The Going Rate: The Price of Ice Cream

Legend says that the Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but not before ordering his slaves to get snow from the mountains, which he topped with nectar, fruit pulp and honey. That story is one of several claims to the ancient origins of the treat that has evolved into ice cream. 

Today the popular dessert comes in many flavor combinations, complete with complex toppings. But the simple scoop in a cone remains a traditional favorite. So, as summer approaches, Sherman Oaks Patch has gone in search of the going rate for an ice cream cone in Sherman Oaks. 

First, we checked Humphrey Yogart (rhymes with Bogart) on Van Nuys Boulevard. While the word “yogart” is in the name, owner Paula Sheftel says her shop also offers six flavors of ice cream. Or, customers can order a custom blend. The staff will mix a simple flavor, such as chocolate, with a wide variety of chosen ingredients, including raspberries, M&Ms, Reese's and Oreos.

Humphrey Yogart boasts all natural ingredients. One generous scoop contains 7 ounces of ice cream in either a sugar or wafer cone. It will cost you $2.85 out the door. Add another 25 cents for each additional ingredient. 

Humphrey Yogart, 4574 Van Nuys Blvd. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10:30pm.; Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Parlor offers a 6-ounce scoop of ice cream in a sugar cone for $3.89. There is no tax added for takeout. Store Manager Tricia Beach says they have 40 to 42 flavors to choose from. Additional toppings such as sprinkles, hot fudge or whipped cream cost 75 cents each. 

The Sherman Oaks Ben & Jerry’s is offering a special concoction called “The Late Night Snack.” Brace yourself: It combines vanilla bean ice cream with caramel swirls and chocolate-covered potato chips. This diet-buster is fast becoming a favorite. 

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Parlor, 15301 Ventura Blvd. Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, until midnight.

If you are in the mood for something different, you might want to try a gelato cone. This Italian form of ice cream typically has lower butterfat, more sugar and a richer flavor. 

Aromi Cafe on Ventura Boulevard offers “authentic Italian ice cream,” according to manager and ice cream maker Jack Yepremian. He blends imported-Italian flavor ingredients with whole milk, right at the store, to create an ice cream which he describes as “more dense than American ice cream with more flavor packed into smaller bits.” 

Aromi Cafe has 24 flavors, but keeps 12 on display. Yepremian rotates them out so customers can try new flavors. The store also offers fresh-fruit flavors, which are non-dairy.  

The most popular flavor? Stracciatella, which Yepremian describes as “a fancy name for chocolate chip.”

An Aromi Cafe single scoop is “about the size of a tennis ball,” Yepremian say. A scoop in a cake cone will cost you $3.25. 

Aromi Cafe, 14531 Ventura Blvd. Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed Sundays.

You have another Sherman Oaks gelato choice at Sweet Harts, also on Ventura. The store offers a 2- to 3-ounce gelato sugar cone for $2.51. The gelato is not made on site, says manager Aiden McConkey. She says it comes from a local supplier who makes it himself from all natural ingredients.

Sweet Harts always has 16 different flavors on hand, says McConkey. The most popular, she says, are the dairy-free chocolate, mint chip, tiramisu and pear. The pear gelato is more than 50 percent fruit, she says.

At Sweet Harts you have a choice of 28 self-serve toppings. Sweet Harts will give you a cup in which to blend your toppings then weigh the cup. The cost for toppings is 39 cents an ounce. 

Sweet Harts, 13704 Ventura Blvd. Hours: Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, until 11 p.m.

Finally, if you are looking for a quick and cheap ice cream fix, McDonald’s on Ventura might be the place. You can get a simple reduced-fat vanilla ice cream cone for a grand total of 76 cents. It’s soft serve, from a machine. The McDonald’s website says its cone is 3.2 ounces. 

The ingredients, listed on the website, include milk, sugar, cream and artificial vanilla flavor. 

McDonald’s, 13925 Ventura Blvd. Hours: Daily, 5:30 a.m. to midnight.

If you arrive at your chosen ice cream store undecided on what flavor to choose, most of those we contacted offer free samples.  Also, many of the stores plan to extend their hours right after Memorial Day, just in time for those hot summer nights.