Ice Cream: Sundaes

Photograph by Jared Leeds

The Best Sundae in Boston

The Dark-Chocolate Brownie Masterpiece at Picco

Picco owner (and pastry wiz) Rick Katz has been making brownies for decades, so he knows how important the anchor ingredient is in a brownie sundae. “I like the lightness of a cake brownie, but the moistness of a fudgy brownie—I like to hit a balance between the two,” he says. As a result, the brownie here is warm and rich, but porous enough to soak up lots of melting vanilla ice cream and dark-chocolate Scharffen Berger fudge. Make sure to ask for a topper of house-made chocolate-covered peanuts, which are roasted, candied, dipped in chocolate, and then rolled in confectioner’s sugar. —Molly Mirhashem

Sundae School

Five more fudge-dripping triumphs.

Photographs by Bruce Peterson, Styling by Molly Shuster

Liège Waffle Sundae
Saus, Downtown

This shop’s butter-rich Belgian-style waffles are made even more gut-busting with a scoop of Christina’s vanilla ice cream, drizzles of house-made salted-caramel and chocolate-hazelnut sauces, and an adorable spiced speculoos cookie.

The Ultimate Cafeteria Sundae
Cafeteria, Back Bay

A behemoth glass crammed with vanilla and strawberry ice creams, underdone brownies, hot fudge, berries, and tons of whipped cream. Serves two.

Salted- Caramel Sundae
Market, Theater District

For crunch factor, this can’t be beat. Silky-smooth salted-caramel ice cream sits atop a frosty ganache swirl, bolstered by salty peanuts, caramel corn, and a dollop of ultra-thick whipped cream.

T. W. Chocolate Sundae
T. W. Food, Cambridge

Chef-owner Tim Wiechmann’s sundae is a luxurious version of the classic. Custardy vanilla ice cream is layered with hazelnut–praline sauce, Valrhona chocolate ganache, whipped cream, and praline crumble.

Banana Split
Area Four, Cambridge

Inspired by the towering Bailey’s sundaes of his youth, chef-owner Michael Leviton set out to design his own loaded creation. Each element—from the soft-serve ice cream to the brûléed bananas to the pretzel and cookie toppers—is made in house.

Extreme Sundaes

Ben & Jerry’s calls its bucket-size sundae on steroids the Vermonster, but you can find homegrown varieties all over town. Here’s how some local heavyweights—in most cases, upward of five pounds apiece—stack up.

Name: The Vermonster
Where to Get It: Ben & Jerry’s, Back Bay
Price: $39
What’s In It: 20 scoops of ice cream, four scoops of hot fudge, four bananas, three cookies, a brownie, 10 scoops of walnuts, four extra toppings, and whipped cream.

Name: The Newtonite
Where to Get It: Cabot’s, Newton
Price: &36
What’s In It: 20 to 22 scoops of ice cream, pineapple sauce, strawberry sauce, coffee sauce, rum toffee, hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry.

Name: The Belt Buster Sundae
Where to Get It: The Ice Creamsmith, Dorchester
Price: $46
What’s In It: 12 scoops of ice cream, 10 mixed-in toppings, four sauces, a banana, marshmallow, whipped cream, jimmies, nuts, and a cherry.

Name: The Kitchen Sink
Where to Get It: Treadwell’s, Peabody
Price: $15.50
What’s In It: 12 scoops of ice cream, three toppings, whipped cream, nuts, and jimmies.

Name: The Battle of Bunker Hill
Where to Get It: Putnam Pantry, Danvers
Price: “The Revolutionary Price Tag of $17.76”
What’s In It: 17 scoops of ice cream, as many toppings (like homemade fudge, butterscotch, macaroon crunch, and cherry-caramel sauce) as you can fit in the dish.

Want more?

Check out our complete summer ice cream package.