Gunther's Ice Cream in Sacramento, CA
Photo credit: Gunther’s
Sacramento, the city of trees. California's state capitol has been named America's Most Diverse City. For that reason, you can find just about anything to do. Sacramento's food scene is wildly underrated. Suppose you ask anyone around the globe for their favorite Northern California food spots. You'll get a lot of San Francisco, Napa, and even Oakland, all of which are great choices. But between Beast + Bounty, Hook & Ladder, Kru, The Waterboy, Frank Fat's, Fixin's, Bacon & Butter, and many more, Sacramento is a fantastic city to visit for foodies. Now I could talk about restaurants all day, but you've visited beicecreamorbenothing.com to learn about ice cream, right? So let me tell you about the must-go-to spot in Sac for a perfect scoop of ice cream.
Gunther's Ice Cream has been operating since 1940, making their ice cream out of the same Franklin Blvd location since 1949. The shop has a rich history, and while the ownership has changed hands since its opening date, the Klopp family has been keeping the Gunther's long-time vision of good, old fashion, quality ice cream alive in the Sacramento area, a city known for its high-quality food.
What's not to love about Gunthers? First of all, it's rare that you drive by and don't see a line out the door. When our family visits this shop, we always look forward to picking up our ice cream and sitting outside on their patio. Sacramento is a city known for its heat so enjoying a 50/50 fruit freeze in the Sacramento sun is about as enjoyable as it gets. Also, can we talk about that iconic sign above their shop? As you're driving down Franklin Blvd, you'll see a red and green sign with an ice cream maker flipping a scoop of ice cream onto a cone (his name is Jugglin’ Joe). In a world filled with minimalistic and uninteresting design, that marquee signage is a breath of fresh air to an ice cream lover like me.
Now I've mentioned the 50/50 fruit freeze, but I'll mention it again; if there's one thing to get at Gunther's, that’s it. Now I'd recommend getting more than one thing because their ice cream is delicious. Still, their signature fruit freeze is just unlike anything you'll find in other ice cream shops. It's a mix of sherbet (orange, strawberry, mango, and guava, to name a few) and vanilla ice cream. Plus, the way they layer their flavors so you can get a little scoop of everything at once is just perfection.
On the ice cream side, you'll see their Butter Brickle, Oreo Cookie, Rocky Road, Pistachio, and just about any classic flavor you can think of. I'll put it this way; if you take a date here and they don't find anything they like, then the date is over as far as I'm concerned. Gunther's uses their original recipe from the 1940s with a higher percentage of butterfat cream, which makes it smooth. So when I say Be Ice Cream Or Be Nothing, this is what I'm talking about.
You know I love ice cream, but ice cream businesses that have embedded themselves into the community mean everything to me. For 80+ years, Gunther's has been a staple in the Sac community, so if you're looking for an ice cream shop that hits on all of the elements that make an ice cream shop worthy of a visit, Gunther's has it all.
