Don't be a hothead this summer when the temperature soars and the parched pavement radiates like an oven: Chill out with a frosty beverage or frozen treat to help you keep your cool.
Igloo King Bao, 710 N. Mills Ave, 407-237-0013, facebook.com/kingbaoorlando Creamy vanilla ice cream fills the interior of a sticky rice-flour bao bun that's then deep-fried to perfection before being drizzled with caramel and dusted with crushed honey-roasted peanuts.
Blueberry wine sorbet Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream, 3114 Corrine Drive, 321-226-8685, kellyshomemadeicecream.com Delight in the fragrance of fresh Florida blueberries in this aromatic and alcoholic palate-cleanser made from Plant City's own Keel and Curley sweet blueberry wine.
Salted caramel gelati Jeremiah's Italian Ice, multiple locations, jeremiahsice.com Indulge in a tantalizingly refreshing combination of sweet and salty when caramel Italian ice is sprinkled with a hint of sea salt and perfectly interwoven with a velvety swirl of chocolate-and-vanilla soft-serve.
Chocolate-dipped peanut-butter Twistee in a fancy waffle cone Twistee Treat, multiple locations, twisteetreat.com Rich, creamy, peanut-buttery soft-serve is mounded atop an ornately chocolate-dipped and sprinkle-clad handmade waffle cone before being dipped into a vat of molten fudge that flash-hardens into a crunchy shell.
Traditional egg cream The Soda Fountain, 2525 Edgewater Drive, 407-540-1006, thesodafountain.com Be transported to the hip streets of New York circa 1950 with one sip of this old-fashioned fizzy treat combining milk, local seltzer water and Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup, just like your bubbe used to make it.
Sex Appeal Better Than Sex Dessert Restaurant, 1905 N. Orange Ave., 407-761-8949, betterthan sexorlando.com Arouse your sense of chill with a suggestive sparkling spritz of Italian moscato wine in a flute dripping with white chocolate around the rim and touched with a tickle of pink sugar.
Chocolate-banana-sea salt pop Yum Yum Pops, available at the Audubon Park Community Market, Mondays at 1842 E. Winter Park Road, yumyumpops.net Melt away in dairy-free bliss with an organic pop made without artificial ingredients, corn syrup or chemicals. Anything but junk food, this cocoa-y, fruity pop proudly contains Mannix Family premium organic vanilla and Florida organic evaporated cane juice as its primary sweeteners.
