Everyone knows the traffic to and from Santa Monica any day of the week can be absolutely dreadful. I can attest that the commute is no joke, but I can also say that a trip to Rori’s for ice cream on a freshly made gluten-free sugar cone is 100% worth it in my book…
It’s hard to pick one reason why I love Rori’s because there are just too many. Rori’s is a Santa Barbara-based ice cream chain that expanded to Santa Monica fairly recently. They care a lot about the important things, like the quality of the cream for their ice cream, the freshest of ingredients for their many flavors, and dietary restrictions. I can appreciate all of those things, but obviously I’m really glad that they are aware of dietary restrictions.
Most of the flavors on Rori’s menu are gluten-free save a handful of flavors like NY Strawberry Cheesecake and Malted Milk Ball. In addition to having gluten-free options, they also have three flavors that are dairy-free as well: Roman’s Chocolate Coconut, Horchata, and Pineapple Whip. The chocolate flavor is just dairy-free, but the other two are vegan. Since I can’t have dairy, I was beyond excited to try these. All three flavors were fantastic. The Roman’s Chocolate Coconut is any chocoholic’s dream. The horchata tasted just like the real thing and was made even better by some candied pecans I had put on top. The Pineapple Whip, fashioned after Disneyland’s notorious Dole Whip, was fantastic, and much better than the real thing for many reasons – one of which being that it’s made with fresh fruit and organic sugar, rather than the amalgam of ingredients, chemicals, and other fake stuff that’s in Dole Whip.
As if Rori’s couldn’t get any better, they also served gluten and dairy-free chocolate cookies, which you could enjoy on our own or use to make an ice cream sandwich incorporating whatever flavor you desire. I think I mentioned this earlier, but it’s worth saying again: Rori’s also has gluten-free ice cream cones. I can’t stress how much of a major key this is. Being able to consume ice cream in an actual cone like a normal human is one of the most validating feelings in the world.
Next time you’re craving ice cream, a trip to Rori’s is absolutely worth it no matter what your Google Maps says.