No Dairy? No Problem

Vegan alternatives still bring the flavor in local ice cream shops

By Zach Cavanagh

AS THE SUMMER MONTHS HEAT UP the sandy shores of South Orange County, many residents and visitors turn to a time-honored cooldown treat—ice cream.

While there are plenty of places in this corner of paradise to get a couple scoops or a cone, there are many who either can’t enjoy the regular dairy version or are simply trying to be more responsible in their choices but would still like to indulge in a rich, creamy, sweet dish.

Luckily, for those looking for alternatives, there are several options in San Clemente, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano that can service those needs without losing what makes ice cream special.

Paradis Ice Cream, with locations on Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point and on Avenida Del Mar in San Clemente, has plant-based vegan options that stack up with anywhere else’s regular ice cream flavors.

Among the most popular flavors is peanut butter chip, which is made with oat milk, peanut butter and shards of chocolate. While there is definitely a slightly different mouth feel of the vegan options, it is really just slight, and after a couple of spoonfuls, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference. It has that smooth richness people expect from a good ice cream.

Flavors like a fresh strawberry, almond chocolate chip and coconut chip are properly labeled to let customers know exactly what goes into these options. Paradis also offers a full vegan sundae, with two flavors of ice cream, vegan chocolate sauce and a vegan chocolate chip cookie.

If you’re looking for something even more densely packed with flavor, further down in San Clemente is Lucky Dog Gelato, which features small, handcrafted batches of gelato made with dairy and non-dairy milks along with locally sourced ingredients.

Lucky Dog Gelato, the 2022 winner in the San Clemente Times’ Best of San Clemente for Spot to Cure a Sweet Tooth, offers a variety of unique vegan gelato flavors like black rice and sesame, white chocolate and yuzu and carrot, saffron and cocoa nibs, along with traditional staples like chocolate or peanut butter.

Like another location we’ll highlight, Lucky Dog offers sorbettos, which are more fruit-based, as well as Dogelato, which is a veterinarian-approved dog gelato for your furry friends.

Finally, in San Juan Capistrano, before taking your walk across the tracks into the Los Rios District, stop by 3:16 Bakery Shop, which offers gelato and sorbetto as soon as you step in the door.

The sorbetto at 3:16 Bakery Shop packs a punch with strong fruit flavors up front. The strawberry is fresh and sweet, and the lemon brings an unmatched tartness. You can tell the freshness of the sorbetto as well, as you catch tiny bits of the real fruit in nearly every bite.

There are other vegan options at 3:16 Bakery, with the frozen yogurt dispensers along the back wall.

Whether it’s a rich creaminess or a sharp sweetness, vegan and alternative ice cream options can hit the spot this summer.