Words do not describe the brilliance that is Mitchell’s Ice Cream. San Francisco is not a warm place, and even when it’s 30 degrees in July and you are bundled up in a fleece, people are still lined out the door at Michell’s for their phenomenal frozen confections. My personal favorite? The cinnamony, spicey taste of their Mexican Chocolate. This place is so famous and popular it even has a parking lot. In San Francisco—a parking lot! It’s available in supermarkets and at other ice-creameries (“we serve mitchell’s ice cream” is a sign that’s popped up in cafe windows everywhere) but nothing is quite like having Mitchel’s at the parlor in Noe Valley. Delish.

I love Italian gelato, but what I love more about Italian gelato is Italian-Asian gelato, like at Marco Polo. Marco Polo literally serves a million different flavors (the guava is my favorite) that really brings me back to that summer in college I spent in Rome, getting fat. The greatest thing about Marco Polo is the Asian wall decor (Marco Polo did travel all the way to China!!) and the amazing Asian inspired gelatos, from lychee to durian (yes, durian) to coconut to sesame to green tea. Mmmm. My favorite.

This is amazingly cheap ice cream that is GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. They sell sour yogurt ice cream that tastes amazing, and for just $4 you can get a big ass scoop of it DOMED with fruit, like blackberries, watermelon, strawberries, honeydew, mangoes, papayas, the entire works. I don’t know how they can serve so much fresh fruit on top of that ice cream for so little money but I’m not complaining. You have to check this place out. They make some pretty killer things like kiwi sundaes too. Yum!

This gelateria is more traditionally Italian than Marco Polo, and I absolutely love it for having flavors like limoncello. If only it was spiked with real limoncello. This is creamy creamy gelato—try the dark chocolate. Amazing. I hate North Beach but would come here just for some GC Italian.

OH MY GOD THIS PLACE IS AMAZING. First of all, it is in a for real Indian supermarket, and when you walk in, all you can smell are samosas (yes, they sell samosas in the ice cream parlor) and the overwhelming tumeric and coriander of the spice section. They play Indian music so loud you feel your ears are going to pop out, but it’s the only place I’ve ever seen rose petal ice cream, and this shit is so amazing I can eat it everyday for the rest of my life. Their rose petal ice cream (sorry I keep raving about this but you HAVE to try it) has for real, legit rose petals in it. WTF?! More more more!

This place is hella old school and I love it that way. I’m not so into Russian Hill, but I’m into good ice cream so I will come here anyway for the lemon custard. And I don’t even like lemon custard – I just like it at Swensens! There is always a line (dommage) but it’s well worth it to wait just to get your lips around a delicious scoop of mocha chip on a warm summer night. Trust.

This ice creamery is a gem in the Sunset. If you can’t make it all the way out to Bi-Rite, Holy Gelato is an awesome alternative. They have some of the creamiest gelato I’ve ever tasted. Everyone raves about the s’mores for good cause – it’s delicious, so keep an eye out for when they have it. It’s also a wonderfully cute little place that serves great coffee and also sells adorable little gifts like mugs, tea, and handmade cards.

This is an ice creamery in the Financial District. I mean, genius! What overworked business type couldn’t use a nice sweet raspberry sorbet or chocolate chip mint scoop to get over the midweek, workday blues? I can’t tell you how a pick-me-up ice cream is on a day when your boss has yelled at you just one too many times and you’re stressed out because you’re going to be late on a deadline and you’re worried because quarterly employee reviews are coming up. The best medicine for that kind of stress? Sweet, cold ice cream.