Finally, it’s a holiday we can sink our lips into! June 7 is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. According to the International Ice Cream Association, chocolate is the second most popular flavor of the chilly confection, behind the perennial favorite vanilla. Interestingly, geography plays a role in people’s ice cream flavor preferences. Those of us in the West favor the chocolate varieties of ice cream, Midwesterners tend to choose strawberry or butter pecan, and New Englanders lean towards coffee flavors.

   The Front Range is rich with local shops that offer homemade ice cream in a dizzying assortment of chocolate flavors and combinations. If you can’t visit them all this Saturday, don’t fret. July is National Ice Cream Month, so you can plan a 31-day celebration.

   When you scream for ice cream, here are some of our favorite neighborhood shops:

   All for the Better, 3501 S. Clarkson St., 303-781-0230. Across from Swedish Hospital, this charming shop is often frequented by pregnant women and dads-to-be. They’re no doubt craving the homemade ice creams All for the Better creates. Homemade Mocha Fudge is popular with chocolate lovers, with a coffee flavored chocolate base enhanced by a swirl of dark fudge. Classic Rocky Road is loaded with marshmallows and nuts, and the Almond Joy is a vanilla-based ice cream rich with swirls of chocolate, coconut and almonds.

   Bonnie Brae Ice Cream, 799 S. University Blvd., 303-777-0808. Just follow your nose to the aroma of homemade waffle cones wafting out Bonnie Brae Ice Cream’s door. You’ll find people lined up down the street to get inside this neighborhood shop that serves up dozens of original flavors of homemade ice cream. Try the Grand Marnier Chocolate Chip, an orange-infused rich chocolate with chunks of dark chocolate. Another favorite is the Triple Death Chocolate, chocolate ice cream with chocolate chunks and swirls of chocolate fudge marble. Talk about gilding the lily: those waffle cones come dipped in chocolate and decorated with candy sprinkles, too.

   CJ's Frozen Custard, 9231 E. Lincoln Ave., Lone Tree, 303-925-0044.  Devotees of frozen custard say it it’s denser, creamier – yet lower in fat – than regular ice cream. All we know is that it tastes divine. In addition to chocolate and vanilla, a special flavor is offered each day at this shop located near the intersection of Lincoln and Yosemite. Try the Mocha Chip, espresso custard mixed with white and dark chocolate chips. Drumstick Ice Cream is crunchy with waffle cone pieces, peanuts, and chocolate chunks. If you like to plan ahead, visit www.cjsfrozencustard.com for a calendar of upcoming daily flavors.

    Colorado City Creamery, 2602 W. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs, 719-634-1411.  You can watch the ice cream being made while you wait in line at this busy shop in Old Colorado City. A rich French Silk ice cream is one of the most popular flavors. Pike’s Peak Trail combines chopped chocolate peanut butter cups with vanilla ice cream, while Mountain Mud features a chocolate base with caramel swirls, marshmallow swirls and fudge pieces.

   Gelato D’Italia, 250 Detroit St., 303-316-9154. This ultra-cool shop in Cherry Creek North sells gelato, the Italian version of ice cream. For the purist, the “plain” chocolate gelato is made with Belgian Callebaut chocolate. Try the Bacissimo, Callebaut chocolate with hazelnuts, the pale green Mint Chocolate Chip, Cappuccino Chip rich with Italian espresso, and the creamy Peanut Butter Chocolate. This is the place to come for late night cravings; the shop is open until 11 p.m. during the week and midnight on weekends. 

   Glacier Homemade Ice Cream, 3133 28th St., Boulder, 303-440-6542. This busy shop serves premium homemade ice cream in dozens of ever-changing flavors. The dangerously dark Death by Chocolate is a blend of dark chocolate ice cream packed with chopped chocolate. Reminiscent of a night at the drive-in, we love the Junior Mints flavor generously studded with whole, chewy candies in a mint-flavored ice cream.

  Josh & John’s Naturally Homemade Ice Creams, 12101 E. Iliff Ave., Aurora, 303-337-2709. For the darkest chocolate ice cream in town, try Josh & John’s “Phat Chocolate,” made with real Dutch cocoa. S’mores Ice Cream is the chilly version of the campfire treat you loved in the scouts: chocolate ice cream with graham cracker pieces, chocolate chips and marshmallows. German Chocolate combines chocolate ice cream with coconut flakes, and for those who are counting calories, chocolate yogurt hardly seems like a sacrifice at all. Josh & John’s ice creams are made the old fashioned way, in a rock salt machine using all natural extracts and real ingredients. At any given time there are 24 flavors available, a dozen permanent ones and twelve that change all the time. There is also a Josh & John’s in Colorado Springs at 111 E. Pikes Peak Ave.

  Liks Ice Cream Parlor, 2039 E. 13^th Ave., 303-321-2370. Liks makes dozens of flavors, and they rotate often, but not to worry. If you’re hankering for, say, the shop’s original Jack Daniels Chocolate Chocolate Chip, just give owners Jay and Leslie Thompson your phone number. They’ll happily call you as soon as it’s ready. Other frozen temptations include Chocolate ice cream with Heath bars, Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl, and Billionaires, a dark chocolate ice cream “rich” with pecans, chocolate fudge and caramel.

   Lyons Soda Fountain and Bakery, 400 Main St., Lyons, 303-823-5393. Since 1921, this old-fashioned soda fountain has been cranking out ice cream, thick handmade shakes, malts and other fountain treats. Belly up to the oak counter and try one of the shop’s famous chocolate ice cream sodas; 40 flavors of the effervescent, creamy concoctions are offered, in addition to eight different ice creams. The shop claims that Rocky Road ice cream was originally invented in Colorado, and Lyons Soda Fountain’s version is so chocolaty and rich with marshmallows and nuts it could become our state’s top claim to fame. Right on the way to Estes Park on Main Street in Lyons, this shop is worthy of a long pit stop.

      Magill’s World of Ice Cream, 8016 W. Jewell Ave., Lakewood, 303-986-9968. You’ll find Magill’s World of Ice Cream tucked away in an unassuming strip mall in Lakewood. This oasis of ice-creamy calm is worth finding, though, because the shop always serves at least 32 of its original flavors. Chocolate lovers will swoon over the chocolate-caramel-pecan Turtle flavor, Double Dark Chocolate Fudge Crunch, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Fudge, Chocolate Almond and Chocolate Heath Bar.

   Michelle Chocolatiers & Homemade Ice Cream, 6880 So. Clinton St., Greenwood Village, 720-482-8390. For over 50 years, this family-owned ice cream parlor has been serving the sundaes and frozen treats that kids dream of. Gourmet ice creams are available in more than 40 flavors, including dark, rich Dutch Mocha Chip and Gremlin, chocolate packed with pecans and caramel swirls. This is the place to bring a hungry soccer team or kids’ birthday party, as Michelle’s is justifiably famous for its enormous sundae creations. The “Believe it or Not” sundae, an ice cream and cake monstrosity that feeds 25 people, was once featured in Life magazine. The company’s original flagship store is in downtown Colorado Springs at 122 North Tejon, with another at the Citadel Mall.

   Soda Rock Café, 2217 E. Mississippi Ave., 303-777-0414. Just off Old South Gaylord Street in the Washington Park neighborhood, Soda Rock feels like a funky old 1950’s soda fountain. Saunter up to the long counter or settle in a vinyl booth and order homemade ice creams, sundaes, sodas, malts and shakes. The offerings change frequently and are listed on a blackboard; recent specials included Mocha Cappuccino and Rocky Road. If you order the Hot Chocolate Sundae, you’ll have to eat fast. A cup of piping hot cocoa is poured over a scoop of cold ice cream and topped with whipped cream.

   Walrus Ice Cream Company, 125 W. Mountain Ave., Fort Collins, 970-482-5919. If you’re waiting in line at the Walrus Ice Cream Company, you may never make it to the ice cream counter. The glass novelty case near the front door is filled with tempting homemade drumsticks, ice cream cakes, grasshopper pie and the shop’s signature Walrus Tusks – cone shaped, chocolate dipped ice cream treats on a stick. The store has at least 15 different homemade ice creams available, with flavors changing hourly during the summer. Fortunately, the Swiss Dark Chocolate is always a staple on the list. Recent specials included Chocolate Cherry Walnut and Chocolate Oreo, but if you don’t see what you like you can always have the shop mix in your favorite ingredients. “If we don’t have it, we’ll make it for you,” says owner John Paugh. One more thing we like: the homemade waffle cones are coated with chocolate on both the inside and the outside of the cone, so grab extra napkins.

Chocolate Buttermilk Ice Cream

This old family recipe combines chocolate and buttermilk to make a silky, semisweet chocolate ice cream that is out of this world.

8 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate

4 egg yolks

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Break the chocolate into small pieces and set aside. Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until thick and light.

Combine the milk and cream in a 2 quart saucepan and cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat until very hot but not boiling. With the mixer running, add the hot milk and cream mixture to the egg yolk-sugar mixture.  Blend until smooth. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and gently stir in the broken chocolate pieces until they are completely melted. Add the buttermilk and vanilla. Cool to room temperature, then cover and chill for several hours or overnight. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. Makes 1 quart.