Take an Ice Cream Tour of Manhattan Beach
Aug 09, 2024 02:04PM ● By Jeanne Fratello
Pictured: Cones from Manhattan Beach Creamery
Handels (in Manhattan Village)
Handels ice cream, made fresh in-store, gives you a taste of old-fashioned goodness that founder Alice Handel created in 1945. On our most recent visit, at the recommendation of our scooper, we tried out the most popular flavor (Graham Central Station) (pictured on the bottom of this double cone) and it had everyone in our group swooning. Note: For first-timers, the Handels Manhattan Beach store may be hard to find. It's just west of the plaza, next to Silverlake Ramen and across from Reborn Coffee.
Baskin-Robbins
The Manhattan Beach Baskin-Robbins is part of the famous Baskin-Robbins brand, but each store is locally owned and operated. While Baskin-Robbins is famous for their "31 flavors," they've actually created more than 1300 flavors since the company began nearly 75 years ago. The Manhattan Beach Baskin-Robbins is known for its bright pink exterior and Manhattan Beach mural. For our photo, we sampled the new Beach Day flavor (the pale blue one on top) and it was a giant hit with the kids.
Gelato & Angels
Gelato & Angels makes their Italian-style gelato fresh daily in their Manhattan Beach store, using fresh and imported ingredients from Italy. (Yes, we know gelato is different from ice cream but for these purposes we're looking at places that have creamy frozen treats that someone scoops out for you behind a counter.) Gelato & Angels, which has been family owned
and operated since 2012, also caters special events. For this photo, we sampled Mango (left) and Nutella (right) flavors.
Salt & Straw
Salt & Straw uses ice cream as a "blank slate for storytelling." They start with cream from a 5th-generation family-owned dairy, then create each month's special flavors that highlight local artisans and special causes. (Remember the Upcycled Food Series menu?) For this photo, we did a "dinner-to-dessert" theme, with Cinnamon Honey Fried Chicken on bottom (No joke! It has crispy bits of "fried chicken croissant." There's no actual chicken in the ice cream but "chicken fat" is on the list of ingredients, giving it a rich and savory taste) and Pink Rose/Watermelon Sorbet on top.
Manhattan Beach Creamery
Manhattan Beach Creamery hand-makes all of its ice cream in small batches, with 28 flavors daily. The shop also debuted a new ice cream cake this year, available in six flavors and served in cute and colorful boxes. However, the wildly popular Cream'wich is still the shop's signature item, using artisan cookies with your choice of ice cream. True story: We have an American friend who lives in Singapore who - every time he has a layover at LAX - heads to Manhattan Beach for a Cream'wich.