Six Frozen Treats to Stockpile for Summer

Friday was the first day since early last fall that the air conditioner kicked on in the Paste office, which means—well, it could mean that it's just another day in January, what with how wacky Atlanta weather gets, but in this case it's a sure sign that the hazy days of spring are fully here and that summer is just around the corner. Warm weather is great for so many reasons, obviously, but right now I'm most excited about being able to eat ice cream without having to throw on another sweater to counter-act the ensuing chill. (Not that it's ever stopped me before, mind you. I just don't have to bother with it now.) My favorite ice cream in the world is probably the chocolate chocolate chip raspberry from Clumpie's in Chattanooga, Tenn., which I definitely recommend if you're ever in the neighborhood, but if you're not, here are six other really delicious (and somewhat more easily-accessible) frozen treats to make the upcoming steamy days a little bit sweeter.

Ciao Bella Gelato
This line of inventively-flavored gelatos and sobrettos is so delicious, I'm almost afraid of trying "the real thing" if I'm ever lucky enough to wind up in Italy. The blackberry cabernet, my favorite, is as strong an argument for the proliferation of alcohol-flavored icy treats as I've ever heard. Err, eaten. Find them at a store near you or order online.



Good Humor WWE Bars
To be completely honest, I probably haven't eaten one of these since 1989. My dad used to buy them for me at the gas station near our house on his way home from work—I'm not sure why, because I definitely have never cared about pro wrestling, but they're probably the brand-name food item I most remember from childhood. They seemed to disappear on the 90s, though, and for a time I thought they'd gone the way of Hulk Hogan. But he made a comeback, and apparently so did these culinary marvels. If anyone knows of an Atlanta-area gas station hawking them, please let me know. I'll even buy you one!


It's Its
These confusingly-named ice cream sandwiches have been a Bay Area institution for quite some time; I had my first one while visiting some family out in San Jose earlier this month. A big blob of one of several flavors of ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, mint and coffee were the options at the 7-11 we stopped at) is smushed between two giant oatmeal cookies, and it's all dipped in chocolate. Sounds pretty basic, but it was so good. I'm not typically a fan of oatmeal cookies, but this thing rocked my world (my mouth). And glory be, you can order them online.   



Trader Joe's Mochi
No spoon required! I've not quite figured out whether it's better to take little bites out of these rice-dough-wrapped ice cream blobs, or just eat the whole thing in one go, but they're somehow still less disconcerting than those weird Dibs things. Chocolate's nice, but the green tea flavor is really tasty. 



Push-Up Pops
Nothing like a little cardboard-tinged sherbert to induce violent flashbacks to your early-90s childhood, even if you were born in, like, 1954. Take a few licks, queue up this commercial, and you'll see.