With 48 inventive flavors to choose from, you'll never tire of Rick's ice cream. Since 1956, this Palo Alto gourmet microcreamery has been serving the community delicious scoops of flavors like Black Raspberry Crunch, Rose—made with rose syrup from India—Sweet Coconut, and many more. They also craft incredibly creative ice cream cakes perfect for any special occasion. 3946 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, ricksicecream.com
This list would not be complete without at least one rolled ice cream spot on the roster. The team at Icicles has created a menu full of flavors from Bravocado, an avocado-inspired flavor, to Butterface, a cookie butter and graham cracker mix, to Cereal Killer—self-explanatory. The rest of the witty flavor names are enough reason to check this place out. Multiple locations, iciclescreamroll.com
Small-batch ice cream made with local and organic ingredients are the stars of the menu at Tin Pot Creamery, which scoops from a handful of locations across the valley. Expect thoughtfully crafted ice cream treats with flavors like Blue Jasmine Tea, Cookie Monster, Malted Milkshake and more. Multiple locations, tinpotcreamery.com
The scoops at Scoop are hands-down a must-try. This mom-and-pop shop carefully creates flavorful ice cream in flavors like Black Sesame, gluten-free Hella Nutella, Bourbon Vanilla with Salted Caramel Swirl, and so much more. Be sure to check out their rotating menu of special flavors as well. 203 University Ave., Palo Alto, scoopmicrocreamery.com
