When the temperature soars, Vincenza and Margherita Carrieri-Russo know how to dial back the heat. The Carrieri-Russo family owns Ice Cream Delight, a fixture of Brandywine Hundred for almost 20 years. The stand is directly behind their Italian restaurant, V&M Bistro, well known for its Limoncello Ice Martini.
“When the weather is sunny and warm, our customers crave something cold,” Vincenza says. They’re not the only ones, and fortunately, there are multiple sweet and satisfying ways to cool off in August and beyond.
Soft sensations
Ice Cream Delight offers more than 52 flavors of soft serve, as well as fat-free, sugar-free frozen yogurt. What’s the difference? Frozen yogurt uses cultured milk, not cream.
1 Ice Cream Drive, Wilmington; 478-4555
Meanwhile, soft serve ice cream rose to fame in the 1930s—Dairy Queen was founded in 1940—and remains the mainstay sweet at fairs, festivals and boardwalk concession stands. In New Castle, the famous Dairy Palace was built in 1954 as a Dairy Queen. However, in 1970, owners Joyce and Vince Parker purchased their franchise site to preserve the architecture. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
2 Jay Drive, New Castle; 328-9740
Soft serve has more sugar than frozen custard, which is the star of the Kohr Bros. chain. The company originated in Coney Island, where Archie, Elton and Lester Kohr opened a stand in 1919. Since smooth ice cream melts quickly, they added extra eggs to form a thicker consistency. Today, there are three downtown Rehoboth locations and stores in Bethany Beach and Fenwick.
Cold as ice
In Delaware, water ice typically refers to the Italian variety, made with fresh lemon juice and ice granules so small they feel like satin on the tongue. Fusco’s Italian Water Ice in Little Italy was started by Francesco “Cheech” Fusco, who came to the United States in 1922. He ran a luncheonette, worked at Bancroft Mills and, in 1962, opened Fusco’s Italian Water Ice.
The stand is managed by family member Joe Staffieri, who opened a Kirkwood Highway location in April 2024, expanding the flavor options by using Luxardo, the original maraschino cherry, to make cherry water ice and mangoes for a third flavor. Despite the additions, Staffieri says, Fusco’s still stands for “quality and real ingredients.”
Not all water ice is Italian. Consider Cajun-Sno, which offers 150 flavors of New Orleans-style snoballs for mixing and matching. Meg and Dan Hurst own the local food truck, but you can find the icy delight at their Sweet Lucy’s Ice Cream & Treats.
3201 Concord Pike, Wilmington; 824-2356
One scoop or two
Sweet Lucy’s sells both soft serve and hard ice cream. Again, the difference is in the ratio of ingredients. Scoopable ice cream has more milk fat and can hold solid ingredients like chocolate pieces or nuts.
The shop purchases ice cream from Hershey’s, the Frozen Farmer in Bridgeville, Hy-Point Dairy Farms in Wilmington and Woodside Farm Creamery in Hockessin.
Woodside, which is open to the public, has been owned by the Mitchell family since 1796. The farm’s long-lashed Jersey cows produce milk with more solids and higher butterfat content.
1310 Little Baltimore Pike, Hockessin; 239-9847
The richness is one reason Woodside is the vendor of choice for the Ice Cream Store in Rehoboth Beach. The boardwalk-area shop features more than 100 flavors and has a cult following for the more inventive creations, including Better Than Sex and Death by Peanut Butter.
6 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach; 227-4609
Vanderwende Farm Creamery Bridgeville uses Holstein cows to produce milk for its main location and shops in Greenwood, Dewey Beach, Fenwick Island and Philadelphia.
La dolce vita
Gelato is creamier and denser than ice cream, which Colin Dyckman discovered while visiting Italy during a heat wave. He spent a lot of time in gelaterias. In the U.S., he opened Boro Café, which offers gelato, coffee and sorbet. (Boro gelato is also available at SIW Vegetables in Chadds Ford.)
3549 Silverside Road, Wilmington; 205-1929
Boro joins Caffe Gelato, which Ryan German opened in 2000 shortly before graduating from the University of Delaware. The Newark eatery has evolved into an acclaimed restaurant with an award-winning wine program. However, you can still pop in for a cup at the gelato bar.
90 E. Main St., Newark; 738-5811
A chilly kick
Beer lovers who want to beat the heat can order the Squishy Slushy (8% ABV) at Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats. The refreshing drink is made with the brewery’s Citrus Squall, “the perfect storm” of a double golden ale and a Paloma cocktail. Along with beer, the cocktail includes grapefruit juice powder, agave nectar and blanco tequila.
320 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach; 226-2739
Try the Seaquench Slushy made with Seaquench Ale (4.9% ABV) at Dogfish Head’s Milton brewery.
6 Cannery Village Center, Milton; 684-1000
For something more elegant, visit V&M Bistro for the Limoncello Ice Martini, which contains limoncello and lemon water ice made in-house. “Margherita creates all our Italian water ice and Boozy Ice Cream flavors from scratch,” her sister says.
Boozy ice cream is part of the restaurant’s Barlour menu. Flavors include Vodka Mint Chocolate Chip and Whiskey Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, both luscious ways to savor summer.
1717 Marsh Road, Wilmington; 479-7999
Related: This Caprese Salad Recipe Is Perfect for Summer in Delaware
