What's Your Favorite Flavor?

Looking for a cold, sweet and refreshing treat during what promises to be a hot and humid summer season? Plenty of ice cream shops in Garden City are serving up scoops, cups and shakes of both traditional and new favorite flavors.

What exactly are some of the most popular flavors in the ice cream market today? Garden City residents, guests and employees weighed in on their favorites of choice.

10. Helene, a guest at Cold Stone Creamery on Franklin Avenue, said her absolute favorite type of ice cream is praline, a mix of rich and creamy vanilla blended with crunchy pecan nuts. Try Cold Stone's pecan praline flavor mixed with caramel and whipped cream for a homemade pecan pie taste.

9. A gooey favorite that's on many pb&j lovers' top lists is peanut butter ice cream. Made with vanilla ice cream, the peanut butter usually comes in globs, for actual bites of the decadent topping. Employees at TCBY on Seventh Street say that peanut butter is one of their current top four most popular flavors, along with tart, vanilla and coffee. 

8. For a treat that's a bit lighter, but just as refreshing and delicious, Cold Stone also offers smoothies. One of the most popular summer flavors is the strawberry and mango variety, named On the YoGo. The Creamery also carries Berry Lemony, 2 to Mango and Berry Trinity amongst others.

7. Moose Tracks, a flavor that has become very well known in the past decade or so, is quite popular at Boulevard Scoops on Nassau Boulevard, which carries real Hershey's ice cream. Moose Tracks is generally made with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter cups and Moose Tracks fudge. However, some varieties are made with chocolate as well.

6. Francesca, a TCBY employee, says that "all tart flavors" have become extremely popular lately, with the "classic tart" being one of the forerunners. Tart-flavored ice creams are still sweet and creamy, but they also add a twinge of tang to every bite.

5. At Boulevard Scoops, kids have been digging into cups and cones of Play-Doh ice cream. The flavor is an extremely sweet blend of bright yellow-colored vanilla ice cream, mixed with hot pink and blue cookie dough morsels.

4. As the name implies, The Cupcake Corner on New Hyde Park Road is certainly famous for its cupcakes; however, the shop also serves a wide range of milkshakes including banana, caramel, strawberry, coffee, vanilla, chocolate and Oreo. When asked which is the most popular, employee Devon Marocchi says that they are all in demand, but that she's "been making a lot of Oreo lately." Perhaps that's no surprise, since Oreo milkshakes provide the Oreo-dipped-in-milk sensation without sticky hands and crumbling cookies. 

3. No one can forget about the ever famous vanilla. Employees and customers at Boulevard Scoops, TCBY and Cold Stone Creamery all say that vanilla is still one of their top favorites. In fact, Ryan Viola of Boulevard Scoops says, "We go through two tubs of vanilla [and chocolate!] a day."

2. Another big favorite, especially at TCBY, as employee Francesca and customers pointed out, is coffee-flavored ice cream. A quick afternoon pick up blended with a frozen snack on a hot summer's day is unbeatable, especially for those working long hours through the summer.

1. Hands down, the favorite flavor of summer is mint chocolate chip, with its minty freshness that adds even more hints of coolness to an ice cream dish or cone. At Baskin Robbins on Seventh Street, Tara Kelly and Caroline Teleisha answered "mint chocolate chip!" in enthusiastic unison when asked what their favorite ice cream flavor is. Teleisha explained why it's her favorite in two very simple words, "chocolate chips!"