twobowls
Frosty concoctions are welcome any time of year, but nothing helps beat the heat better than an ice cream sundae, filling açai bowl or wine-saturated sorbet from these freshly minted dessert hot spots.
Sandbar Breeze (sandbarbreeze.com): If the wind blows you in the direction of RSW, make a quick detour here. There’s something for everyone, from the Sandbar Breeze ice cream (pineapple with orange and coconut macaroon) to Bananas Foster gelato. But the stars are delightful alcohol-kissed sorbets and ices, including raspberry-Shiraz, margarita and Champagne.
two20bowls2
The Bowl (the-bowl.com): What’s inside these bowls (left) looks decadent but is guilt-free. Using frozen açai berries, tropical fruits and nut butters, the blended bases are thicker and more nutrient-dense than smoothies and eaten with spoons like sorbet (and can therefore double as meals).
Best Ice Cream (besticecreaminftmyers.com): Often, the best of anything means customization. Last year Naples got a branch of Sub Zero for flash-frozen liquid nitrogen single-cup experiments, and now a mom-and-pop place using a similar formula has debuted in Fort Myers. Create your own flavor or try one of the owners’ inventions—you can even call in an order of vegan coconut-milk ice cream.
Mitch’s Cookie Café (mitchscookies.com): There has been a profusion of Royal Scoop franchises and partnerships in recent months, but none has been more exciting than the debut of this old-fashioned ice cream parlor in East Naples whipping up floats, milkshakes and cookie sundaes. It pairs the classic Southwest Florida scoops with freshly baked munchies.
Love Boat Dessert Bar (loveboaticecream.com): In a similar move, Love Boat, which has been the Fort Myers go-to for more than 50 years, partnered with Sweet Bean Café to launch this eatery in January. It takes a selection of the Boat’s 50 flavors and combines them with the Bean’s from-scratch coffee cakes and pastries. (P.S., before the end of summer, the same plaza will also welcome a Norman Love chocolate salon serving gelato.)
Belgian Yummies (belgianyummies.com): Late last year Jack and Rita’s on Immokalee Road got a quick-change makeover and became a new charming spot featuring Belgian chocolate. It’s being used to craft heart-shaped ice cream bars, ice cream cakes and toppings for cones and Belgian waffles, too.
Sandy Scoops (239-641-0106): Part of the reinvigoration of the strip mall anchored by 21 Spices near the Naples Bay Resort, this quaint beachy-themed parlor has tubs of the usual hard suspects plus shaved ices reminiscent of snow cones.