7 Los Angeles Ice Cream Experiences Like No Other

LOS ANGELES, CA — While true aficionados know that ice cream season is year-round, the official start of summer comes with an invitation to chill out with a scoop (or two) as temperatures rise.

But sometimes a scoop is not just a scoop — Los Angeles County is home to a delicious array of unique ice cream shops whose exotic flavors, preparation methods and presentation set them apart from the competition.

In honor of National Ice Cream Day on Sunday, here's a list of Los Angeles ice cream experiences like no other.

Mashti Malone's
Hollywood, Westwood and Silver Lake

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Decades before national chains were serving up floral flavors, Mashti Malone's won over Angelenos with rosewater, saffron and lavender ice creams inspired by the tastes of founder Mashti Sirvani's childhood in Iran.

Enjoy a scoop by itself, or bite into the Mashti Special, which is served between two wafers and rolled in toppings like crushed pistachios. And be sure to try the rosewater sorbet: The dairy-free floral concoction is further elevated by crunchy rice noodles mixed in.

Magpies Softserve
Silver Lake, Highland Park, Tarzana

In a sea of hard-scoop creameries, Magpies stands out with soft serve cones served up with the kind of artisanal twist that LA does best. The shop has won over even the most dairy-dedicated with its vegan corn almond flavor, which pretty much tastes exactly like the almond milk left over from a bowl of Frosted Flakes. Magpies has plenty of rotating dairy choices, too, like malted milk chocolate and sweet cream.

And if you've ever wished for a personal-sized ice cream cake, Magpies has you covered with ready-made slices of "softserve pie." The Original consists of corn almond soft serve layered with vegan fudge and honeycomb and topped with non-dairy whipped cream and fried candied cornflake streusel.

Wanderlust Creamery
Atwater Village, Fairfax, Pasadena, Sawtelle, Smorgasburg, Tarzana, Venice and Irvine

More than any other ice cream spot, Wanderlust promises customers a trip around the globe with a rotating array of flavors. In the mood for Thai? The sticky rice and mango scoop includes rice milk, coconut cream and swirls of mango. South Korea was the inspiration for the injeolmi toast: toasted bread ice cream swirled with honey, toasted soybean caramel and injeolmi rice cakes.

Creamistry
North Hollywood, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Downey, Cerritos, Long Beach, Huntington Beach and more

One scoop at a time — that's the way of this Irvine-based company. More than just a place to get a quick cone, getting ice cream Creamistry is a full experience. Select your flavor — dairy, vegan or sorbet — and mix-ins, and watch as employees freeze up your creation right before your eyes using liquid nitrogen.

Awan
West Hollywood

Coconut cream and coconut water serve as the base of Awan's ice creams — you won't find any dairy here. But the unique combination, the brainchild of Indonesian-Australian chef Zen Ong, offers a thick, creamy texture that rivals regular ice cream. Awan's flavors include everything from blood orange to chocolate Oreo, giving vegans and dairy-lovers alike a wide range of choices.

McConnell's Fine Ice Creams
Downtown, Studio City, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica and more

Forget gimmicks and Instagrammable eats (though its scoops are gorgeous) — McConnell's stands out due to its undying dedication to churning out high-quality, deliciously creamy ice cream. While the menu has changed over the last 70 years, the Santa Barbara-based chain still does things the old-fashioned way — it even pasteurizes its own milk from Central Coast cows.

McConnell's sea salt cookies and cream offers a mature twist on an old favorite and the chocolate is so good they named it thrice: "Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate." With a selection of non-dairy and seasonal flavors like matcha coconut crisp, McConnell's has plenty of options for a range of ice cream fanatics.

La Michoacana
Various Locations

Countless frozen-treat shops between here and Mexico (and beyond) bear variations of the name La Michoacana. And while they may be commonplace here, these loosely connected businesses offer an extraordinary range of tastes that aren't so common outside of areas with large Latino populations.

Inglewood's La Michoacana Ricas Nieves earns raves for its Spanish-language menu that has everything from mangonadas to vegans sherbets, and of course, paletas.