Back when skateboards had clay wheels and sting rays had sissy bars there were only a couple places in town to get ice cream. Foster’s Freeze on Carlsbad Boulevard (Where Cessy’s is now) or Thrifty’s on Tamarack (currently Rite-Aid). It was soft serve on a Safe-T-Cone or a nickel a scoop on a sugar cone. As Carlsbad went from 10,000 people to 100,000 our choices multiplied as well. And if you want to cool down this summer, ice cream is not your only option.

LINDA'S YOGURT











If you were looking for your money to make money in the ’70s, you ignored pork bellies and Krugerrands and bought into frozen yogurt. Lots of yogurt spots cropped up, but the one that remained was Linda’s Yogurt. It began as Linda’s House of Yogurt on Tamarack, but it moved 26 years ago, to Carlsbad Village Drive and Carlsbad Boulevard. Brenda Hicks bought out the original Linda Ruane, but still answers to her name and has added waffle cones, blended coffee drinks, sandwiches and smoothies.

Hicks has followed entrepreneurial trends; she sells money (there is an in-store ATM), water (who would have believed bottled water would become a big item?) and would add air to the menu if she thought Carlsbad could handle an O2 bar.

THE YOGURT SHACK

Spoiling yourself with fantastic yogurt is easy in La Costa. At The Yogurt Shack (9660 El Camino Real) the attitude is “make yourself at home” by serving yourself. The yogurt is sold by weight, $0.34 an ounce, so you grab a cup and make your own designer dessert. Mike and Robyn Moses create their own flavors and taste tests are always available for “cake batter” or “Kalua dreams.” It has been well said that there are three basic flavors, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry; and the greatest of these is chocolate! Whatever the day’s variation on that theme, you can bet The Yogurt Shack’s chocolate will be over the moon.

The Moses’ flavors are mostly fat free (it’s hard to perfect a fat free peanut butter, but Mike’s working on it). And some of their flavors are sugar free so diabetics can indulge without guilt. Once you have the flavors you want, it is time to move on to syrups and toppings. While serving yourself it dawns on you how hard it is to decide between crushed Heath Bar or Butterfinger. For some, that is just the foundation before they move on to Oreos and M&Ms.

BEACH CITY SMOOTHIES

As frozen yogurt was to bell-bottoms and granola, smoothies are to emo pants and wheat grass. Beach City Smoothies has ridden that wave into downtown. Mary Jacobson was contemplating a career change while also supplying her daughter’s, Jamie Wells, smoothie affection. When she saw a retail space for rent at Carlsbad Village Drive and Roosevelt, the two things became kismet. “It all rolled into place perfectly,” Jacobson said of her ultimate goal to stay in Carlsbad. “I wanted to be in the Village.” She has lived here for 20 years and her daughter is at Carlsbad High School.

If you want something shamelessly good, this is the place. Their concoctions are sweetened only with fruit and their juices are lactose free (if you want them to be) and come with boosts that could make them a meal in themselves. You can add wheat grass or protein power to flavors like “Carlsbad Cherry Cranberry,” “Surf’s up Strawberry” or “Life’s a Peach.” Try the Acai bowl. Jacobson describes it as, “A Brazilian berry that is super high in antioxidants” with granola then fresh fruit on top. It’s a great cool-down, healthy snack.

VINAKA CAFE

Remember ice cream? Vinaka Cafe is one of the best places in town to get the real thing. Vinaka’s serves Niederfranks Ice Cream, one of the oldest and most fondly remembered names in San Diego ice cream. Vinaka’s owner, Adam Jester said, “They’ve been in San Diego for almost 60 years. We get a lot of people who come around and remember going down to the National City (the original Niederfanks store) just for ice cream.”

Remember banana splits and black and white sundaes? Vinaka’s does ice cream old school. They have shakes and floats, but they can also improvise. They do smoothies and a Snow-cap, which is cappuccino crunch ice cream, espresso and milk. Vinaka’s has something for everyone in the family, and you can be as healthy or indulgent as you want to be. Sometimes, though, the simple things in life are best. Chocolate chip on a waffle cone, that’s the taste of summer.

COLD STONE CREAMERY

Cold Stone Creamery on Carlsbad Boulevard has old-fashioned ice cream with a twist. Scooped out of the carton with a spade, it is spread on a frozen granite slab as the server awaits your instructions. From there you can mix in whatever you like and have it in a cup, a cone or a waffle bowl. They also do cakes and shakes.

But you will miss the Cold Stone adventure if you don’t get the employees to sing. They are, after all, not interviewed for the job, they are auditioned. There is a Cold Stone Songbook that goes way beyond “Happy Birthday.” They will sing! Just make sure you put more in the tip jar than suggestions on how to hit the high notes.

The basic pleasures of a Carlsbad summer haven’t changed. We still look for cool treats after a long, hot day at the beach. The only problem seems to be now that our skateboard wheels have improved, enjoying our ride to a sweet spot has become shorter. •

Baskin-Robbins (31 Flavors)
2540 El Camino Real • 434.3131
6949 El Camino Real • 603.0031

Beach City Smoothies
594 Carlsbad Village Drive • 729.0011

Cold Stone Creamery
2967 Carlsbad Blvd. • 720.2974
1935 Calle Barcelona • 942.1918

Dairy Queen
2525 El Camino Real, Ste. 133 • 729.6642

Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt
2606 El Camino Real • 434.6149
7150 Avenida Encinas • 930.0876
7670 El Camino Real • 944.1580

JKdots
2630 Abedul St. • 804.0300

Linda’s Yogurt
3001 Carlsbad Village Drive, #B • 729.3005

Vinaka Café
300 Carlsbad Village Drive, Ste. 211 • 720.7890

The Yogurt Shack
9660 El Camino Real • 931.0590