SerpApi.Org
It’s hotter than usual in Kansas City, and even a little rain won’t change that. So there’s only one thing to do: Eat ice cream.
We Kansas Citians may not be so lucky when it comes to the weather, especially during the summer, but what we can celebrate is that there are a good deal of ice cream parlors and shops around town that serve as a little treat and a cool escape from burning hot temps.
Sure, there are household name chains like Cold Stone Creamery and Baskin-Robbins, and even some regional brands that have a following in the KC market, like Springfield’s Andy’s Frozen Custard and Clementine’s Ice Cream from St. Louis. But especially in recent years, local spots have either opened or expanded across the metro, with flavors that range from classic to extravagant and from rich to bright.
Where to begin when there are so many options for frozen dairy in a cone? Given my newbie status, I went first to my colleagues at The Kansas City Star. You’ll notice their recommendations are heavily local - or from their college days - and my colleagues stick to small-batch shops when it comes to their frozen desserts.
I went to each shop and ordered a vanilla and a specialty flavor each time; sometimes the latter was a recommendation from a colleague. The specialty flavor was scooped into a waffle cone, while the vanilla came in a cup. I also made room for a few samples, as one should at an ice cream shop, usually between two and five depending on what looked interesting enough to try and to get a sense of the offerings at each store.
Here’s what six colleagues shared - and my thoughts about each place, including my favorite bite of ice cream.
Fairway Creamery
This parlor opened in 2019, has expanded to two locations and changed hands in a matter of a few years, but one thing hasn’t changed: its status as one of the best ice cream shops in town.
They seem to have fun with flavors here, too, with ones like an avocado graza olive oil and a Persian rose pistachio. Fairway also scooped my favorite of the World Cup-inspired flavors that seem to be at every shop this summer, specifically the Argentina toasted coconut and caramelized pecans. I’m not sure what makes that Argentine, but I do know that ice cream is best with a creamy vanilla base, with crunchy texture and a nutty flavor mixed in.
Recommended by: Noelle Alviz-Gransee, food, arts and business reporter
Where: 5938 Mission Road, Fairway; 809 W. 17th St.
Hours: The Fairway location is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The KC location is open from 1 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Both locations are closed on Monday.
The Flying Cow Gelato
Should a gelato shop go in a guide about ice cream? Sure, there are differences in how each frozen dessert is made. But if you did a blindfold taste test, I don’t think you could tell the difference, so we’re moving forward with this tiny gelato shop making the cut.
The move here is to get a scoop of anything with chocolate in it, since said chocolate comes from neighboring store Annedore’s Fine Chocolates. For example, a peanut butter cup scoop of gelato comes not only a generous drizzle of chocolate, but big chunks of Annedore’s peanut butter cups that make this gelato a cut above any other peanut butter-type ice creams out there.
Recommended by: Jenna Thompson, restaurant and retail reporter
Where: 1903 W. 50th St., Westwood Hills; 7321 W. 80th St., Overland Park; 11210 Johnson Drive, Shawnee
Hours: The Westwood Hills location is open from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The Overland Park location is open noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Sunday and closed Monday. The Shawnee location is open noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and closed Monday.
French Custard
At each ice cream shop I went to, I always tried vanilla for two reasons. Like a cheese slice at a pizzeria, vanilla is a litmus test. If the shop isn’t showing love to its most basic flavor, then is all the razzle-dazzle in the “fun” flavors just a distraction from actual quality? Vanilla is also the base ice cream for lots of fun flavors, so it should be good.
French Custard in Brookside offered me the best vanilla, as it was creamy, smooth and had subtle floral and caramel notes. Not as critical, but still important: The vanilla was pretty, with its visible specks, and their ice cream production videos prove my point.
Recommended by: Chandler Boese, audience service editor
Where: 5905 Main St.
Hours: Noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
High Hopes
A quick look online will show that this Troost Avenue walk-up shop has many local fans - I even overheard customers in line call it the “best” ice cream in all of KC. I can now confirm that these High Hopes loyalists may be onto something.
Often a menu made up of eccentric flavors achieves highly in looks but falls short of flavor, but this was not the case at High Hopes, though my tart-yet-creamy key lime pie ice cream probably comes off rather pedestrian compared to flavors like mango chamoy or mother earth matcha tiramisu.
It’s also worth noting that I was outside of High Hopes when the temperature was around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the sun was beating down on me, and yet my ice cream stayed intact in a well-structured waffle cone.
Recommended by: Eleanor Nash, breaking news reporter
Where: 5536 Troost Ave.
Hours: 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday and closed Monday.
Palacana
While most of these shops are new-school, Palacana has been serving its Michoacan-style ice cream to Kansas Citians since 2004. In those 20-plus years, their reach has expanded to five stores in the KC area, one in Wichita and paleta cases in various businesses around town.
Nothing sounded better on a hot summer day than one of their beloved popsicles, but I had to remain consistent with my orders, so I went to the ice cream case that featured dozens of sorbets, classics and fun spins on ice cream that utilize Mexican flavors, like horchata or even tequila. But the standout was the Mexican Twinkie, an ice cream packed with chunks of the snack cake, chocolate chips and strawberry drizzle.
Recommended by: Joseph Hernandez, service journalism reporter
Where: 830 Southwest Blvd.; 8159 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas; 151 S. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas; 1325 E. Santa Fe St., Olathe; 3622 S. Noland Road, Independence
Hours: The Kansas City location is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The 18th Street KCK location is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The State Avenue KCK location is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The Independence location is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The Olathe location is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Sylas & Maddy’s Homemade Ice Cream
This nearly 30-year-old ice cream shop is most special in the hearts of KU alums, of which there are many in metro Kansas City. While the Lawrence location is an institution - and has the kind of classic ice cream parlor because of the charming downtown storefront - the Olathe spot gets the job done for those of us in KC.
This shop offers a whopping 43 flavors in store, the most of any ice cream shop on here, with some very KC names like Royals Rampage and Kansas Twister. After three full reads of the expansive menu, I landed on ordering the Ladybug Crunch, a strawberry ice cream with actual strawberries in it that gave it a fresh taste, and Oreo crumble for an additional crunch. Given the size of the menu, it’s the perfect shop for a family or big group, and the staff is generous with the samples.
Recommended by: Caroline Zimmerman, breaking news reporter
Where: 11925 S. Strang Line Road, Olathe; 1101 Massachusetts St., Lawrence
Hours: Both locations are open from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
