This shop’s motto is anything can become ice cream, and the proof is in the pudding (well, ice cream). Gerly’s — formerly known as Tipping Cow, prior to a 2024 rebrand — has served up scoops of Brandy Alexander (a spin on the creamy dessert cocktail), peach cobbler, and a standout fig and goat cheese rendition alongside the more usual suspects like birthday cake and cookie dough. All of the flavors are peanut, tree nut, and sesame-free.

From orange olive oil brownie to salted caramel crackle made with the shop’s own honeycomb candy, Honeycomb Creamery is one of the top spots around the city for playful, inventive flavors that you won’t see elsewhere. If you have your eye on a specific scoop, check the menu before you go as flavors rotate in and out frequently since everything is made in small batches. The shop stocks both dairy and vegan ice creams made from scratch, and they source their milk and heavy cream from standout local purveyor Mapleline Farm in Hadley, Massachusetts. Check out the seasonal sundaes and ice cream sandwiches, too.

Christina’s has been a Cambridge cornerstone for generous scoops of the creamy frozen treat since it opened in 1983. The shop is stocked with over 30 flavors, from malted vanilla and black raspberry to turmeric chai latte and ice cream made with fresh rose petals.

New City gets super nerdy about its ice cream — liquid nitrogen is involved in the dessert-making process — to great effect. Come here for dollops of pillowy, airy creams in classic shades like mint chip, coffee, vanilla, and chocolate. Aside from the Central Square and Hudson shops plus the newest Sudbury location, New City’s pints are also stocked in Whole Foods and other local grocers around the area.

If you like your ice cream packed with a punch of fruit flavors, Far Out’s New Zealand-style ice cream — known for its heavy use of fruit — is the place to go. Customers can choose between several flavors of Maple Valley ice cream, which the shop then blends with a scoop of freshly frozen fruit — choices include mango, raspberry, and kookaberry (a mix of berries) — served in a cup, cone, or shake. There’s a location at the Time Out food hall in Fenway, too.

Ice cream pairs perfectly with savory foods, as the masterminds at P&R know well. The Jamaican shop is one part counter-service restaurant selling jerk chicken, curry goat, ackee and saltfish sandwiches, and meat and vegetable patties, and one part ice cream parlor churning out decadent scoops of ice cream in flavors like grapenut, cake batter, maple walnut, and cherry vanilla. The restaurant also has a location in Mattapan.

While newcomer Lazy Bear opened in Dorchester’s Neponset neighborhood in June 2023, owner Matthew Galvin grew up in the neighborhood. “Lazy” is right there in the name, but the flavors are anything but. Check out the Happiness flavor — lemon ice cream with raspberry swirl and flecks of pie crust — and the Cohastronaut, which features a fudge swirl, Thin Mint candies, and a hint of mint that boosts the mocha ice cream. All the classic flavors are on offer, though the daily rotating specials are a real treat.

This list is stacked with ice cream legends, but the elder statesman of the group is the nearly 50-year-old Ice Creamsmith in Dorchester’s Lower Mills. It’s easy to go all out here with a dizzying array of candies to mix into flavors like mocha and coconut almond swirl, and squiggles of hot fudge and caramel over top, but for first-timers, start with the ultimate classic: A simple sweet cream scoop that the shop has been perfecting for decades.