XocoCava

A sweltering Monday afternoon of the long weekend calls for a tennis game, followed by ice cream. Not just any ice cream. Tucked away in a small plaza just North of St. Clair on Yonge is XocoCava. Arguably the best spot for ice cream in the city. 

• Relish: Homemade ice cream, made fresh by the helpful and cheerful staff. It's delicious. They have granita, ice cream and sorbets, in addition to an extensive selection of chocolates and cookies. I'll focus on the ice cream though because I've never been able to bring myself to try anything else here. Today I had the fresh lemon ice cream, and the maralumi dark chocolate sorbet. An incredible combination. You can't really go wrong, and you can sample a bunch of different ones before making up your mind: Guiness cashew? pistachio? milk chocolate? sour cherry granita? Strawberry margarita? honey? strawberry? coconut? Peanut butter crunch? espresso? The list goes on - posted on the blackboard behind the counter. One word of caution - you actually can't see the ice-creams, they're hidden in a metal container contraption (the first time I saw one of these was in Italy), so it really does warrant a careful perusal of the blackboard, followed by a few tasters. 

Make sure that you give yourself at least 10-15 minutes to pick a flavour. And just be ok with the fact that you'll likely be back. Often. Thank goodness the location isn't too convenient for me - but it's well worth the trip. 

As an aside, XocoCava is run by the same chefs who run the restaurant Cava next door - so if you ever fancy a spanish tapas or two, pop by for dinner, and then wander over to XocoCava for desert. 

Enjoy!