They say the third time’s a charm, but if Smorgasburg’s third year of Ice Cream Alley is any indication, it’s more of a headfirst dive into sugar-filled nirvana.
L.A.’s biggest weekly food spread is bringing back its summer celebration of all things cool, sweet and creamy, and to give us even more time to peruse the vendors—or, you know, give our stomachs a minute so we can eat more—Smorgasburg is extending its Ice Cream Alley hours past the outdoor food market’s usual closing time. That means you can grab ice cream tacos, vegan pops and sprinkle-topped scoops to your heart’s content, or at least until 6pm every Sunday through September 1. (That’s two whole extra hours to digest, for those keeping score at home.)
We’ll be taking full advantage of that extra time because this summer’s lineup is killer, and features collabs and limited appearances in addition to Smorg’s usual sweets.
This year’s weekly Ice Cream Alley participants include the cake-studded decadent scoops from Ample Hills Creamery; dessert tacos from the wild chefs at Evil Cooks; a range of flavors from McConnell’s, indisputably some of the best in L.A.; the Rustic Canyon Family’s farmers’-market–inspired flavors from Sweet Rose Creamery; and a very special collab between Afters Ice Cream and cannabis company Weedmaps.
Of course you’re going to want to keep an eye on Smorgasburg’s Instagram, where they’ll be updating info about the Alley’s rotating vendors. What we do know is that Monterey Park’s phenomenal Hong Kong-inspired soft-serve shop Big Softee will be popping up at some point, and so will Go Get Em Tiger, one of L.A.’s top local coffee chains. The nostalgic chocolate-dipped frozen banana popsicles from Nana Pops will return to the fest at some juncture, and on July 21 and September 1, Oatly will bring its brand new oat-based, dairy-free ice creams to the roster.
All this is in addition to Smorgasburg’s resident ice cream slingers: Buddy Pops with vegan popsicles; Wanderlust Creamery with its stellar cast of global flavors (mango sticky rice forever); Churro Boss with ice cream- and sauce-topped churros; Sweet n’ Hollow with the chimney-cake cones; S’moreology with ice cream s’mores and marshmallow-topped cones; Donut Friend with its new house-made vegan “Creamo” ice cream; and the all-vegan Madame Shugah with scoops and ice cream sandwiches.
See? You’re going to need those extra two hours after all.
The free-entry ice cream fun kicks off this Sunday and runs from 10am to 6pm every Sunday until September 1 at the ROW, located at 777 South Alameda Street.