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By SUN STAFF

While we believe that Cornell looks the most beautiful at the start of the fall semester, it is also unfortunately the most unbearably hot during that season. To beat the heat and cool down after a back-breaking, sweat-inducing move-in weekend, we recommend heading out for some ice cream, which is also an opportunity to explore the city of Ithaca. Below are three recommendations (in no particular order) for all you incoming freshmen and your families:

CORNELL DAIRY BAR

411 Tower Rd. (Stocking Hall)

If you want to stay on campus and still get some exceptional ice cream, then stop by Cornell Dairy Bar, which actually made a limited edition flavor of ice cream (“Big Red, White & Biden”) in honor of self-proclaimed ice cream fanatic President Joe Biden, who was the Convocation speaker for Class of 2017.

For the past 138 years, Cornell Dairy Bar has been creating ice cream from the university’s cows and currently offers 20 different flavors, some which you’ll notice are offered in our dining halls. If you want to have Cornell Dairy’s entire selection in front of you, then I recommend you pay a visit to Stocking Hall, where the Dairy Bar is located (otherwise, you can find tubs in all campus dining halls). You definitely don’t need to drive a car or take the bus, as it is located on campus and is about a 20-minute walk from North Campus. When you arrive at Stocking Hall, you’ll notice the large, white sculpture of a milk bottle out front.

After trying all 20 flavors, some of our favorites are Bavarian raspberry fudge and Kahlua fudge. Bavarian raspberry fudge is “vanilla custard ice cream with old-fashioned fudge pieces and a raspberry swirl,” and reminds us of raspberry cheesecake. It’s smooth, and the little punches of raspberry and fudge complement each other. Kahlua fudge is “Kahlua ice cream with a chocolate fudge swirl.” Ezra’s morning cup, another Cornell Dairy Bar flavor, also has a coffee flavor, but Kahlua fudge is much stronger and thus satisfying.

Because the Dairy Bar is located in the lobby of Stocking Hall, there’s plenty of seating around the shop. And Stocking Hall was renovated a few years ago, so the place has a casual and modern vibe, given its clean lines and all-white interior.

Founded in 1936 by Cornell alum Leo Guentert 1920, Purity Ice Cream may be located the farthest from campus of the three establishments in this list, but it has the greatest variety in terms of both flavors and products.

Of their 34+ flavors of ice cream (some of which are vegan), some of our favorites are bulldog crunch and green tea — good in scoops or blended into milkshakes. According to their menu on Ithaca To Go, bulldog crunch is a “praline-flavored ice cream with caramel swirl and chocolate-covered pecan candies.” This may sound strange, but bulldog crunch is absolutely mouth-watering, even though it’s in liquid form. The caramel and praline flavors are very strong, but the pecans and chocolate balance that creaminess and sweetness with their crunchiness and slight bitterness.

Green tea is much less sweet and made from “green tea powder blended with vanilla ice cream,” which was slightly disappointing because we were hoping it’d be made with real green tea leaves. However, making green tea ice cream with just leaves is quite difficult and can result in a barely detectable flavor. Purity’s use of powder means you get a more concentrated flavor and sometimes there are bits of powder that bunch up together, which could be likened to a swirl.

Besides ice cream, Purity offers frozen yogurt, pastries (cupcakes, pies, cookies and cakes), espresso and milkshakes. If you’re in the mood for more of a meal than a quick dessert, dig into one of Purity’s sundaes. From chocolate chip cookie to apple crisp, the sundaes are warm, gooey and perfectly comforting with scoops of your choice of ice cream and plenty of whipped cream.

Of our recommendations, Purity is also number one in the seating department. With abundant indoor and outdoor seating, Purity is extremely group-friendly, and its logo-covered decorations and booths give the space a relaxed, almost diner-like ambience.

If you can’t find the time to make the drive or take a walk to Purity, no worries — Collegetown Bagels (everyone calls it CTB) usually has six differently flavored tubs of Purity’s ice cream to choose from.

200 W. Seneca St.

118 W. Green St. (Press Bay Alley)

Another dessert staple of Ithaca’s food scene is Sweet Melissa’s (named after one of its founders), which has served ice cream cones since 2009. Sweet Melissa’s has at least 12 flavors of hard ice cream, served on rotation from day to day. These flavors range from Blondie Cookies and Cream to Lemon Ricotta and include a couple vegan options, too. We are obsessed with their sweet cream flavor — a sort of vanilla flavor that tastes more like custard, eggnog or perhaps even crème brûlée. It’s very subtle, but in a way that keeps your taste buds on the edge and leaves you wanting more! If you usually prefer hard ice cream with a lot of elements (like bulldog crunch from Purity), the sweet cream is just so refreshingly crisp that you will wish you had gotten another scoop.

Starting in summer 2021, Sweet Melissa’s began selling pints of its hard ice cream in local shops, from our very own Shortstop Deli next door to towns across New York State. So if you need a sweet fix outside of its seasonal hours, be sure to pick up a pint or two to enjoy.

But its first and original location is our favorite; painted in cobalt blue and pastel orange, it’s hard to miss. This Seneca St. location offers both soft serve (of which there are eight flavors) and hard ice cream, as well as flurries, shakes, floats, sundaes and slushies. And if you follow its Instagram (@ithacaicecream), you’ll be tuned in to all its extra goodies, from chocolate chip cookies for ice cream sandwiches to Lucky Charms marshmallows for your flurries.

We’re fans of their classic twist (chocolate and vanilla) and their orange-vanilla twist (which combines orange sherbet with their famous vanilla ice cream). But don’t forget to get yours dipped — whether in chocolate or cotton candy flavor or sprinkles of the chocolate or rainbow variety. (Rumor has it that President Martha Pollack’s pick is vanilla dipped in peanut butter). Either way, it’s a fun goal to try all their other soft serve flavors during the fall semester, especially because The Sun’s office is located so closeby. Seating is entirely outdoor, but we recommend sitting on the stoop of Immaculate Conception Church or taking a walk through downtown to enjoy — just be careful of dripping cones as you eat.