1. Ice Dreammm Shop
6013 Wesley Grove Blvd #101
(727) 495-6730
IceDreammmShop.com
Joe Schembri knows people love the ice cream he makes at his popular Ice Dreammm Shop at The Grove.
But sometimes, he can be surprised, overwhelmed and humbled at just how much the locals love it.
Last week, Schembri received an order from a long-time customer of his original store in Lutz. It was for the customer’s mother-in-law, who was going into hospice. One of her last requests was a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and a scoop of coffee ice cream. The next morning, at 10 a.m., the order was picked up.
It was a surreal moment, one that had Schembri catching his breath.
“I mean, you always want to see customers love what you sell,” he said. “But this, this was crazy. Crazy.”
Schembri’s Lutz location already was among the top choices for best dessert in or near Wesley Chapel, but adding to his legion of fans by opening a Wesley Chapel location has launched him to No. 1 — a runaway victory.
Made with the best, all-natural ingredients he can find, the flavors he spent a year perfecting in his garage before opening his first location continue to satisfy, and Schembri continues to concoct new delights.
He says his Cookies & Dream flavor is the best seller, and the Cookie Butter is coming on fast. And, don’t miss out on the seasonal Santa’s Cookies and Milk, Sweet Potato Pie and even Coquito ice cream, as well as a dozen other creamy delights, with many new flavors swapped in weekly, and you can even have them made into amazing ice cream pies (below).
And, speaking of new flavors, Schembri has, as he promised when the Wesley Chapel shop opened, added a variety of new baked goods, including fudge brownies, triple-layer peanut butter brownies and more. — JCC
2. TWISTEE TREAT
5258 Village Market
(321) 445-9103
TwisteeTreat.com
Sometimes, you may be in the mood for something other than sitting inside and enjoying a rich, fancy exotically-flavored helping of ice cream. And, when you just want some soft-serve ice cream, Twistee Treat is a super-popular choice.
You can get your ice cream on a waffle taco, brownie boat, between two cookies or as part of a sundae or banana split. But, the most traditional way Twistee Treat serves up its 25 or so flavors might be its most popular — through a drive-thru window on the side of its unmistakable ice-cream-cone-shaped building, twirled on top of a cone of your choice.
And since your car will probably be full of kids, don’t forget to ask for extra napkins! — JCC
3. NOTHING BUNDT CAKES
28354 Willet Way
(813) 536-1447
NothingBundtCakes.com
Since opening at the Shops at Wiregrass in 2017, Nothing Bundt Cakes has been a consistent top choice for favorite dessert.
In 2018, it was voted as the area’s No. 1 Favorite Dessert, and the last three years, including 2021, it has finished in the Top 3 of Wesley Chapel faves.
And why not?
While it doesn’t offer a crazy variety of cakes, this national chain with more than 400 bakeries across the U.S. has mastered its products, which are, hands down, the moistest cakes you’ll find anywhere. You can choose between 10 flavors in different sizes — bite-sized bundtinis, mini bundtlets or special order full-sized bundt cakes — and they’re always a perfect treat to bring to any holiday party. — JCC
The rest of the 2021 Dessert top 10:
(4) Crumbl Cookies
(5) Culver’s
(6) Dairy Queen
(7) 365 Cafe Italiano
(8) Menchie’s
(9) Dunkin
(10) Starbucks
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