Our visit to this window-order spot featured a line snaking around the parking lot—in the pouring rain. There are several draws: superlative soft-serve (presented atop a cone in an almost comically tall swirl); housemade ice cream in whimsical flavors; and, for the indecisive, Boston shakes, which are half milkshake, half sundae. A sign dares you to try a cowpie sundae, with chocolate cake and gobs of Oreos, hot fudge, and marshmallow sauce. Don’t let that scare you off—it’s divine.
Your Choice, Their Ice Cream
Amid the ever-changing buzz of Santa Barbara’s culinary scene, Your Choice is thriving in its 32nd year as a bustling Thai restaurant on upper State Street. Founded in 1989 by husband and wife Aungkoon and Sukanya Sukavivatanachai in what had previously been a Mexican restaurant called Maya — and before that, Carl’s Steakhouse — the family stuck to the location’s minimalistic and cozy design in order to focus on something more important: their food.
Currently in charge is Piti Sukavivatanachai, who left his potential medical career in 2012 to focus on the restaurant with his wife, Kathy Dao. What started with “helping out” his family quickly transformed into inheriting the restaurant. After condensing the menu, he started innovating their ice cream selections, which were originally developed by his late mother, Sukanya, who died in August 2017.
With memories of helping her make ice cream from scratch, Piti’s research and experimentation led to creative options that transcended his mother’s Classic Coconut. “Her recipe laid the foundation for all the other flavors,” he said, explaining that expanding the menu took time, testing, and tasting with his ice cream maker. The results are now sold under a brand of Thai-inspired flavors called Creaminal.
Your Ice Cream Choices
Your Choice’s Creaminal ice cream costs $4 for a scoop and $9 for a pint. Here are five favorites.
Thai Tea Oreo: This most popular flavor represents the history and authenticity of Your Choice. With a bold Thai tea base that is surprisingly strong with crunchy bits of Oreo blended in, Piti explained, “The trial and error has paid off.” He’s most proud of how prominent the Thai tea is compared to the subtle flavor in commercially available versions. Providing a crunchy break from sweet cream tea, the Oreos make this Piti’s idea of cookies ’n’ cream.
Vietnamese Coffee Mud Pie: Vietnamese coffee is a cohesive combo of bitter and sweet, which is what Piti attempts here, starting with a strong, dark base that’s bitter at first but then cut with sweet Oreos and chocolate chips. The condensed milk stays true to a traditional Vietnamese coffee, creating a smooth transition between bitter and sweet.
Classic Coconut: This vegan option, according to Piti, is the one that “started them all.” The coconut-milk base mimics the creamy texture of a dairy base, though Piti admits this factor is the most challenging to perfect. But with his mother’s foundation and his own experimentation, this is the most nostalgic and traditional flavor at Your Choice.
Basil Mint Chip: This rendition of traditional mint-chip ice cream uses a milk base infused with fresh mint leaves, and that raw flavor brings out their most risky addition: Thai basil leaves. Piti thought of this memorable collaboration with his wife, Kathy, “while driving back and forth across Santa Barbara.”
Mango: Piti’s most personal flavor, made with a creamy milk base and seasonal champagne mangoes, is a tribute to his late mother, who used to make him homemade mango ice cream as a child, and a reminder of how she contributed to his work at Your Choice. Now that he is left with the restaurant to run, he is most motivated by her words: “Just taste and adjust.”
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Bon Tea House
5718 Pickwick Rd., Centreville
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This sleek, minimalist cafe may be in a Centreville strip mall, but it feels straight out of Kyoto. In fact, Bon Tea House—which previously operated as a carryout window in downtown DC— sources its matcha from farmers across Japan. You can find the green-tea powder in all kinds of drinks, but most notably in some of the best matcha soft-serve we’ve encountered. Just as phenomenal: seasonal flavors like banana-milk and lychee, which you can combine into a swirl.
The Dairy Godmother
2310 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
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Wisconsin expats will feel right at home at this Del Ray institution, with its yolk-rich frozen custard, Sprecher-soda floats, and Door County–cherry sundaes. There are three flavors of custard each day—chocolate, vanilla, and a wildcard such as toasted coconut or summer berry pudding—but myriad ways to dress them up. Go for chocolate with Rice Krispies and marshmallow sauce, or vanilla with whatever fresh baked good is around, whether cobbler or cookies. Dogs also get some love, with pumpkin or banana “puppy pops.”
The Creamery at Union Market
1309 Fifth St., NE
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You’ll find lots of local dairy products—glass bottles of milk, Pennsylvania-made yogurt—along with just-baked cookies at this stall inside Union Market. The ultra-rich ice cream is made in-house and comes in old-school flavors (Grape-Nuts!). For ice-cream purists who just want a good chocolate shake or a scoop of butter pecan in a (freshly rolled) waffle cone, this is your place.
The Most Beautiful Ice Cream Shops in the World
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Thoughtful design makes these ice cream parlors–from New York to Tokyo–all the sweeter
(photo: courtesy of Morgenstern’s)
Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream in Manhattan, designed by owner Nicholas Morgenstern, is just 600 square feet, so every detail counts. Clean white Caesarstone counters cover the freezers, the cash register is an original from 1964, and customers can enjoy one of the 40 flavors, from cardamom lemon jam to salted chocolate, at bench seats fitted with school desks. 2 Rivington Street, New York; morgensternsnyc.com.
(photo: courtesy of Coohaus)
In Culver City, California, the Coolhaus flagship celebrates the company’s roots as a food truck. Architecture firm Design, Bitches lined the stainless-steel kiosk in corrugated rubber, just like truck tires, and hung yellow garage lamps from pipes. 8588 West Washington Boulevard, Culver City; eatcoolhaus.com.
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(photo: Eisdieler)
A closer look at the patterned walls of Eisdieler in downtown Linz, Austria, reveals a stylized interpretation of the store’s signature black ice cream cones. March Gut Design Studio modified shipping pallets for the shop, creating modular, rearrangeable seating for customers. Promenade 9, Linz; eisdieler.at.
(photo: Salt & Straw)
(photo: Village Ice Cream)
McKinley Burkart Architects found surprising inspiration for its elegant, no-frills design of Village Ice Cream‘s latest location in Calgary, Alberta: a classic 1970s road bike. Minimalist painted shiplap pine covers the walls and ceiling, punctuated by a chalkboard menu and mint-green pendants. A cutout in the space–and the smell of fresh waffle cones–invites visitors to see their dessert in the making. 820 49th Avenue SW, Calgary; villageicecream.com.
(photo: Rocambolesc Gelateria)
The fantastical Rocambolesc Gelateria in Girona, Spain, was designed to bring to mind the world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Candy-striped pipes, spirals, and lights built by Tarruella Trenchs Studio resemble the mechanics of an enchanted ice cream machine–one that actually helps serve up orders. Carrer de Santa Clara 50, Girona; rocambolesc.com.
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(photo: Snow Picnic)
Snow Picnic in Tokyo is more scientist’s lab than ice cream shop. At the black counter, gelato is made on the spot with the help of smoking liquid nitrogen. Customers can watch the magic happen from one of three greenery-filled seating areas. 1 Chome-15-12 Arai, Nakano-ku, Tokyo.
(photo: OddFellows Ice Cream)
Many of the quirky elements at OddFellows Ice Cream Co. in Brooklyn–the handiwork of chef Sam Mason and co-owner Mohan Kumar’s wife, Holiday–have an all-American story: The vintage schoolhouse lights hail from Virginia, the red stools come from Oregon, and the flag was found in a Florida antiques shop. The same goes for the ice cream, which is made entirely with local dairy and produce. 175 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn; oddfellowsnyc.com.
(photo: Peddler’s Creamery)
Peddler’s Creamery in Los Angeles serves up ice cream guilt-free–customers and employees peddle on a bike to churn a batch under the glow of a bicycle-chain chandelier. Oonagh Ryan Architects warmed up the mostly concrete store with a multicolor shingled box made of repurposed painted-wood pallets, which conveniently houses the dairy. 458 South Main Street, Los Angeles; peddlerscreamery.com.
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