Here we are, in the last stretch of real summer before the leaves start to fall and the mornings get colder and the dessert flavors take a distinctly pumpkin-y turn.
At the beginning of the summer, we introduced you to nine new sweet treat destinations in Portland. Hopefully, by now, you have familiarized yourself with all of them. But as summer wanes and the daylight hours get shorter, it’s time to soak up every last minute of sunshine, preferably with something cold in hand, so in those dark months you will have a good memory to hold on to.
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We traveled through Portland and its suburbs and sampled cold treats from pizza shops, ice creameries and food trucks and came up with a list of treats you should try before summer 2022 kicks the bucket.
Shaved Ice at Menehune Murph’s Hawaiian Shaved Ice
Technically, you can eat shaved ice at any time of the year. But, for maximum enjoyment, shaved ice is best consumed in a tank top when the temperature at dusk is still in the 80s. Gladstone’s Menehune Murph’s Hawaiian Shaved Ice is just the ticket, if you can’t fly to Hawaii for the experience. Here, you can get a child’s size shaved ice as big as a child’s head, with ice cream or even Dole Whip – the classic pineapple soft serve, famously available at Disneyland – inside, drizzled in generous amounts of brightly colored syrup. Whichever flavors you get, don’t forget to add tiger’s blood, the champ of shaved ice syrup flavors, which combines watermelon, strawberry and coconut. Now you’re doing summer right.
Details: Menehune Murph’s Hawaiian Shaved Ice, noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, 430 Portland Ave., Gladstone, menehunemurphs.com
Frozen yogurt and churro sundae at Sprinkle Divine
Indisputable ice cream fact: Combining a cold dairy dessert with a warm baked good enhances both delicious items by at least 100%. Evidence: Sprinkle Divine in Eastport Plaza. Here, you can pick from a wide selection of frozen yogurts and add your own toppings. Or, you can get a suggested sundae. We opted for the “Chocolate Lovers” sundae which was definitely the kind of thing you should share with a friend and that warm crunchy chewy churro dipped in slowly melting chocolate frozen yogurt was even better than it looked in the picture.
Details: Sprinkle Divine, noon to 10 p.m. daily, 4328 S.E. 82nd Ave. Suite 1000
Soft serve and literal gold at Nobibi
Sure, soft serve is good, but does it have enough gold on it? That’s the question asked and answered by Nobibi (or OOOnobibi), a Beaverton shop serving up Instagram-friendly desserts like the D’or ice cream cone. We got ours with matcha soft serve, which is a mellow, not-too-sweet flavor that also looks good under edible gold leaf.
Details: Nobibi, noon to 10 p.m. Wednesday-Monday, 3905 S.W. 117th Ave. Suite G, Beaverton, nobibipdx.com
Milkshake at McBee’s Shakes Crêpes & Cones
At McBee’s Shakes Crêpes & Cones in Rock Creek, the options for cold treats are almost limitless. There’s Dole Whip, Flavorburst, crepes and a bunch of different types of ice cream sundaes. But sometimes, when you want ice cream but don’t have the energy to deal with actually eating it, it’s time for a milkshake. And McBee’s is happy to fill that need by serving up a tasty version with plenty of whipped cream and, in the case of mint shake, an Andes mint.
Details: McBee’s Shakes Crêpes & Cones, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday, 18365 N.W. West Union Road, Suite D, mcbeescafe.com
Custard concrete at Rally Pizza
If you find yourself in Vancouver craving a Dairy Queen Blizzard, take a moment and consider whether or not a custard concrete from Rally Pizza might be a better option. These mixtures of vanilla bean custard and things like chocolate cake or lemon curd and ginger snaps are really enough frozen custard for a family of four, but you will probably survive if you have to eat a whole one yourself.
Details: Rally Pizza, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, noon to 8 p.m. Friday-Sunday, 8070 E. Mill Plain Blvd., Vancouver, rallypizza.com
Paleta at Ome Calli
These extra hot summer days sometimes call for something cold, refreshing and a little less dense than ice cream. Enter, the paleta. The paletas at Ome Calli do the exact job that a frozen fruit pop should do – they cool you down and give you just enough sugar to make it to your next activity. For a treat with a little edge, try the mango with chili.
Details: Ome Calli Frozen Treats, noon to 9 p.m. daily, 12795 S.W. Canyon Road, Beaverton, omecallifrozentreats.com
Flavorburst soft serve at Pizza Jerk
Flavorburst soft serve may not be high brow, but in summer’s waning days, do we really care anymore if other people think what we’re eating is hip enough? There is something so satisfying, asthetically, about these vanilla cones edged in color, that continues through every lick of creamy soft serve and, in our case, black raspberry flavor. When you finally get to the crunch of the sugar cone at the bottom, your transformation into a child at a carnival will be complete.
Details: Pizza Jerk, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, 5028 N.E. 42nd Ave., pizzajerkpdx.com
Make-your-own sundae at Sugarpine Drive-In
You really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu at Troutdale’s destination drive-in overlooking the Sandy River. The food is all great, but the soft serve alone is worth the drive, or better yet, the bike ride. Get something swirled and try their peanut butter crunch on top, a light, honeycomb peanut concoction that you will probably think about for a full week after your ice cream has disappeared from its cup.
Details: Sugarpine Drive-In, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Monday, 1208 E. Historic Columbia River Hwy., Troutdale, sugarpinedrivein.com
Homemade drumstick at Holler treats
Holler is basically a bespoke Chuck E. Cheese in Sellwood with fried foods, video games, pinball, skee ball, birthday cakes, milkshakes and homemade drumsticks. Yes, that drumstick is $10, which is not exactly what you would pay when you get one out of a freezer at the convenience store or from your local ice cream truck. But you’re paying for that waffle cone and vanilla bean ice cream drenched in chocolate and nuts that are much fancier than the regular version.
Details: Holler Treats, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily, 7119 S.E. Milwaukie Ave., hollertreatspdx.com
Handmade ice cream at Treat
The ice cream at Treat in downtown Vancouver is made onsite, along with the waffle cones and even the cake that goes into the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake ice cream, which is a solid choice if you’re looking to take a heaping waffle cone on a walk around Vancouver’s adorable downtown. That flavor is chock-full of buttery bites of cake, in an ice cream that isn’t too sweet and lets the cake shine through. They may not have an outpost at Disneyland or ice cream sandwiches in stores nationwide like some Portland juggernauts, but Treat should definitely be included among the Portland-area ice cream experts.
Details: Treat, noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, noon to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Sunday, 210 W. Evergreen Blvd. Suite 600, Vancouver, treatvancouver.com
Strawberry and poppyseed brittle soft serve sundae at Bluto’s
Sure, most people head to Bluto’s for the Greek-inspired woodfired food, but don’t sleep on the soft serve sundaes. The poppyseed brittle on the strawberry and poppyseed brittle version is perfectly crunchy and sweet with that chewiness later that comes from smashing poppyseeds between your teeth. And the strawberry jam is a bright visual complement to the black brittle that is also a sweet, fresh addition to the vanilla soft serve. Get for dessert or just get it on it’s own. You’re a grown-up now and you can eat ice cream whenever you want.
Details: Bluto’s, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, 2838 S.E. Belmont St., blutospdx.com
Handmade ice cream at Beaux Berry
Beaux Berry is one of two places on Northeast Fremont Street where you can get New Zealand-style ice cream – vanilla smashed with frozen berries – and you will not go wrong ordering it here or down the street at Nico’s. But Beaux Berry also offers small batch, handmade ice cream in a variety of flavors, plus a variety of toppings. Try the lemon chiffon for a smooth, delightful treat and add some hot fudge because really, if hot fudge is on the menu, the answer should always be yes.
Details: Beaux Berry, 12:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily, 3707 N.E. Fremont St., beauxberry.com
Dole Whip vanilla swirl at Red Sauce Pizza
Red Sauce Pizza on Fremont has great pizza, but if you’re walking down the street on a warm day, you will discover they have something you might want even more – soft serve. The flavors do rotate but if you’re lucky, one will be Dole Whip, which can be swirled with vanilla. And, it turns out, the combo of Dole Whip and vanilla soft serve feels like an elevated ice cream cup from a child’s school birthday in 1989. Add glitter for a special, sparkling treat. And get some pizza too, for the full, birthday party experience.
Details: Red Sauce Pizza, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4641 N.E. Fremont St., redsaucepizza.com
Shave ice at Da Shave Ice Shack
There was a time when you couldn’t get shave ice anywhere in Portland, but nowadays, you have several options. If you’re in the inner east side and things are heating up, head over to Da Shave Ice Shack, which is just a cart in a parking lot where a friendly person will shave the ice and pour on the syrup right in front of you. The options here are basically limitless, but you can’t go wrong with a mound of flavored ice on a hot day.
Details: Da Shave Ice Shack, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 105 N.E. Eighth Ave., dashaveiceshack.com
Smoothie at Fresh Love
If you have somehow managed to eat your way through this entire list ... congratulations. Now, may we interest you in some fruit? Sometimes, the cool sweet treat that really hits the spot on a hot day is a smoothie and the fresh fruit smoothies at Fresh Love on Fremont are perfect for just that occasion. Fresh Love is a cute little neighborhood spot where you can buy fresh fruit, coffee, juices, salads and sandwiches. But get a smoothie and sit at one of the rainbow-painted picnic tables outside. Summer doesn’t last forever so enjoy it while you can.
Details: Fresh Love, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 7434 N.E. Fremont St., freshlovepdx.com
-- Lizzy Acker
503-221-8052; lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
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