Rhode Island's Best Ice Cream

Rhode Island's Best Ice Cream

Okay, we admit that our hearts will always belong to Newport Creamery. We are dyed-in-the-wool Rhode Islanders, after all, and the Creamery is part of our collective childhood. But every now and then, we stray, especially in summer, when evenings are best ended with an ice cream run. Here is where we go for the top licks in the state.

Brickley’s, Narragansett and Wakefield

Brickley’s simply has to be one of the best ice cream shops in the state. Why else would anyone wait in the long lines that form in the afternoon? For sunburned beachgoers, this family-owned Mecca to all things creamy, sweet and delicious is a must-stop before the ride back home. Homemade daily in South County, this is old-fashioned ice cream at its best. We happily line up for the great selection of variations on chocolate—chocolate, chocolate chip, chocolate walnut, chocolate coconut almond, chocolate chocolate chunk. In homemade waffle cones, of course! Brickley's, 921 Boston Neck Rd, Narragansett, 789-1784; 322 Main St, Wakefield, 782-8864.

The Inside Scoop, North Kingstown and Cranston

Got a big crowd with a lot of finicky flavor hounds in the mix? Take them to the Inside Scoop. With nearly four dozen flavors made fresh daily, sherbet, sorbet, yogurt, a dozen toppings, homemade cones, sundae combinations,

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sugar-free flavors, smoothies…well, if everyone can’t be pleased here, there’s just no pleasing them. Our favorites are the Birthday Cake (gobs of frosting and chunks of real cake!), orange pineapple (sweet and refreshing), coffee Oreo (a nice take on the original of either flavor) and rum raisin (a blast from the 70s past). We suspect all these choices exist not only to keep customers happy, but the satisfy the members of the growing Bucci family, who have run the business since 2001. Thank you, Buccis! The Inside Scoop, 30 Ten Rod Rd, North Kingstown, 294-0091; 1105 Scituate Ave, Cranston, 944-0707.

Donick’s Ice Cream Spa, Newport

Four words: candied bacon ice cream. Go ahead, we dare you. This fun little sandwich and ice cream shop on hip Broadway is far enough from the thick tourist crowds so you can relax, kick back, enjoy the kitschy 80’s décor and challenge your taste buds. Donick’s offers traditional flavors, for sure, and they come from the venerable Bliss Brothers Dairy Attleboro. But the savory artisan flavors are made fresh in small batches, and they will challenge what you thought ice cream should be. The combinations aren’t random—they demonstrate the balance between flavors that should exist in any noteworthy dish. In addition to candied bacon, there’s watermelon peppercorn, Guinness, and coconut banana, and we expect more fun and fanciful flavors as the summer goes on. 26 Broadway, 619-3679.

Three Sisters, Providence

This isn’t the first time an ice cream spot inhabited this funky little location at the across from Lippitt Park on Hope Street. But we think it’s the first time it’s been this good. Homemade, small-batches made with milk from Rhode Island cows makes us feel good about the local/artisan angle. But mostly, we just like the flavors. You have some standard

ones, of course, but it’s the unusual ones where Three Sisters shines. Garden Dirty Mint combines fresh mint with chocolate; Khulfi is a savory combination of pistachio, cinnamon and cardamom; Kentucky Bourbon has little pieces of brownie. The small batches means there’s occasional inconsistency in terms of quality, but we’d rather that than bore our palate with yet another dulce de leche. Three Sisters, 1074 Hope St, 273-7230.

Gray’s, Tiverton

For the better part of 90 years, Gray’s has been a Rhode Island summertime rite of passage. Lines form early and run long at the original Tiverton Four Corners location, a weathered-shingled cottage with an old-school takeout window. The flavors are numerous, and cover old fashioned flavors (peppermint, black raspberry), the seasonal (pumpkin, eggnog) and modern (Oreo cookie, banana chip). But we’re purists, so it’s coffee for us, and this is probably their most popular flavor. Heavily creamy and heavy on the coffee flavor, we get ours in the homemade waffle cone, and meander over to the adjacent field where cows roam lazily and occasionally indulge in a lick from a youngster’s cone. Gray’s is as much an experience as a treat. Gray's Ice Cream, 16 East Rd, 624-4500.

Daily Scoop, Barrington and Bristol

We first had this shop’s ice cream when we saw it sitting in the freezer at a local supermarket. The flavor was maple walnut, and dare we say it was the best maple walnut we’ve ever had. Since then, Rhode Islanders that we are, we make the trek to the East Bay for that and other yummy flavors, all made with top-shelf, all-natural ingredients (so don’t be shocked that the orange sherbet isn’t orange). And as much as we love the ice cream here, we also love the story of this very local company. Owners Bob and Deb Saunders, both from Barrington, were always obsessed with ice cream. So they seriously educated themselves about every aspect of the business (like, seriously, with ice cream manufacturing courses at Penn State and the University of Maryland), opened their shop, and they’ve been a hit ever since. Daily Scoop, 230 County Rd, Barrington, 245-0100; 446 Thames St, Bristol, 254-2223. .