2025 Surf City USA® Foodie Awards Best Treat Winner: Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream
On a warm, sunny day (and in Huntington Beach, there are many!), nothing hits like a scoop of frozen, creamy deliciousness piled high on a cone. Paired with a stroll along the pier, it’s hard to find a more ideal beach treat. And whether you’re craving a decadent Blueberry Cobbler swirled with perfectly ripe fruit or Birthday Cake studded with sprinkles and flecks of sky blue, there’s only one counter scooping the most creative flavors in Huntington Beach. Voted the Best Treat in the 2025 Surf City USA® Foodie Awards, Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream is known for its small-batch flavors and homemade taste. Best of all, it’s located a stone’s throw from the ocean, making it the perfect way to cap off a day at the beach.
An Award-Winning History
Surf City USA® isn’t the first to recognize Handel’s as a top-tier treat. In its “10 Best of Everything” guide, National Geographic named it No. 1 on a list of best ice creams worldwide. Handel’s beat out big names like Haagen-Dazs along with specialty spots in far-flung locales like Cuba, Italy, and France. Its praises have been sung by media outlets ranging from the Travel Channel to USA Today, and in 2022 we were lucky to land a new location at the corner of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway.
But before making its way to Huntington Beach, Handel’s got its start in Youngstown, Ohio, back in 1945. Founded by Alice Handel as a single-location stand, it featured fresh fruit from her backyard garden and personal recipes that became neighborhood favorites. As the business changed hands and expanded across the country to 18 states, her commitment to quality never wavered. Today, there’s more than 150 locations and each continues to make its ice cream fresh in-store every day…