A family affair established by Nick Larsen and Petrushka Bazin Larsen, a neighborhood couple with three kids, this Harlem-based shop scoops out handmade, seasonal, small batch ice cream and non-dairy frozen desserts in flavors both classic and inspired. Made with thoughtfully-curated and sourced ingredients (chocolate from Madagascar, vanilla from Ile Bourbon, produce from the local farmer’s market) Sugar Hill Creamery has both kid-friendly and exotic flavors.

Everything about Stuffed Ice Cream is a little extra. For starters, it’s signature “cruff” is a toasted glazed donut stuffed with ice cream and finished off with sugar toppings of your choice. Flavors include traditional and nuanced, such as Rocky Road, Rice Krispies, Vanilla, White Chocolate Lavender, and Black Sesame. Signature cruffs in pre-designed combos include the “Unicorn Poop” and “Cookie Road.” If a cruff is not your thing, you can get a cone.

Blue Marble, the first certified organic artisanal ice cream maker in New York, serves sweet-tasting treats with minimal added sugar and maximum goodness provided by Mother Nature herself. Featuring classics like strawberry and cookies and cream made from farm-fresh New York State dairy, its flavors are straightforward and pure. Blue marble operates two shops in Brooklyn and pop-up carts around town.

We can’t get enough of A La Mode, a place that has changed the lives of many allergy-prone kids and adults alike. All of the ice cream at this fun store/party space/ice cream shop is nut-free, sesame-free and egg-free. And with flavors like Partly Cloudy (blue cotton candy with marshmallows) and Pink Sprinkle (pink vanilla with rainbow sprinkles) for the kids and Wired (coffee with chocolate chips) for adults, everyone at A La Mode has something to smile about.

The brand is famous for irresistible combinations like Snap Mallow, Pop, (marshmallow ice cream with toasted Rice Krispie clusters ), Salted Crack'd Caramel (salted butter caramel ice cream with chocolate covered homemade saltine crackers) and The Munchies (pretzel infused ice cream with clusters of potato chips, pretzels, Ritz crackers, and mini M&Ms).

Brought to you buy a gastro-molecular pastry chef (the guy behind Empire Mayonnaise) and a husband and wife team that admired said chefs skills , this ice cream shop features super fresh flavors in way outside-the-box combinations. The kids are guaranteed to love the vanilla-based Sprinkles but we bet Burnt Marshmallow and Oatmeal Cookie Dough could become the new favorites. (Parents, FYI: popsicles infused with booze are now available, in flavors like Rosé and Grapefruit Campari.)

You might have heard of The Sweet Shop, an Upper East Side throwback for sweet treats. But here, you’ll find more than just candy. This retro shop has OddFellows’ ice cream, and Il Laboratorio gelato and sorbet, so you don’t have to head downtown for great ice cream. In the summer, their cold options include handmade shaved ices they call "New York City Snow Balls" that come in 12 flavors, and their artisanal ice cream sandwiches are amazing. The Sweet Shop is open for curbside service.

Taiyaki is a kind of fish in Japan, but don’t let that confuse you. Taiyaki NYC sells fish-shaped waffle cones filled with soft serve (a popular street food in Japan) because, why not? Yet another treat that made appearances on Instagram feeds everywhere, this unusual dessert is pretty and delicious. And the cones aren’t just filled with ice cream—they also have custard or red bean paste in them if you like—alongside unusual ice cream flavors like matcha or black sesame.

Now in its 18th year, this shop is still our favorite for hand-crafted traditional Italian gelato and sorbet. Tucked inconspicuously next to the Lower East Side’s famous Tenement Museum, the atmosphere at Il Laboratorio del Gelato HQ is spare and industrial, but don’t let that fool you. On any given day customers can choose from 48 artisanal and vibrant flavors like kid-friendly banana chocolate chip, and concord grape.

This old-school soda fountain and candy shop, founded decades before most of its hipster competitors, doesn’t put on airs or stuff its homemade flavors full of bric-a-brac that would make Ben & Jerry blush. Here, you can find familiar favorites like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry (along with a few other classics like rum raisin, butter pecan and coffee almond chip) served up in metal footed ice cream dishes and drowned in thick hot fudge, caramel sauce, home made whipped cream and nuts.