Treat Index
Greater College Park Offers Multitude of Tasty Ways to Cool the Climate in Your Belly
Vigilante Coffee's Chronic Tonic is a summer sip featuring a two-ounce espresso muddled with an orange rind and floated over tonic water and ice.
Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle
With July 4 in the rearview, the D.C. area's swampy summer heat is about to edge past "ugh" and crack Code: Get Me Out of Here. And that means it's time to seek some relief through frosty sips and snacks.
At shops and cafes old and new around Greater College Park, you’ll find unique treats and drinks from boba tea to rolled ice cream to keep you cool all summer long.
The Board and Brew
8150 Baltimore Ave.
Board and Brew offers not only delicious cold drinks, but a place to sit and play one of the hundreds of board games on display while you relax and avoid the afternoon heat. Try the Oreo Latte, a combination of espresso, oat milk and the eponymous cookies, or the Black Tie, an iced latte mixed with Thai tea syrup.
“In years past we’ve done different iced tea and fruit juice combinations (for summertime),” said Beverage Director Randy Hayek. “We’re an independent (shop), so we get to do all these weird fun drinks that you probably won’t find elsewhere.”
Class 520
Domain College Park, 3711 Campus Drive
This Thai-inspired ice cream and tea shop offers a twist—or actually a roll: ice cream treat that’s flattened and then rolled up with various goodies inside. One of the most popular flavors, Monkey Business, is topped with Nutella and banana slices. If you’re in the mood to relive your childhood, Rainbow Roll features rolled ice cream topped with Fruity Pebbles, sprinkles and for good measure, honey. Class 520 also specializes in a range of milk teas.
Photo Courtesy of Maryland Dairy/Twitter
Maryland Dairy
Stamp Student Union
The OG of College Park cool, the
Maryland Dairy is now in its 98th year since opening to sell milk,
butter and other products produced by agriculture students. It moved
from Turner Hall to the Stamp in 2014, and today focuses on dairy’s
decadent side.
Each weekday during the summer, it offers hand-spun milkshakes and root beer floats alongside a range of custom-crafted delicacies like Terpresso, a double-strength coffee ice cream with crushed Oreos and a caramel swirl dreamed up along with Missy Meharg to honor the career of the longtime field hockey coach. For a soccer spin on coach-themed cream, try Sasho’s Crew Crunch, dulce de leche with a chocolate swirl and Nestle Crunch pieces designed with the help of its namesake, men’s Head Coach Sasho Cirovski.
Photo courtesy of Möge Tee/Instagram
Möge Tee
8150 Baltimore Ave.
Möge
Tee is inspired by thousands of years of Chinese tea culture, but the
nationwide chain is dedicated to what it calls the “new-style tea
techniques,” which includes flavorful, creamy—and cold!—bubble teas that
go down smoothly on a scorching day.
Its Watermelon Tea, for instance, takes a spin on Moge Tee’s traditional milk tea with a cooling burst of natural watermelon flavor in every sip. Each tea comes with the option to choose the level of sweetness in your drink, while add-ons like brown sugar bubbles or lychee jelly can be dropped into each drink.
Vigilante Coffee
8200 Baltimore Ave.
Vigilante
Coffee isn’t just the domain of coffee snobs maintaining a precise 205
degrees Fahrenheit for their steaming pourover brews. The local roaster
knows how to ice things down as well for summer.
Have a busy day ahead? Vigilante’s Mint Latte offers a burst of energy with a twist, combining espresso, milk and homemade mint syrup. The Chronic Tonic takes a non-alcoholic spin on an Old Fashioned, starting with a hefty two-ounce espresso muddled with an orange rind and floated over tonic water and ice, creating a drink that will leave you feeling cool and fully caffeinated.
“We bring in coffee from all over the world here, everything is made in house and our beans are roasted fresh here,” said Gracie Tanner, barista. “The Mint Latte is our seasonal summer drink with fresh mint syrup; my favorite way is to order it with oat milk.”
Rita’s Italian Ice
8900 Baltimore Ave.
This
mid-Atlantic staple that blankets boardwalks in Ocean City (both of
them) and elsewhere also stands ready to give you a brain freeze right
here in College Park. Flavor options change daily, so there’s almost an
endless variety to choose from, including cotton candy, Swedish fish and
wild black cherry. The shop also offers frozen custard, Misto shakes
(which combine Italian ice and custard), gelati (layering frozen custard
and Italian ice) and blendini (a mix of the two).
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