Made on the Farm Ice Cream
and Splurgeworthy Treats
Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs Noon-7:00
Fri Noon-9:00 Sat 11:00-9:00 Sun 11:00-7:00
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Falls Church residents know that their home boasts an embarrassment of riches when it comes to restaurants, especially international ones. The neighborhood affectionately known as the “Little City” has also seen an influx of new development in recent years, and with that has come new restaurants in locations such as the bustling Founders Row complex.
It’s the kind of neighborhood where you can wake up and grab a stellar coffee from Cafe Kindred or Northside Social, a quick lunch from any of the excellent destinations in Vietnamese shopping center Eden Center, an afternoon ice cream treat from Little City Creamery, dinner at one of three different crawfish restaurants in the neighborhood, and a late-night pupusa from the Pupuseria Mana truck parked at Rt. 50 and Graham Road — and that’s without even taking advantage of the stellar destinations highlighted here. That’s all a way of saying that this map showcases Eater’s favorites, but only scratches the surface: this is a neighborhood where you can find solid Indian, Ethiopian, Salvadoran, and Afghan options as well.
This shop, barely bigger than a walk-in closet, is so crammed with knickknacks and figurines, you might think it was an eBay clearinghouse. Its ice cream—all made at Delaware’s Woodside Farm Creamery—is eclectic, too. Elsa fans go wild for the blue mint ice cream with Oreos, while Steam Oil, the standout flavor, translates to coffee ice cream rippled with green caramel and chocolate. Try it sandwiched between cookies, in a brownie sundae, or doused with a shot of espresso.
Lil City Creamery
Falls Church
Lil City’s ice cream comes from the finest cows, specifically uber-pampered grass-fed cows, churning out the smoothest ice cream around.
Lil City Creamery
Order a cup, cone or smoothie and behold the vast menagerie of figurines on display at this petite storefront in the Little City. Flavor options include black raspberry chocolate chip, mango sorbet and steam oil (coffee ice cream with chocolate and swirls of green caramel). Here’s another idea: Get your scoop smashed between two Uncle Ralph’s chocolate chip cookies in a Chilly Brrgrr. The menu also includes drinkable desserts such as affogottos, which add a scoop of ice cream to a double shot of espresso. // 114 W. Broad St., Falls Church City
Best Ice Cream in Falls Church
Lil City Creamery, Falls Church
Kiln and Custard, Falls Church
Jake’s Ice Cream, Barcroft Plaza/Falls Church
Small batch 14% butterfat ice cream with rotating flavors. Past flavors include vanilla salted caramel ribbon, coconut patty and blackberry with real blackberry puree mixed in.
Mango Mango Dessert, Falls Church
Lazy Mike’s Deli, Falls Church
Not an ice cream-atorium - but known for its generous banana splits.
Opened in 2015, this Falls Church shop is big enough for an ice cream freezer and an extensive collection of retro character toys — and that’s about it. Enjoy your cup, cone, milkshake or cookie sandwich, made from ice cream sourced from Woodside Farm Creamery in Delaware, at nearby Mr Brown’s Park.
Lil City Creamery
114 W Broad St, Falls Church, VA 22046
Wait a second—isn’t this an ice cream place? It is indeed, and that’s why we love getting caffeinated at Lil City Creamery. Between their delicious coffee drinks and Italy-imported Lucaffe espresso, we haven’t tried a coffee product here that we haven’t loved. Try an affogato, a scoop of ice cream with espresso poured over the top. We won’t judge if you just grab a scoop of Steam Oil (coffee ice cream with chocolate and caramel ribbons) before work. Mostly because we’ve done it ourselves.
Lil City Creamery
Ice cream and hot chocolate? Two polar opposites marry at Lil City Creamery in their Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa Float. Choose any of their farm fresh ice cream flavors (made with milk from “uber-pampered grass-fed Jersey cows”), like Pink Peppermint Chocolate Chip or Ginger Snap, and they’ll add it to a hot cup of decadent Ghirardelli hot cocoa. Don’t like the idea of mixing those together, you can order the ice cream and cocoa separate! Mr. Brown’s Park is located just steps away and offers a great place for enjoying your hot cocoa.
“Splurgeworthy” is how the sign describes the day’s ice cream flavors at this quaint shop serving up scoops from Delaware’s Woodside Farm Creamery. The ice cream, which Jane and Michael Stern of the good food-scouting Roadfood.com described as so creamy that it melts into “marshmallow sauce rather than milk,” contains about 15 percent butterfat and is churned with milk from “pampered,” grass-fed cows.
Adding charm to the ice cream experience is the shop’s wall of collectible figurines—from Gumby to Kung Fu Panda—and colorful, retro posters. This summer, try the creamery’s “steam oil” flavor, which mixes green-caramel and chocolate swirls into a velvety coffee base.
114 West Broad St., Falls Church; lilcitycreamery.com