The Secret Scoop

Psst. Want to hear a secret?

Of course you do! Especially when that secret is about ice cream.

Sure you have all your favourite spots to get your scoop on, but we’ve found some newcomers that are sure to make it big this summer. Let us give you the secret scoop!

Cold Stone Creamery
A household name south of the border, Cold Stone Creamery has come to Canada courtesy of none other than Tim Horton’s. In six secret locations around the GTA, Tim Horton’s and Cold Stone have created co-branded stores in Mississauga, Hamilton, Oakville, Pickering and Toronto. We found the two Toronto locations at Bloor and Bay and on the Danforth at Logan.

If you aren’t familiar with Cold Stone, it may just be the perfect ice cream place for kids because they create customized flavours for our pickiest eaters on the spot. Using a wide range of base ice cream flavours like Cake Batter, Sweet Cream and even Chocolate Jell-O Pudding (which doesn’t get runny!), they use a cold stone mixing surface to blend in your child’s favourite ingredients. Some of our faves include Graham Cracker Pie Crust, Rainbow Sprinkles and Caramel Squares. Cold Stone guesses that over 11 million combinations are possible.

Good to know: Cold Stone has also brought its newest creations to Canada with them—Cold Stone Cupcakes! The cupcakes are made in a Belgian chocolate cup and include a layer of cake topped with ice cream and whipped topping. So cute!

Hidden Away
Xococava (pronounced cho-co-cava) is hidden in Delisle Court at Yonge & St. Clair, next to its popular parent restaurant, Cava. Billed as a candy store for adults (xoco is Catalan for cocoa), it features a wide selection of pastries and artistically flavoured truffles, and great coffee too. However, here you can also find artisan-crafted ice cream made with all organic dairy and super yummy ingredients. Indulge in a scoop of Honey Canela (that’s honey and cinnamon for you non-Latinas). Or dig your way through a cup of Madagascar Chocolate sorbet which is jammed full of chocolate, but still is both dairy and egg free! Both go wonderfully with churros (the deep-fried, sugar-dusted pastries that your kids will gobble up). You may need to hunt for Xococava, but it’s worth finding!

Summer Treat
If you like the smell of chocolate, you might want to move into Delight. These all-organic, fair-trade beautifully French chocolatiers make wonderful confections, but the secret is that in the summer they also make some of the yummiest ice cream in the city. Their chocolate ice cream (served in a homemade waffle cone with a chocolate on top!) is so rich and smooth you will definitely want to order your own. We took a few too many licks of our child’s serving before we learned that lesson. Delight is also bringing in organic Ontario strawberries fresh from the field to make what is an amazing strawberry ice cream (so you may want to order a scoop of that too). The source of all this goodness is in the High Park area but they do sell their ice cream at other locations around the city as well.

So, psst, pass it on!

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