The Best Ice Cream Parlor in Maine Doesn’t Actually Sell Ice Cream

Despite the fact that we live in one of the colder parts of the country, Mainers love ice cream.

And, even though we have dozens of great seasonal ice cream places, we don't just love it during the summer months.  We have several notable ice cream places that are open all year long.

Many of the Fielder's Choice locations, for example.  Regardless of whether the temperature is 80 degrees or 8 degrees, you can swing by Fielder's Choice to get a dish of Cookie Dough or Grapenut.  Just remember to bring cash, though!

With all of these great ice cream places to choose from, which one is the best in the state?

What is the Best "Ice Cream" Parlor in Maine?

Normally, we would never call an ice cream place an ice cream 'parlor', but that is the verbiage that Love Food used in their recent list of the best ice cream places in America.

The somewhat ironic part about this list is that the pick for Maine is not actually an ice cream parlor.

Gorgeous Gelato, which is located on Fore Street in Portland, serves gelato.

What is gelato?  While some will say that it is just the Italian way of saying ice cream, that is not really true.  While gelato may resemble ice cream and may have some of the same flavors as ice cream, it is definitely not ice cream.

Gelato typically has less butterfat than ice cream and also has less air than American ice cream.  Gelato also often has more flavoring added.  These three factors together cause gelato to have a unique texture and lots of flavor.

Owned by a couple from Italy, the gelato they serve is authentic.  Gorgeous Gelato has a wide variety of flavors including dark chocolate, berries and cream, hazelnut, Oreo, pistachio, and rum chocolate.

Love Food said, in part:

Owned by Italian couple Mariagrazia Zanardi and Donato Giovine, who moved to Portland from Milan in 2011, Gorgeous Gelato is one of the top-rated dessert shops in the state. The parlor uses fresh, natural ingredients to create both vegan and dairy gelato

What are some of the other best ice cream parlors in New England?  Their pick for New Hampshire was Lago's Ice Cream in Rye, for Massachusetts it was Toscanini's in Cambridge, and their choice for Vermont was The Village Scoop in Colchester.

Check out the full list HERE