Ice Cream Anyone!!!

To say that in Buenos Aires you will enjoy the best ice cream in the whole world may generate controversy, but I must point out two things to explain this: first, Italian immigrants brought the authentic gelato to Buenos Aires. Second, Argentina has the finest livestock, therefore the best milk. So how could the ice cream not be great?. It doesn’t matter if it is mid-July and it is freezing cold, most heladerías (ice cream parlours) are open and running, specially the big brand names.

When looking for a spot to get an ice cream, make sure it says “artesanal”, which means the ice cream is made on the premises using all natural ingredients (milk, cream, fruits, etc). You order by size or weight and pay first at the register. Afterwards, you take the ticket to the counter and choose your flavors. That is the hard part since they are all good. If you get a kilogram you get to choose up to 4 or 5 flavors. If you get a cone you get two flavors and whatever you say first will be on the bottom, unless you specify (arriba means top, abajo means bottom). The top flavor is usually more abundant.

Most heladerías are fairly standard in their offerings, with dulce de leche as one of the most popular with porteños. However, in the past few years, new gourmet places have opened and broadened the range of flavors. Although slightly more expensive than traditional places, the innovative flavors make it worth the extra peso. Another great feature is that they all do delivery!

Heladería Volta and heladería Pérsicco are the cream of the crop. You will find Volta at Plaza Belgrano (map),  Avenida Santa Fe 1826 (map) and other locations. There are six Pérsicco parlours in town.

You will probably see the Freddo chain all over town. While they used to be the best, most locals will tell you that their quality has dropped significantly since opening numerous stores. If you asked me a few years ago I would recommend you to avoid Freddo, but time goes by and things change, some for the better. Lets hope this means better days for Freddo. Still they have a long way to go, and a big market to capture back.

Chungo is a worthy second though. All their chocolates have a lusciousness not found in other chains. Their closest shop to downtown is at Las Heras and Rodriquez Pena (near Recoleta)(map).

In the absence of either I recommend La Veneciana, an older chain with great quality.

Every place has banana split… banana ice cream with bits of chocolate and swirls of dulce de leche!!!  I tried many and I conclude that my favourites are dulce de leche granizado (with chocolate chips), mousse de chocolate, and mascarpone. So give it a try, you won’t regret it.

Photo credit: ActiveSteve on Flickr.