The Scoop on 5 New Seattle Ice Cream Spots

Before Matt Bumpas got into the ice cream business with his Sweet Bumpas cart, he worked as a school psychologist in Seattle Public Schools. “Now I get to see kids happy all the time,” he quips.

His 180-degree career shift took him to culinary school, then to the pastry chef position at Poppy, a foodie favorite on Seattle's Capitol Hill. Customers raved about his ice cream, and in 2014, Bumpas left Poppy to start Sweet Bumpas.

You can find Sweet Bumpas at six farmers markets each week, and (the big news) a scoop window at its new kitchen facility in Georgetown that's open three days a week.

His ice cream boasts flavors that are fresh, playful and surprising. Try chipotle peanut butter, cinnamon basil with corn cookie, Earl Gray rum raisin and more. His favorite this season: the hokey pokey from New Zealand, sweet cream with homemade honeycomb candy inside. 

Are some of his flavors too adventurous for kids? Not according to Bumpas, who says parents inadvertently teach their kids to be picky eaters. “Honey, you’re not going to like it, that’s a grown-up flavor,” he’ll hear someone say. Or another parent will see the sign for “fresh mint cocoa crumble” and say, “Oh, it’s just regular mint chocolate chip.”

“No, you taste this,” Bumpas says. “There’s nothing regular about it.” Instead of using extracts and flavorings, 1.5 pounds of fresh mint leaves goes into a 6-gallon batch.

Find it: Sweet Bumpas' scoop window is at 6555 5th Ave. S., Seattle, at the Equinox Studios building in Georgetown; it's open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m..  

Nearby fun: It’s a five-minute straight shot to the Museum of Flight (9404 E. Marginal Way S.), which just opened a new Apollo exhibit. Children up to 4 are free, and kids 5 to 18 can sign up for the Connections program at special events to get free admission for themselves plus their grown-up.