As summer fast approaches, debates rage in the halls of Menlo and across the town about the best ice cream in Menlo Park and Palo Alto. We’ve attempted to find the answer: armed with good friends, empty stomachs and a true dedication to food journalism, we set off to seven local ice cream parlors. Overall, we found Salt & Straw and Baskin Robbins to be favorites, with Gelato Classico not far behind. As for the others, just keep reading.

Cold Stone Creamery

Geoffrey: Going into this review, I had never been to Cold Stone, but based on others’ rave reviews, I expected solid ice cream. Cold Stone did not meet those expectations. Setting aside the dreary atmosphere, their chocolate ice cream was more like Swiss Miss mixed into frozen yogurt: it had some flavor but not enough, and it was really soft. I was also constantly encountering chunks of ice, more so than at any other establishment, so it was a bit like eating cold stones. It says a lot that I’d rather have the vegan dark chocolate “ice cream” at The Penny than Cold Stone’s chocolate. Cold Stone was so artificial that junior guest star Alyssa McAdams’ mouth was stained by her fluorescent green Lucky Charms special edition ice cream. It was nice to have one topping included, but even this doesn’t justify the $6.69 price tag. I will not be back.

Sonia: Unfortunately, Cold Stone did not have the flavor I was planning on eating throughout this journey: cookies & cream. Being resourceful, I got vanilla ice cream with Oreos mixed in. However, I suspect this resulted in the ice cream being more yogurt-y. I felt as if I was eating vanilla frozen yogurt with the occasional bite of Oreo, as opposed to ice cream with a consistent cookie flavor.

Baskin Robbins

Geoffrey: Baskin Robbins is timeless: it’s arguably the American ice cream chain. And its classic chocolate ice cream does not fail this legacy. It’s rich in flavor without tasting like straight cocoa powder, and it’s the perfect texture, being easy to dig into without being too soft, unlike frozen yogurt. Though they often run out of my favorite topping (crushed Oreos), I still savor every plain bite of their chocolate ice cream (not to mention their “Chocolate Fudge” or “Chocolate Mousse Royale”). Baskin Robbins’ chocolate is one of only three chocolate ice creams reviewed here that I will seek out again, and considering its $4.78 price tag for a single scoop is cheaper than kids scoops at those other establishments, its value for money is unparalleled.

Sonia: While the Cold Stone store was dark with flickering lights above, Baskin Robbins was light, airy and overall more inviting. Same goes for the ice cream. After a disappointing experience at Cold Stone, the Baskin Robbins’ cookies & cream was necessary to revive my spirit. An all around great ice cream – soft without being too creamy, nice and sweet and every bite tasted like an Oreo cookie. I agree with Geoffrey: given the other ice cream price tags we faced throughout our experience, Baskin Robbins wins on value.

The Penny Ice Creamery

Geoffrey: The Penny has not done well replacing Tin Pot as the bougie ice cream parlor of Town & Country and downtown Los Altos. When I walked into its brightly colored store, my jaw dropped to the floor: their only chocolate ice cream was their vegan dark chocolate “ice cream.” Dear reader, in case you didn’t know, the “cream” in ice cream is dairy, which comes from cows, making ice cream decidedly not vegan. This means vegan “ice cream” is less luscious and has the approximate consistency of a banana. Admittedly, The Penny’s vegan dark chocolate “ice cream” was better than any other vegan “ice cream” I’ve had (and better than Cold Stone’s real ice cream), and if served to me for dessert, I would eat it contentedly. That said, it tasted more like cocoa powder than rich chocolate, and I would certainly not pay $6.25 for it. I will not be back.

Sonia: I still haven’t recovered from the loss of my favorite cookies & cream, Tin Pot’s “Cookie Monster” flavor. And when I stepped into Tin Pot’s replacement, The Penny, I knew the mourning would continue. Again, I had to be resourceful; I got the vanilla ice cream with the “dark chocolate cookie crumble” on top. Not only was I disappointed that the cookie crumble tasted nothing like Oreo, but the ice cream didn’t even taste like vanilla. The sweet cream flavor of the ice cream was overpowering, and for such a tiny scoop I paid the most out of all seven stores, $7.25. At this price point (for a single scoop!), I expect perfection. Like Geoffrey, I will not be back. (I should note that Alyssa is a Penny regular and loved her matcha scoop, but I could not match her enthusiasm).

Salt & Straw

Geoffrey: Say what you will about serving oddities like “Pear & Blue Cheese” ice cream, but I will die on a hill to say that Salt & Straw’s “Chocolate Gooey Brownie” is one of the best chocolate ice creams in the world, and certainly the best of these seven establishments. The chocolate flavor is rich, and the bits of fluffy brownies mixed in melt in your mouth like no other ice cream. This creation is truly immaculate. To all the ice cream elitists that hate on Salt & Straw, respectfully reconsider your life choices.

Sonia: I walked into Salt & Straw expecting it to be a winner. I was not disappointed. The ice cream is so sweet, but nothing like The Penny’s overpowering vanilla sweet cream. My “Salted, Malted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough” (they did not have any Oreo) was the perfect consistency, and even though I walked into the storefront not all that hungry, my cup was empty within minutes. I even took to trying the flavors of our special guests — junior guest star Devon Schaefer’s “Cinnamon Snickerdoodle” was an unexpected favorite. In sum, Salt & Straw’s ice cream just works.

Geoffrey: To quote the acclaimed junior Ben Levin, Salt & Straw serves “absolutely brilliant ice cream.”

Scoop

Geoffrey: For $6, I was expecting some pretty bougie ice cream. However, not only is much of their ice cream not even their own brand, but Scoop’s “Classic Chocolate” ice cream was just bad. Aside from the indescribably weird taste every few bites, it was more like tasteless ice cream with hints of chocolate. It was like asking for lemonade and instead getting lemon-infused water. Though some of the other flavors looked decent, I won’t be back for the Classic Chocolate.

Sonia: Here, Geoffrey and I have wildly different takes. Scoop had the best cookies & cream out of all seven stores. Instead of being visually white with bits of dark Oreo, the ice cream was a consistent brown and gray. As a result, every single bite tasted like a delicious cookie, and I regretted getting only a kid’s size. It is worth noting that the kid’s portion was not only tiny, but also $3.75. It was incredibly overpriced for something I could have eaten in one bite if I wasn’t trying to be more ladylike.

Geoffrey: The guest stars, too, were split on Scoop, with junior Jaya Vazirani raving about her “Espresso and Toffee” while senior Joelle Kim gave her “awful” “Bourbon Vanilla with Salted Caramel” a 0/10.

Gelato Classico

Geoffrey: Gelato differs from classic ice cream in that it’s more dense and flavorful. This fact rings true for Gelato Classico’s dark chocolate gelato, which, with its powerful chocolate flavor, left me savoring every bite. Gelato is served a good bit warmer than ice cream, meaning I could enjoy each bite longer without getting brain freeze. Choosing between Gelato Classico and Salt & Straw after a meal on University Ave. will be difficult, though at $5.75 Gelato Classico is the better bargain.

Sonia: While cookies & cream is my favorite ice cream flavor, I regretted sticking to it at Gelato Classico. Guest star Jaya and I shared a scoop, and the eye contact we made after the first bite let me know that this was not going to be a winner. Our gelato tasted like milk, with the tiniest flakes of Oreo every four bites. Frankly, I felt like I was eating nothing, or at least nothing with taste. Sadly, some of this gelato ended up in the trash. I apologize for the food waste.

Geoffrey: Unfortunately, I don’t think cookies & cream translates well into gelato, but everyone else seemed to greatly enjoy their flavors. I got a taste of junior Cody Kletter’s mango sorbet and Devon’s strawberry sorbet, and both had pronounced, authentic fruity flavors that made me jealous of their freedom to try whatever flavors they wanted. Alas, the things Sonia and I do for journalism….

Sonia: When I saw Cody Kletter’s face light up after his mango sorbet, which he described as “absolutely splendid,” I regretted being such a true journalist. But only for a moment.

Peninsula Creamery

Sonia: By the time we got to Peninsula Creamery (not to be confused with nearby Palo Alto Creamery), our fourth store that day, our guest stars’ taste buds had given out. But, dedicated to the cause, Geoffrey and I powered through. If you are looking for a large portion of pretty solid ice cream, I recommend going here. My cookies and cream ice cream was thick, nicely sweet and most importantly, ginormous. For $5.75, you definitely get your money’s worth. While it didn’t have a great Oreo flavor, it was definitely a vast improvement from our previous stop, Gelato Classico. 

Geoffrey: I beg to differ on that last point especially, and overall, Peninsula Creamery Dairy Store & Grill did not wow. The chocolate flavor in the ice cream came through strong, but it didn’t shine against its nearby competition. Even though I got a lot of bang for my buck here, I won’t seek out ice cream at the Creamery again. With its out of the way location, though, it’s not like you have to work hard to avoid it anyway.