Vegan Frozen Treats in Saratoga Springs

With the swanky Saratoga Springs just a short drive away, I decided to hit Johnny’s Gourmet Italian Ices, a homemade ice cream shoppe that makes several flavors of coconut-based ice creams for its discerning customers. The shoppe owner labels these flavors as “dairy-free” as the food ignorant still fear the v-word… and the zealot vegan types have a problem with the space once being a leather-making shop. Weird. I let him know that the v-word is the reason I was there… and there are many “normal” (ish) vegans. Haha.

Johnny (I’m assuming) was gracious and generous with samples. I tried the vanilla (the true test), chocolate mint, and the coconut cookie, which he advised against my buying as he was not satisfied with the texture. He switched the bin with his chocolate mint, a cold Andres candies taste that reminded me of my mom. In the end it was good ol’ vanilla and chocolate that I chose. And he gave me a discount on my double-scoop cone.

Creamy, flavorful and absolutely delicious. I was very impressed with his homemade stuff. The texture of both flavors was magnificent. The lick of the cone is the test. Does the lick push the ice cream off the cone (bad texture) or does it get creamy and smooth with the moisture of the tongue. Texture score! And flavor score!

On the way back to my car, I saw this place. A real gelato shop with dairy-free flavors including for fruit types and this (pixelated) banana peanut butter. I tried a sample and wished I had a bit more time in the area. Mmm.