I was never really an ice cream person. I feel like that is such a divisive statement, but I have always been more of a savory person over sweet. Even though I don’t have a sweet tooth (unlike my husband whose main calorie source is sugar) I really enjoy baking and LOVE me a piece of cake, especially my snickerdoodle or cookies and cream recipes. So naturally, I would occasionally have some ice cream along side them until my body had different plans for me and decided that dairy could no longer be a part of my life. I have found some really good dairy and gluten free options at our local grocery stores but nothing can fully replicate the real dairy ice cream.

When we travel I always extensively research every part of the trip especially restaurants because I have so many dietary restrictions. When we went to Seattle I somehow stumbled across a FULLY gluten and dairy free ice cream shop. EXCUSE ME? I don’t care if I want ice cream or not, we were absolutely going to this heaven on earth. Frankie & Joes is a women owned, plant based and fully gluten free ice cream and scoop shop.If you are not dairy or gluten free you might not understand the significance of being able to eat EVERYTHING in the shop without fear that I accidentally got the wrong order or that there was cross contamination. Shops occasionally have one or two flavors of dairy free or vegan ice cream, but they often have gluten containing ingredients in them so we usually just buy pints at the store to have at home.

We only had one partial day in Seattle so we went to Ghost Face Brewery for lunch and had plans for dinner and ice cream later that night. When the time came, we got ready for dinner and just looked at each other and realized we were not hungry at all. BUT this was not going to stop me from visiting such a rare gem in my world of very few options at most places. So we headed over to Capitol Hill to Frankie and Joes! The neighborhood was vibrant and fun with lots of restaurants and a very welcoming vibe. We found street parking about a block away and headed over the the shop.

The shop was super cute with pastel colors and lots of plants. On one wall there was a welcome message with information about their story and mission, and on the other was a huge board with all the flavors, sizes and (gluten free!!) cone options. Even though I looked at the menu before we got there, I still had such a hard time deciding! They have a perfect mix of more classic flavors like chocolate and strawberry milk, and creative flavors like Salty Caramel Ash, Potato Chip Caramel Crunch, Blackberry Bake and Summer Sangria. After the most stressful minute of my life, I settled on Chocolate Tahini Fudge and Brown Sugar Vanilla. Billy got the Potato Chip Caramel Crunch and Mint Brownie.

This is not an exaggeration when we say this is the best ice cream we have EVER had dairy or non-dairy. It was creamy, flavorful and everything I have ever been looking for in a vegan ice cream. We honestly considered going back in for more even though we were absolutely stuffed. On the way home we seriously looked into how much it would cost to have the ice cream shipped to us all the way on the east coast because it was seriously THAT good. They do ship, but it will cost you quite a few $$$.

We have tried other dairy free ice cream shops on our next trips to Portland and Dallas, TX and while they were good, they were nowehere near Frankie and Joes. I did see that they recently opened a shop in California so I will just keep sending positive vibes and wishes that they make their way over here!