Denver scoops up 3 spots on Yelp's top ice cream list

Zoom in: The local spots that cracked Yelp's top 50 are:

• Little Man Ice Cream — No. 8
• Sweet Cooie's — No. 38 (now rebranded as Little Man Ice Cream Congress Park)
• Bonnie Brae Ice Cream — No. 47

How it works: Yelp analyzed user bookmarking behavior and ratings to identify the most-saved shops nationally.

The intrigue: Yelp says ice cream shops are increasingly embracing globally inspired flavors, highlighting combos like black sesame and mango sticky rice among this year's trends.

• Denverites can find those flavors around town, including black sesame at Dante's Serious Ice Cream in Westminster and mango sticky rice from Pint's Peak's farmers market pop-ups.

The big picture: The buzz comes as ice cream shops navigate rising costs.

• New data cited by Bloomberg from research firm Technomic found the average price at scoop shops has climbed 35% since 2019.
• Michigan State University food economist David Ortega told Bloomberg there's a "perfect storm" of pressures driving prices higher, including inflation, tariffs, the Iran war and higher energy costs.

The bottom line: Ice cream prices may be rising, but a scoop is still one of the most relatively affordable ways to treat yourself.