You can have your fancy ice creams and gelatos and sorbets (save me a spoonful, though!)—I’d rather have an ice cream bar. Give me a slab of vanilla dipped in chocolate, then rubbed in a mixture of ingredients. Give me what the gals make down at South Swell Ice Cream in San Clemente.
Open just this spring, the small, sprightly shop sells bars and bars alone, the better for families to take as they stroll down Avenida Del Mar toward the Pier. You can make your own creation out of South Swell’s many ingredients, but I always tend to order the Bite Me. All it is is your standard vanilla ice cream bar rolled in Butterfingers bits and drizzled with peanut butter—but what else do you need this for this heatwave? Salty, sweet, cold, and anchored by the gourmet chocolate South Swell uses as a base, the Bite Me is summer on a stick. Oh, and don’t forget to also order the Deez Nuts, the best-named dish in Orange County since the Chingaderas at Smoqued Barbecue in Orange.
South Swell Ice Cream, 137 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente, (949) 388-4984; www.southswellicecream.com
