Only those people who think that ice cream is somehow “unhealthy” don’t love ice cream sandwiches; I think those people are monsters.Everyone also loves something that has the air of exclusivity. Carmela’s ice cream has the mystique of not having their own shop, instead peddling their wares at farmer’s markets and specialty shops like Locali. If I needed another reason to wake up early on a Sunday and head over to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market, I’ve found that in Carmela’s fresh mint with cocoa nibs inbetween two dark chocolate shortbread cookies with sea salt on them. They apparently grow their own mint, and the ice cream is outrageously deliciously minty. And unlike a lot of other ice cream sandwiches, these cookies aren’t merely a delivery system for ice cream, but are pretty delicious themselves.

A runner up for favorite ice cream sandwiches would have to be Milk on Beverly. The building is beautiful enough, but then you step inside and the beauty of pastries and hand made ice cream is  almost overwhelming. The pastries are pretty good, but definitely the reason to go is for their ice cream. I used to ride past this place on my bicycle all the time and would think to myself  “I should check this place out sometime”, but never did. When the Silent Movie Theater started carrying their ice cream sandwiches at the concession stand, though, I realized the error of my ways.