581. Milk & Froth – September 18, 2022 – Detroit, MI

Milk & Froth, bringing summery ice-cream vibes year-round!

One unnaturally hot Sunday in mid-September, I fulfilled my dream to visit this ice cream shop operating out of the Guardian Building in downtown Detroit. Milk & Froth brings delicious dairy and non-dairy goodness in the form of intriguing ice cream flavors such as Malt Cherry Chocolate, Matcha Pistachio, and Chocolate Hazelnut.

I opted for one of Milk & Froth’s house-made waffle cones topped with scoops of Salted Caramel and Sea Salt Butter Cake. It was SOOOO good! The ice cream was richly flavorful and luxuriously creamy. And the waffle cone? It wasn’t mere window-dressing for the ice cream, but delectably fresh and crunchy.

I went for two of Milk & Froth’s dairy ice creams, but I was tempted by a couple of the vegan varieties. My friend raved about the Roasted Strawberry made with coconut cream, roasted strawberries, and strawberry compote.

This visit to Milk & Froth was the topper to an amazing day spent spent wandering Detroit, which included visits to Founders, Astoria Pastry Shop, and the world’s largest rubber duck on display outside Huntington Place (or Cobo Hall, as it’s still known in our hearts!). EVERYONE was out that day: at the auto show, the Lions game, the Tigers game, the restaurants, the casinos. It was my favorite view of Detroit: brimming with all kinds of people enjoying all the city has to offer. Milk & Froth is one such offering, and it’s one you shouldn’t sleep on! Grab a cone or pint from the shop – or seek out pints at the stores showcased on its website.

535 Griswold St.

Detroit, MI 48226

www.milkandfroth.com

554. Browndog Barlor & Restaurant – April 16, 2022 – Northville, MI

When in Rome – or Browndog Barlor of downtown Northville – savor a Drunken Muppet.

The Drunken Muppet is a drink, not an inebriated puppet – a boozy milkshake, to be exact. It’s a delightful concoction of Browndog Creamery’s Kookie for Cookies ice cream, chocolate vodka, and chocolate liqueur, topped with house-made whipped cream and cookie pieces. The ice cream gives it a minty-blue hue.

Kookie for Cookies is not your typical cookies-and-cream ice cream. Not only is it dyed blue, it’s also got the cookie factor times three. This ice cream is infused with chunks of cookie dough, chocolate-sandwich cookies, and house-made chocolate-chip cookies!

I didn’t walk up to the bar of Browndog Barlor and order one of those Kookie for Cookies milkshakes. I ordered a Mocha Under the Influence, an intriguing concoction of chocolate ice cream and espresso-infused vodka (I almost never pass up a chocolate option on a dessert menu!). But somehow my order got lost in translation, and I was brought the Kookie for Cookies. Hence the “when in Rome” aspect of this visit to Browndog. I couldn’t bring myself to waste a perfectly good milkshake!

And good it was. The Kookie for Cookies was decadently creamy; it went down so very easy. Boozy milkshakes are dangerous in that they belong to that category of drink that makes you oblivious to how much alcohol you’re consuming. I didn’t leave Browndog Barlor bombed, by any means, but I did have a good little buzz going.

Browndog serves more than just boozy milkshakes crafted with its artisan ice cream. It also features a full food menu with hearty fare such as tacos, burgers, and sandwiches. Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays, and scoops of Browndog’s signature flavors are always available, as are pints to go.

And Browndog isn’t skimping on the flavor varieties! The current ice cream menu includes six ice creams made in conjunction with Faygo (the Rock & Rye varietal, Choc & Rye, with its swirls of fudge and brownie pieces, beckons my childhood self!). Other options are as varied as Flowers & Figs (featuring lavender, fig jam, and honey) and Fruity Cereal Milk (described on Browndog’s site as “White chocolate covered Fruity Pebbles are hand mixed into a Fruity Pebble steeped cereal milk ice cream.”). A cornucopia of choices awaits you and your own “when in Rome” moment!

120 E. Main St.

Northville, MI 48167

(With an additional location in Farmington)

www.browndogcreamery.com

546. Momento Gelato & Coffee – January 30, 2022 – Detroit, MI

As if I needed another reason to love Corktown, here comes Momento Gelato & Coffee, really making me swoon!

The coffee house plus gelato joint resides on Trumbull Street, just a stone’s throw from 100 Places in the D favorite Ottava Via. And it’s not to be missed; its gelato is exceptional.

You’d think a frigid January’s morn wouldn’t lend itself well to gelato eating. But I’m here to attest that any day of the year is the perfect one to consume Momento’s gelato. I got a scoop each of its butter pecan and pistachio flavors, and WOW! They were so rich and creamy and flat-out wonderful. Gelato flavors featured throughout the year, according to Momento’s website, include Michigan Fresh Peach (a seasonal offering), Salted Caramel, and Italian Hazelnut Honey (a WOW-worthy flavor if there ever was one!). The Michigan-based business also makes several fruit sorbets.

And then there’s the caffeinated aspect of the menu. Momento offers espresso-, coffee-, and tea-based beverages (which include decaffeinated options). And you know there’s an affogato (espresso and vanilla gelato)! I sampled this portion of the menu via Momento’s cappuccino, which was the ideal rich-and-tasty treat to take with me on a brief stroll about Corktown, being as it was warming (I ate the not-so-warming gelato later in the car).

If you’re looking to make an ice cream, coffee, and meal run all in one, Momento’s got you! Its menu includes soup, pastries, a caprese salad, and several types of paninis. A lunch special combines all the goodies: a drip coffee, cup of soup, panini, and a small gelato. Now my heart is REALLY going pitter-patter for Momento Gelato & Coffee!

2120 Trumbull St.

Detroit, MI 48216

www.momentogelatoandcoffee.com

420. Modern Cone – August 2, 2019 – Saint Clair Shores, MI

Modern Cone is bringing the flavor to 100 Places in the D! The ice cream joint in Saint Clair Shores is all about decadent dessert concoctions, which I discovered during my visit there in early August.

Ice cream is not one of my usual culinary obsessions (cake and tacos and even salads are more likely to fill my food fantasies), but MAN! did I crave it this summer. Hilariously, it came to mind most after filling meals such as the one I enjoyed at The Charlevoix just prior to visiting Modern Cone. I guess on these occasions I wanted to keep the gastronomical fun going!

My friend who dined with me at The Charlevoix that night was on the same wavelength as me, suggesting ice cream just as I’d been dreaming about it. Thus, I was introduced to the glory of Modern Cone.

This is not your typical purveyor of frosty treats, my friends: Modern Cone is bringing opulence to ice cream! It offers signature sundaes (called Stackers, presumably because of their characteristic way of stacking alternating layers of ice cream and other ingredients) laden with sauces and toppings ranging from chocolate chips to cereal bits to mini marshmallows; cookie ice cream sandwiches; and the option to build your own Stacker creation.

All manner of ice cream varieties are sold at Modern Cone, from Blueberry Muffin Top to Carolina Peach to what might as well be declared the official state flavor: Michigan Pot Hole (described on the menu on Modern Cone’s website as “Thick, black-tar fudge in chocolate ice cream with chunks of chocolate asphalt”).

Customized ice cream cakes (with the ability to choose which ice cream is layered inside) are also offered by Modern Cone, as are “Nachos,” which allow patrons to choose which two types of ice cream, three toppings, and two sauces get piled onto “chips” made from waffle cone pieces (AMAZING!!!).

After browsing the ice creams in Modern Cone’s shop and perusing its colorful chalkboard menu, my choice was obvious to me: I HAD to go with the PB Overload Stacker sundae with its peanut-butter chips, pretzel bits, Reese’s peanut butter-cup pieces, and Nutella and peanut butter sauces paired with chocolate-peanut butter ice cream (because the chocolate-and-peanut-butter combo is pretty much my spirit animal).

The PB Overload Stacker did not disappoint. Its rich ice cream and ample layers of sauces and toppings melded together into a sundae of supreme deliciousness. PB Overload = dessert PERFECTION!

I’ve fondly recalled this visit to Modern Cone on numerous occasions over the month-and-a-half that has elapsed since, periodically pestering my friend over the prospect of a return trip. The visit personifies summer for me – but how lucky we are to be able to savor Modern Cone’s goodness regardless of the time of year!

28616 Harper Ave.

St. Clair Shores, MI 48081

www.moderncone.com

339. La Michoacana – June 19, 2018 – Detroit, MI

While I was volunteering at Clark Park in Southwest Detroit several weeks ago, word went around of a reportedly excellent Mexican ice cream shop within walking distance called La Michoacana. Naturally, our group fixated on this, and by the end of our volunteer shift, we found ourselves in the small, brightly-colored shop enjoying ice cream cones and other sweet treats.

La Michoacana offers a variety of ice creams, ice cream bars, popsicles, frozen bananas, slushies, fruit-studded dessert drinks, horchata drinks, and other goodies. I had a hankering for a double-scoop cone and opted for one with chocolate ice cream and the intriguing Mango con Chile flavor.

The chocolate ice cream was classic, creamy deliciousness. While chocolate is LIIIFE to me and I almost never opt for an ice cream treat that doesn’t incorporate it somehow, I must say that the Mango con Chile was my standout favorite here. With that sweet mango fruitiness and spicy kick of the chile, it was EXCELLENT! If you are a fan of the sweet-and-spicy combo, you’ve got to try it.

Not only was the ice cream at La Michoacana as super-tasty as we’d heard it to be, the prices were affordable, too. To my recollection, my double-scoop cone cost around $2 – a steal!

A related note around cost: my impression from my visit to La Michoacana was that its only accepted payment mode was cash. But I see that its Yelp profile shows it as accepting credit cards and that one older review mentions a $10 minimum purchase for card-facilitated purchases. I’ll plan on bringing a couple bucks with me during future visits to be safe.

Now, for those of you who are willing to take my word for it that La Michoacana is a place worth visiting, gallop out into that gorgeous summer sun and grab some icy treats!

4336 W. Vernor Hwy.

Detroit, MI 48209

283. Treat Dreams – October 6, 2017 – Detroit, MI

During a recent afternoon trip to Detroit to celebrate my birthday with my mom (the mother/daughter b-day thing is kind of an annual tradition), I FINALLY visited Treat Dreams. The local ice cream slingers with shops in the Midtown/Cass Corridor area of Detroit and Ferndale are much renowned for their scrumptious, ever-changing, oft-unique ice cream flavors, so I was excited to try some of their wares.

After studying the chalkboard touting the day’s selections, including such intriguing varieties as lemon basil, pumpkin truffle, and amaretto, we decided to share the Dark Sea Olive Oil, a chocolate concoction (there was really no way it was not gonna be something chocolate for us two; we are both in agreement with chocolate being LIFE). At the last minute, I decided it had to be in a waffle bowl, because what is a better container for ice cream than a fresh-baked waffle bowl? It’s practically a bona-fide fact that it’s numero uno in the ice-cream container department – at least in my mind it is.

The Dark Sea Olive Oil ended up being an amazing choice. It was rich and creamy – likely due in large part to the olive oil – with an irresistible chocolateyness and a perfect hint of sea salt. Perfection!

Another thing I love about Treat Dreams besides its ice cream being hands-down delicious is that it also offers coffee drinks – including COFFEE DRINKS THAT CONTAIN ICE CREAM. Best.idea.EVER. There is an espresso-laced shake, as well as the Affogato al Caffé, which is a shot of espresso poured over a scoop of ice cream. The ladies working the counter told us it’s a real popular one with med students who are studying for finals (no surprise there!). I’m sure we can all think of our own excuses to need one of those in our lives, stat!

4160 Cass Ave.

Detroit, MI 48201

www.treatdreams.com

52. Union General – August 28, 2014 – Clarkston, MI

What a delightful little store! It’s owned by the same people who own the Union Woodshop and the Clarkston Union (which I also hope to visit). There are lots of cute little trinkets and delicious cupcakes and frozen custard here. I bought a PB&J cupcake with peanut-butter buttercream frosting and a jelly center and a devil’s food cupcake with white-chocolate buttercream frosting – and wow, the icing on both was amazing. I also got some Anne Taintor crazy cat-lady napkins, because if being a cat lady is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

50 S. Main St.

Clarkston, MI 48346

http://www.uniongeneralstore.com

22. Sweet Island Yogurt – May 21, 2014 – Rochester, MI

I don’t think these self-serve yogurt shops will get old for me for a long, long time. I just love the variety of flavors available at places like Sweet Island!

402 Main St.
Rochester, MI 48307

http://sweetislandyogurt.com/