Play it cool
Beat the heat with a mini scoop sampler from Creole Creamery. This sundae features four of the ice cream shop"s unique, rainbow-hued flavors: Red Velvet Cake, Blueberry Pie, Chef"s Perfect Chocolate, and Mango Unchained (mango ice cream with a hint of cayenne and Southern Comfort Honey).
With the local heat index rivaling the surface of the sun lately, residents and visitors alike are trying to keep cool. If you can"t take the heat, here are three ways to chill out this summer.
Get the scoop on local ice cream shops
If you can't take the heat, here are three ways to chill out this summer.
Feel like you"re melting? Build a towering cone, or split a classic fountain treat at an ice cream parlor. Creole Creamery (4924 Prytania St.; 6260 Vicksburg St.) serves an assortment of imaginative ice cream and sorbet flavors at their uptown and Lakeview stores. Get an ice-cold jolt from a frozen cappuccino with espresso and vanilla ice cream. Sample a taste of Sicilian tradition when you stop by Angelo Brocato"s (214 N Carrollton Ave.). For over 100 years, the old-school Italian dessert shop has served up frosty favorites, including gelato, lemon ice and wedges of spumoni topped with almond whipped cream.
Dive in at The Country Club
A Bywater brunch oasis, The Country Club (634 Louisa St.) lies within a historic Italianate cottage equipped with a pool, hot tub and an accommodating back cabana. After sunset, guests can catch a game or a movie on the venue"s 25-foot projector screen without ever stepping out of the water. Visitors are also welcome to relax on the house"s breezy veranda and dig into the restaurant"s menu of seasonal specials, like sweet and spicy pork ribs and s"mores bread pudding.
Watch penguins make a splash at Audubon Aquarium
An underwater sanctuary located on the edge of the French Quarter, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas (1 Canal St.) brings the beauty of global sea life to the surface, providing a haven for sea turtles, otters, sharks and even a penguin colony. Like locals, the tuxedoed troop of 32 African blackfooted penguins and three southern rockhoppers are accustomed to relaxing in a warm climate. The birds consistently captivate crowds as they plunge into their underwater enclosure, effortlessly flipping and gliding by viewers getting an up-close look.
