Cone Season By Alexa Beattie washingtonpost.com Staff Writer Friday, May 9, 2003

	It's cone season. (Photo by Robert A. Reeder/The Washington Post)
Related Links All Ice Cream Parlors Summer Guide

Up at Gifford's in Bethesda, there's an original menu on the wall that dates from the 1940s (when a fruit freeze was 25 cents) and a "Special Treats" case full of ice cream cakes in yellow and white. Even if you weren't around in the '40s, you'll have seen the films and may well find yourself doing a carefree little skip along the pavement as you leave. On a blisteringly hot day there is nothing more divine than the flavors of honeydew melon, peach and cantaloupe.

The Sundae Times on Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria sells Gifford's ice cream, so that those in the south don't have to journey all the way to Bethesda. It's a tiny little shop, but you don't need a lot of space to eat a cone full of creamiest blueberry.

A few blocks along from there, of course, is the Del Ray Dreamery. The Dreamery specializes in the most delicious kind of frozen custard; and true to its Wisconsin origins, it offers vanilla and one other flavor of the day. "You eat, in dreams, the custard of the day," said Alexander Pope. And he was right. It's hard not to dream about the strawberry shortcake, the blueberry buckle or the banana pudding.

Georgetown's Thomas Sweet does a fast trade in all things iced. Take your treat into the sun and sit at one of Sweet's outdoor tables. Rum and raisin is a favorite of ours.

Farther up Wisconsin Avenue is Max's Best, where we like the mango, the strawberry and the orange chocolate chip. Max also does a long line in candy bar flavors like Butterfinger, Snickers and Heath Bar.

SweetLicks at Dupont Circle makes 250 flavors in all, but offers 21 at a time. Peach and mango are fast sellers come the summer months, as are white chocolate blueberry and black raspberry.

One block from the river, in an old warehouse on Alexandria's King Street, is Pop's. Like something you might find at Disney, this parlor has gone whole hog for authenticity, and the tourists rush in. Against peppermint stick-striped walls, everything looks good: Sundaes are served in old-style fluted vases; chocolate sodas and flavored malts in tall, icy glasses.

On a weekend, it's hard to get through the door of the Scoop Grill, a slim front-to-back parlor just across the street from Pop's. The ice cream's the focus here, but this small business also does a booming trade in short-order breakfasts and lunches. Ice cream flavors run the spectrum (cherry blossom, lemon custard, peanut butter, maple nut) and new batches are made fresh every day.

In just a few licks, York Castle Tropical Ice Creams will spirit you up and out of its Silver Spring home. This Jamaican family brings the islands to the 'burbs in scoops of pina colada, papaya, banana and soursop. Flavors do change according to the season, so frequent visits are a must.