Everybody in San Francisco is already well aware that Bi-Rite Creamery’s (3692 18th St) Salted Caramel ice cream is the embodiment of perfection. After all, this famous flavor’s been making local lists for years now. So it’s more than a little validating to see the divine dessert make Food & Wine’s recent list of ‘Best Ice Cream’ in the entire U.S.

Personally, I’ve never tasted anything quite like it. A perennial fan of anything caramel-related, I knew when I first went to try it years ago that this particular variety of ice cream would suit my fancy. I just wasn’t prepared for the transcendent, game-changing nature of it’s delectability. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve even been wholeheartedly satisfied by ice cream since, seeing as how I’m now forced to compare every subsequent taste of dessert to this one unsurmountable mountaintop of deliciousness.

I digress.

The point is, summertime is now upon us, or at least it is throughout the rest of the country. So we might as well pretend like it’s our summer, too. And that means getting over to the Mission on a sunny day, waiting in line for Bi-Rite and bringing it directly next door for a sunny afternoon of hipster-gazing in the endearing griminess that is Dolores Park.

Cut through the sweltering 65 degree temperatures with refreshing bites of salty and sweet, a surreal hybrid of tastes that this unparalleled ice cream has supremely mastered.

Be forewarned though, nothing may ever be as satisfying again. Wait a second, you live in one of the most desirable places on the face of the earth…you’ll be fine.

• Tag: Bi-Rite Creamery, cookies, Dessert, ice cream, Local, mission, Restaurants, salted caramel, sweets