Pumphouse Creamery — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Pumphouse is a long time contributor to the Twin Cities ice cream scene, which has evolved significantly since my arrival in 2015. This is a humble ice cream shop. In fact, the outdoor overhead neon sign is simply an adorable ice cream cone. Further, there are no gimmicks or dazzles, or other such overt Instagram bait, unlike other parlors, past and present, in our metropolis. What you get instead is honest to goodness neighborhoodly deliciousness. Many times, you get locally sourced ingredients and inspiration, but not always - there are some truly creative and wordy flavors that make their appearance here. And it's all from scratch. A pet peeve of mine is a shop that charges a premium for a mass waffle produced cone. Not the case here - in fact, this is the most unique and delicious cone I've ever come across. Made from heirloom and whole grains, it's not one you'll forget. The owner is down to earth and the ice cream descriptions convey a dedication to craft.

Pumphouse also serves sipping chocolate, an elegant, thick, and luscious sibling of hot chocolate. I greatly enjoyed my latest cup, my only trouble being that many of the ice cream flavors were so tantalizing the desire hijacked my brain, so I couldn't fully focus on enjoying my sipping chocolate.

On top of all this, the prices are reasonable. In fact, Pumphouse isn't a contributor to our city's ice cream scene:...

This place has the best non-dairy ice cream in the twin cities, period. After my lactose intolerance got worse, I eventually had to cut out dairy, and I still miss the creamy cold goodness of a traditional ice cream. I've found that certain alternatives are better than others, and Pumphouse Creamery is making some magic with their cashew/rice milk based non-dairy options. I first tried the Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, which was so amazing it made me keep coming back to have more. Today, I tried their newest non-dairy option, the Dandelion Milk Chocolate with Bittersweet Chocolate Speckles - just as amazing! I really hope they keep the flavor, and I hope they might have that AND the Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip (I was sad to see that was swapped out for the new flavor - they would pair so well together!). Really hope they continue to make non-dairy options, because there's truly no better non-dairy ice cream I've had in my life.

(Update: I'm only just realizing that the current flavors are rotational! I'll have to keep coming back to try the new...

We stopped her today and we were NOT disappointed at all! My Fiancé had a flight of 5 flavors, and I did as well. We chose 5 different for each so we could try each others flavors. This is the best thing for us because we don't necessarily want a whole scoop of just one flavor. His favorite was the SEA SALT, CARAMEL, PRALINE PECAN and SEELY FARM MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP. My favorites were the RUBY ROASTERS COFFEE (DECAF), FRESH RED RASPBERRY, and the FRESH BANANA !!! All of the flavors were delicious and I would not hesitate to go back and do another flight to try the flavors we missed. However, I would most definitely get a whole scoop as well or two...did I say, we LOVE homemade/handcrafted ice cream?! We do and we try it everywhere. So far, The Pumphouse Creamery has the best ice cream we have found!!! In addition, we love that they are socially conscious and source local and sustainable ingredients. Great job and very yummy...