OTTAWA -- What's better on a hot day than a cool ice cream cone?
The third Sunday in July is "National Ice Cream Day" in the United States, but we can celebrate here in Canada, too. After all, there's a heat warning on in the nation's capital.
And even after Sunday is over, summer continues, and ice cream will still be a great way to cool off.
We put the question out to you: what's the best ice cream in town? Here's what you had to say.
Moo Shu Ice Cream
Moo Shu Ice Cream at 477 Bank St. in Ottawa came in as one of the all-time favourites for many people in the city. The shop features small-batch ice cream made with pure Ontario dairy.
"Creative flavours, vegan options, and scratch-made cones."
Carp Custom Creamery
Carp Custom Creamery is another all-time favourite.
Located at 3763 Carp Rd. in the village of Carp, the creamery serves up home made ice cream and treats, with more than 60 flavours.
The Merry Dairy
The Merry Dairy at 102 Fairmont Ave. in Ottawa serves up ice cream cones, cakes, sandwiches, and even offers kits to make delicious ice cream floats.
La Cigale
A favourite across the river, La Cigale ice cream shop offers freshly churned ice cream to residents, hikers and visitors to the Gatineau Park.
Located at 14 Ch. Scott in Chelsea, QC, the ice cream shop is right across from the Gatineau Park visitors' centre. They've boasted more than 70 flavours over the years.
Lois 'N' Frima's
Lois 'N' Frima's is a popular choice for visitors to Ottawa's ByWard Market, and they have a location in Stittsville as well, at 1626 Stittsville Main St.
Their famous, brightly-coloured stand at 71 George St. also offers hot dogs and slushies at great prices. "Are we crazy?" their sign asks.
Yes, crazy good!
Brett's Ice Cream
This Kanata ice cream shop came up several times.
Located at the corner of Beaverbrook Road and Teron Road, Brett's gives west-end residents a tasty way to cool down.
The Beachconers Microcreamery
You may not find Nick and Jesse Jim here, but you will find tasty ice cream using fresh fruits and herbs, locally-sourced jams, and homemade baked goods.
Located at 273 Britannia Rd., this little ice cream shop offers new flavours all the time, so it's worth a return trip or three!
Stella Luna
This may be a "controversial" choice, but we can't ignore the people who said the best frozen treat in Ottawa is the gelato from Stella Luna.
This award-winning shop has been named the best gelato in Canada and was in the top 3 gelato shops in the Americas at the Gelato World Tour in 2016.
Stella Luna has three locations: 1103 Bank St. and 1130 Wellington St. W. in Ottawa, and 111 Main St. E. in Merrickville.
CTV Ottawa's favourites
Some of CTV Ottawa's favourite places include:
Scoops in Pakenham (Patricia Boal)
Cowan's Dairy Bar in Brockville (Nate Vandermeer)
Jo-Jo's Creameria in Stittsville (Dylan Dyson)
Pascale's Ice Cream (Joanne Woo)
National Ice Cream Day
U.S. President Ronald Reagan declared the very first National Ice Cream Day on July 15, 1984. It was part of a National Ice Cream Month resolution passed by the U.S. Senate that year declaring July 1984 "National Ice Cream Month."
While the day and month were only meant for 1984, the tradition has continued in the 36 years since, as ice cream lovers and manufacturers celebrate the classic summer treat. Social media has only intensified the trend, as special days cross borders in the global online community.
There is no official "National Ice Cream Day" in Canada, but that doesn't stop Canadians from celebrating and enjoying ice cream on the third Sunday in July.
According to Google Canada, we love vanilla. It was the most-searched flavour of ice cream in eight provinces and one territory.
Yukon and Newfoundland and Labrador love chocolate, while the Northwest Territories searched for avocado ice cream in 2020. Prince Edward Island's top search was for Oreo-flavoured scoops.
More Canadians are also searching for how to make ice cream at home.
"Last month, with the temperature on the rise and Canadians spending more time at home, it appears Canadians were continuing to up their chef skills as searches for 'homemade ice cream' reached an all-time high and searches for 'waffle cone maker' spiked +400% in 2020," said Google Canada spokesperson Christina Peck. "For those that simply wanted their favourite icy treat, searches for 'best ice cream delivery' also saw a spike (+700% in 2020)."
Something uniquely Canadian that Peck pointed out is "moon mist ice cream."
"Since 2004, Canada has been the top country worldwide searching for moon mist ice cream. If you aren't familiar with it, moon mist ice cream is an Atlantic Canada specialty, which is a bright-coloured blend of banana, grape and bubblegum flavours," she said.
Banana, vanilla, and pistachio were the top three most searched ice cream flavours in Canada this year.
How Google Trends are calculated: Google Trends provides access to a largely unfiltered sample of search requests made to Google. It’s anonymized (no one is personally identified), categorized (determining the topic for a search query) and aggregated (grouped together). This allows us to display interest in a particular topic from around the globe or down to city-level geography.
