As the weather heats up and the sun comes out, there has been only one thing on our minds: where can we find the perfect ice cream? This question nagged us, kept us awake. The only solution? Try them all!

So, we began a journey around DC (and a bit of Maryland) to find the best ice cream.

Honey’s: 8/10

Conveniently close to JR, Honey’s of Connecticut Avenue is near Politics and Prose. A source at Honey’s recommended a few unique flavors, such as the fig and goat cheese, which, while odd, provided an engaging break from more traditional ice cream flavors. The same source gave us free ice cream (shout out, Andrew), so this quickly became a personal favorite. We highly recommend the pretzel and cookie monster flavors.

Yogi Topi: 8.5/10

Our next stop was Yogi Topi Froyo in Bethesda, Maryland. Yes, we know frozen yogurt is not actually ice cream, but it’s just so delicious that we had to include it. Also, we may or may not have been there anyway. Yogi Topi provides classic frozen yogurt with a wide variety of mouthwatering toppings. Unfortunately, the famous employee Pablo was not there when we visited. Our main complaint was the lack of flavor choices, but they offer the essentials. Plus it’s the perfect place to have an awkward run-in with someone you only kind of know, or see copious numbers of BCC kids.

Jeni’s: 7.5/10

This one is also in Bethesda. The ice cream was delicious; we tried the salted peanut butter with chocolate chips and it was flavorful and rich. We also sampled some specialty flavors, like nebula berry and supermoon, which were quite peculiar. The woman who served us was not happy with our sampling. Overall, we were fans of the shop, but at almost $8.00 for the standard size, the extreme cost lowered its score in our book. Price aside, however, it would have received a near perfect score.

Van Leeuwen’s: 3/10

We visited the one on 18th street. We were compelled to test the vegan ice cream and to be frank, it was nasty. After the mealy-textured peanut butter brownie honeycomb flavor left us with a strong chemical aftertaste, we decided that Van Leeuwen’s did not impress us. We tried to give our leftovers away to a friend, but even for free he couldn’t stomach it. We also have a bone to pick because after tip, our order was $10.00. Atrociously expensive. Also, the parking situation was treacherous.

Mount Desert Island Ice Cream: 9/10

Located in Mount Pleasant, this shop is tops. They offered a wide range of flavors, but we selected spiced chai and salted caramel. We were delighted with both, as they had a just-right texture and richness. These had a more reasonable price tag too. After we begrudgingly handed our ice cream off to a friend, (this was our third stop of the day and our stomachs were near exploding), She enjoyed it thoroughly.

One thing we learned from this process is that we need more ice cream stores! We had to travel way too far to these shops. We believe there should be ice cream within walking distance in every neighborhood! We also believe that ice cream has become far too expensive. No flavor, regardless of how good, is worth eight dollars, let alone ten. We also strongly recommend that you’re cautious before trusting vegan ice cream. So, we hope you take this information and enjoy some delicious ice cream this summer, you deserve it!