When Florida summer arrives like a dare, sugar and ice are the only sane answer. Across Sarasota and Bradenton, five kitchens offer a cold spoon: scratch-made gelato on weekly rotation, a three-layer panna cotta you eat from top to bottom, lemon ice spiked with crystallized ginger, halo-halo built with house-made ube and flan, an açaí bowl served up in a banana-split boat. You simply sit, dig in and cool down. Choose one and stick with it, or work your way down the list before September. —S. E. Miano
HALO HALO
In their new brick-and-mortar off N. Washington Blvd, Funky Fusion Filipino Kitchen marks ten years since owners Jenna and Jackie Foster launched their popular food truck. This summer, Chef Jenna is bringing her take on Halo-Halo, or “mix-mix”: shaved ice over ube halaya (purple sweet potato jam), candied garbanzo beans, buko pandan jellies, plantains, jackfruit and tapioca, topped with housemade ube ice cream, flan, Frosted Flakes and sweet cream. It’s like the best sundae you made for yourself as a kid. Chef Jenna’s “summer in a cup,” recalls childhood summers with her family, cousins and all. Funky Fusion, 1940 12th St Unit C, Sarasota, 941-487-7287, funkyfusionsrq.com
HAWAIIAN SUNRISE
Kojo is the modern pan-Asian destination on Palm Ave made for shared plates and friends. In a low-lit, buzzy room, enjoy spicy wagyu noodles or tuna pizza before the grand finale. The Hawaiian Sunrise arrives in a small ceramic dish in three layers: coconut panna cotta at the bottom, fresh tropical fruits in the middle and passionfruit foam on top to “create a bright aromatic contrast,” says Chef Gabriel Ojeda. “Dip a spoon through all three to get all the flavors.” Share one as a couple, or order two and pass them around to your pals. Kojo, 1289 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota, 941-366-2212, kojosarasota.com
THE DAYDREAMER
In Bradenton, 22-year-old Sky Kirkwood runs Clementines, a downtown café that cut the ribbon shortly after Hurricane Helene damaged the family’s Anna Maria business. The Day Dreamer, an açai bowl with strawberry granola, banana, almonds, chocolate flakes, Nutella and peanut butter, arrives in a banana-split boat for twice the fun. “I designed it to be the bowl you drift into,” says Kirkwood. Ten different açai splits grace the menu—alongside waffles, wraps, salads and smoothies—dairy-free and unified by the café’s motto, “Squeeze the Day.” Clementines, 536 13th St. W, Bradenton, 941-900-2007, clementines.online
BRONTE PISTACHIO
At Gelateria degli Angeli—“of the angels”—owner Anthony Vecsesi’s scratch-made production in Gulf Gate, the menu changes weekly, 130-plus flavors and counting in the gelateria’s first year. The signature Bronte Pistachio uses 100% D.O.P. paste from a village at the base of Mt. Etna, plus fleur de sel and local Dakin dairy for a silky finish that ruins lesser pistachios for life. “It’s based on a traditional recipe I learned while studying in Italy,” Vecsesi says. He always runs a chocolate (Callebaut or Valrhona) and rotates fruit-forward sorbets: Sicilian blood orange, Thai guava, Corsican clementines. Angelic, indeed. Gelateria degli Angeli, 2665 Mall Dr, Sarasota, 941-364-9708, degliangeligelato.com
LEMON WITH CRYSTALLIZED GINGER
Bright Ice Scoop Shop in Wellen Park is what happens when an engineer, Steven Garrahan, and an architect, Kurt Drake, join bright minds to make bright ice cream. Their small-batch operation—originating in St. Pete—keeps the recipes clean: no concentrate, artificial flavors or shortcuts. The Lemon with Crystallized Ginger relies on 100% real lemon juice, spicy crystallized ginger pieces and ginger snap cookies for crunch. “Nothing beats the Florida summertime heat better,” says Garrahan. “The taste is bold, full of flavor, and sure to cool you off.” Seventeen “always” flavors—like Strawberry with Brown Sugar and Balsamic—will, as promised, never let you down. Bright Ice Scoop Shop, 9790 Wellen Park Blvd., Suite 103, Venice, 941-244-5660, brighticeicecream.com
