I think it’s fair to say that McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams is the most popular ice cream brand on the West Coast. Founded in Santa Barbara in 1949, McConnell’s has storefronts, as well as locations in carts, trucks, and marts. The Santa Barbara area fell in love with the ice cream, and it wasn’t long before McConnell’s took the Cali coast by storm…
The ice cream is made form scratch and ingredients are from the McConnell’s creamery, ensuring the dessert uses only the finest, and most fresh and organic ingredients. The beauty about ice cream is that it is naturally gluten free! All ice cream flavors at McConnell’s are gluten free except for the churro flavor and cookies N cream, as cookies and churros both contain gluten. Luckily, all other flavors are fair game! My friend and I went to McConnell’s at Grand Central Market the other day, and had the opportunity to experience the creams for ourselves. My friend was torn between the chocolate covered strawberries and eureka lemon and marionberries flavors; they both looked so pretty! She decided on the chocolate covered strawberries and loved it. Being dairy free myself as well, I was happy to see McConnell’s also serves sorbet. Mango and blackberry lime were the flavors I could choose from; I went with the blackberry lime and it was amazing! The two fruit flavors paired incredibly well, and I loved the unique combination. McConnell’ ice cream was so flavorful on its own, you won’t want any toppings… which was a good thing, as most of the toppings offered contained gluten. Pretzels, wafers, and cookie chunks are all off-limits, but if you insist on decorating your already beautiful ice cream with added flavor, the almond brittle and rainbow sprinkles are NOBREAD approved!
Delicious, healthy, and fresh; McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams is an absolute must try for anyone in the Cali area. The website is great too, and super helpful for people with food allergies or dietary restrictions. Each flavor is listed on the site with its ingredients, showing McConnell’s care for their customers. I can’t wait to go back for more!