This eclectic downtown parlor makes Sacramento’s best ice cream, readers say

Voters have made it clear: when summer heat hits, they want something different.

Bee readers voted Devil May Care Ice Cream & Frozen Treats as Sacramento’s best ice cream parlor in a weeklong poll that concluded Monday at noon. On a ballot with 20 candidates plus a write-in slot, Devil May Care got nearly half of the 3,756 total votes (1,690 votes, or 45%).

Founder Jess Milbourn first opened Devil May Care in West Sacramento in 2016, though that location will close at the end of July. A downtown Sacramento outpost at 710 K St. has been the main spot for eclectic, rotating flavors since November: current options include maple black lime, miso sour cream caramel, cornbread honey and goat cheese walnut.

More than 80% of the total votes went to either Devil May Care or second-place finisher Yume Gelato (1,321 votes, or 35.2%). The East Sacramento gelateria is slightly more restrained but still churns out unusual flavors such as brown butter with pretzels, matcha strawberry mochi and pineapple salsa.

Curtis Park institution Gunther’s Ice Cream was a distant third with 290 votes (7.7%). Food & Wine magazine named 81-year-old Gunther’s the best ice cream parlor in California in an article last month.

Two more longtime local shops, Vic’s Ice Cream (3.7%) and Leatherby’s Family Creamery (3.4%), finished fourth and fifth respectively.

This story was originally published July 26, 2021 at 12:13 PM.