Best In Lakeland: Lakeland Ice Cream Company

The Best Ice Cream In Polk County, Florida

This was Lakeland's answer, and it wasn't close in Lakeland either.

It's locally owned by Joel and Melissa Vann, who started out in barbecue before getting into ice cream. 

There are 60+ hand-dipped flavors, gluten-free and dairy-free options, and a couple of things you won't find anywhere else around here, like ice cream nachos and the now-famous cotton candy burrito.

Two locations now, one on the north side and one on the south, so no excuses.

Voters said things like:

• "Lakeland Ice Cream Company is owned by a local family in lakeland"
• "Lakeland ice cream on Duff Rd."
• "Lakeland, mulberry, Polk city ice cream shops they are the best!"

And, spoiler alert: that last voter is onto something...

Best Small-Town Scoop Shop: Mulberry Ice Cream Company

The Best Ice Cream In Polk County, Florida

Same owners as Lakeland Ice Cream Company, smaller town, and honestly a little more fun to stumble into.

Mulberry has 70+ hand-dipped flavors and homemade waffle cones, and it's tucked right behind the Shell station.

The Vanns also run Polk City Ice Cream Company (which started in an unused catering space next to their Polk City BBQ). So if you've had a scoop in Lakeland, Mulberry or Polk City, it's all the same family of shops.

Voters said things like:

• "Mulberry Ice Cream Company behind Shell gas station. They also sell a cotton candy burrito made with any ice cream flavor. They have an ice-cream called trash can it has 7 different candy bars in it."
• "Mulberry Ice Cream Company"
• "Mayday or mulberry ice cream"

Seven candy bars in one flavor. 

I have questions, and I will be answering them in person.

Best Tropical Flavors: Carmen's Ice Cream Parlor

The Best Ice Cream In Polk County, Florida

This is the one people kept describing instead of naming.

"The place next to the movie theater." "Across from Santiago's." It's Carmen's, a paletería y nevería right by the Cobb theater on Havendale, and it's homemade.

Think mango chili, avocado, pine nut and fresh fruit paletas, not just vanilla and chocolate. It's at 4.8 stars on Google with 370+ reviews.

Voters said things like:

• "I enjoy Carmen's if you like tropical and fruity ice cream."
• "There's a place next to the movie theater near havendale! Actual home made ice cream and some other things!!! So amazing. I have no idea what the name is but right next door to the movie theater!!!!!"
• "Carmen's Parlor. Next to Cobb movie theatre."

Now, hopefully, locals will know the name.

Best Old-School Shake Spot: Shake Shoppe

The Best Ice Cream In Polk County, Florida

Hometown bias? Maybe a little.

Katie and I are only about a block away from this one; but I'm still counting it as a local legend (and it got the votes to prove it).

The Shake Shoppe has been on Main Street, right across from the park, in one form or another since 1981. The Whigham family has owned it since 2008.

Shakes, sundaes, cones.

Voters said things like:

• "The shake shoppe in auburndale"
• "Shake shop by the Auburndale park"
• "In Auburndale there's a park on main Street and a ice cream parlor across the road it has a game room In it"

Grab a shake, walk across into downtown Auburndale (which is getting SO many new awesome places) and the park. That's the move.

Other Great Ice Cream Spots In Polk County, Florida

If you’re anything like me, you want to try all the top spots for ice cream in Polk County, Florida so you can be the judge for yourself.

So here is the rest of the top ten best Italian restaurants in Lakeland, Florida (in order 6-10):

• Mayday Ice Cream (Lakeland), inside The Joinery, for small-batch flavors and almost always a good dairy-free option (Katie's go-to)
• Ripples Handcrafted Ice Cream (Winter Haven), in Bowen Yard, from the Honeycomb and Ethos folks, so get the affogato
• Fluffy's (Winter Haven)
• Polk City Ice Cream Company (Polk City)
• Mootown Scoops (Lakeland)
• Golden Ridge Groves (Bartow), for the orange ice cream on a working citrus farm

Which gives us the full top ice cream spots in Polk County.

And brings us to the moment you’ve all been waiting for…

My personal opinion (that no one asked for ).

Here are my personal favorite spots: 

1. Mayday
2. Shake Shoppe
3. Frostbite

I'm not really a big ice cream guy, so that should be noted right off the bat.

That said, Katie loves Mayday's dairy free options when we go, so I bumped that up a notch.

I also have been to Shake Shoppe more than any other spot because it's a block away from us, so that gives it a bit of an unfair advantage!

THANKS!

Thanks for reading this edition of The Polk Squeeze today. 

Share this with a friend who's been looking for the best ice cream spots in Polk.

- Mike Romaine