, displaying a sense of entitlement. A Blend-In — ice cream blended with a topping — of Swiss chocolate malt with Heath Bar is so creamy that it alarmingly feels like yogurt. The taste is rich and the servings are sizeable, but the consistency lacks.
Other sweets: There’s fudge shop, and it makes specialty cakes.
3.5/5
