The Triangle has the nation’s best ice cream, says USA Today. Here’s where to find it
USA TODAY readers voted five North Carolina ice cream shops as some of the best in the nation, with shops in the Triangle getting top scores.
The annual 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards are determined by readers’ votes. Initial selections came from travel experts choosing the top 20 nominees in a number of categories, including best art museum, best farmers market, best outdoor water park and more.
All categories, winners and pending winners can be found at 10best.com/awards/travel.
Here’s a look at the top Triangle ice cream winners.
Andias Ice Cream in Cary, NC wins 10Best award
Andia’s Ice Cream won a top-10 readers’ choice award for the best ice cream shop in the United States. The Cary shop came in at #4 on the list.
Andia’s Ice Cream was voted the best ice cream in the Triangle last summer among News & Observer readers, beating out runners-up Maple View Ice Cream in Hillsborough and Fresh Local Ice Cream with Raleigh, Cary and Apex locations.
“It’s not a trend that’s going to come and go. Everybody loves a nice scoop of ice cream,” Andia Xouris told The N&O last summer.
“You could create all kinds of amazing flavors when you’re doing this with ice cream. For me, it helps me speak what I’m feeling, what’s trending for me in my own life.”
Andia’s flavors of the month include:
Bite Me
Birthday Cake
Butter’d Beer
Freckled Mint
Lemon Lime Sorbet
Malted Twix
Summer Blues
Thai Tea
“Andia’s small-batch, premium quality ice cream offers appealing flavors like baklava, rose pistachio and mango sticky rice in cups and freshly made waffle cones. “Monster shakes that come in mason jars are frequent stars on Instagram with over-the-top additions like mini cupcakes and torched marshmallows,” USA TODAY 10Best said.
You can visit Andia’s Homemade Ice Cream at 10120 Green Level Church Rd. #208 or 1008 Ryan Road, both in Cary. An additional location will open later this year in the Raleigh Iron Works development.
Two Roosters among best ice cream in United States
Two Roosters won a top-10 readers’ choice award for the best ice cream shop in the United States. The shop came in at #8 on the list.
Two Roosters began in March 2015 out of a turquoise and white camper attached to an old Ford F-100 truck, selling homemade ice cream in some unexpected flavors (think: grilled cheese and pizza).
Today, they scoop in five locations: three in Raleigh and two in Durham, including at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
But they still use the original pickup truck and trailer.
“To me, it’s like, ‘How can we take these classic things that people are used to and tweak them just slightly, so they’re still familiar, but yet different from the next person down the street?’” co-owner Jared Plummer, an NC State graduate, told The N&O in 2017.
“One of my favorite moments of this whole thing is when people try a flavor, and it’s unlike anything they’ve ever had.”
The Summer 2023 series flavors include:
Bourbon Peach Cookie
Chocolate Cone Crunch
Berry Lemon Cookie
Biscoff S’mores
Coffee Toffee Swirl
Non Dairy Strawberry Shortbread
“North Carolina’s Two Roosters promises it will offer forever flavors like Double Fold Vanilla and Coffee Bourbon, but monthly specials are equally tempting and very clever. For example, May’s list is based on kid lit authors, so try the slightly spicy and citrusy tea flavor inspired by Tracy Deonn’s novel ‘Legendborn.’” USA TODAY 10Best said.
You can visit Two Roosters at the following storefronts:
Greystone Village: 7713 Lead Mine Rd. Raleigh, NC
Person Street: 215 E Franklin St. Raleigh, NC
Lake Boone Trail: 4025 Lake Boone Trail Raleigh, NC
Golden Belt: 800 Taylor St. Durham, NC
North Carolina ice cream shops win 10Best awards
Simply Natural Creamery came in at #3.
“The cows roam and graze in the family farm’s pastures munching homegrown food and producing the richer milk that comes from Jersey cows. Enjoy hand-dipped cones and cups, sundaes, milkshakes, pints and half-gallons of the good stuff at Simply Natural Creamery’s locations in North Carolina,” USA TODAY 10Best said.
Simply Natural Creamery has three locations in Ayden, Greenville and Morehead City.
Beaufort Creamery came in at #7.
“This small-batch creamery churns out homemade hard scoop ice cream, featuring tempting rotating flavors like banana pudding and orange creamsicle. Gluten-free options and the convenient location by the boardwalk keep the shop busy,” USA TODAY 10Best said.
Beaufort Creamery is located at 400 Front St. # 2 in Beaufort.
This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 1:22 PM with the headline "The Triangle has the nation’s best ice cream, says USA Today. Here’s where to find it."
