In the Season 8 finale of Seinfeld, Kramer attends the Tony Awards (for Excellence in Theatre) ceremony as a seat filler for a nominee who leaves his seat. When the musical Scarsdale Surprise wins, the excited actual winners surge past his row and pull him onto the stage. Kramer accepts the award, starts celebrating, and famously declares that “the Tony is taking me to Sardi’s!” Producers of the show find Kramer and tell him he can only keep the award if he fires the show’s star, Raquel Welch, because she does not move her arms when she dances. Kramer nervously goes to fire Welch, but she attacks him and destroys the Tony Award.
Seinfeld was a television comedy show? In “real life” prestigious awards aren’t handed out in error, are they? Hmm, who can forget Steve Harvey announcing the wrong winner at the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant? Or the 2017 Academy Awards when La La Land was mistakenly announced as the “Best Picture” winner instead of the actual winner, Moonlight? Those two examples came to mind when Novel Ice Cream was ranked as the number one donut shop in the U.S. by Yelp Elite members–despite actually being an artisan ice cream shop. Despite having only one donut on its menu. One donut. It’s a warm glazed donut into which ice cream is stuffed. It’s called the “Dough Melt” and it is fabulous!
Still, it begs the question, “Does one donut a best donut shop make?” Even if that donut was one of the best you’ve ever tasted? Would McDonald’s ever win a “best seafood restaurant” for having a Fish Filet sandwich in its menu? This is a culinary quandary. In the early 2000s, donut burgers (such as Krispy Kreme’s doughnut burger) have shown up in restaurants. Most diners still consider them a novelty, not a serious food item. And, there have been ice cream sandwiches since time immemorial. Maybe it’s about time ice cream stuffed in between a warm glazed donut became a thing. Novel Ice Cream has made it a thing…and it’s winning awards because of it (at least in part because of it).
Novel Ice Cream first opened on March 15, 2017, at its original Grand Avenue location in Phoenix. Aside from the Phoenix location, you can find Novel Ice Cream in Peoria and Mesa. That’s virtually covering the far west, center and far east of the metropolitan area. Closest to us is the Mesa store which (very unfortunately) is about the size of a closet. Mesa’s Novel Ice Cream store is ensconced in an alleyway. There is no inside seating to cool you off when it’s 117-degrees (the temperature on the day of our visit). With temperatures soaring, the ice cream will start to melt even before it’s handed to you.
Novel Ice Cream, by the way, doesn’t solely earn awards for having the country’s best donut. In 2025, it was ranked the No. 1 best ice cream shop in the United States on Yelp’s Top 100 Ice Cream Shops List. That’s the second time Novel has earned that accolade. The flagship Phoenix location has achieved a 4.9-star rating over 1,200 Yelp reviews. Mesa and Peoria satellites have achieved similar ratings. Yelp helped Novel gain national attention with its unique ‘dough melt,’ which went viral on social media. Despite having no marketing budget, the shop’s innovative treat–a donut sliced in half with a choice of ice cream and toppings–has captured the hearts and stomachs of ice cream lovers across the country.
It was a given that I would be enjoying the dough melt during our inaugural visit. The only question was which ice cream flavor would grace the middle of that sliced glazed donut. Choices are listed by the front door and may include such flavors as Bourbon Toffee Caramel Crunch (a best seller), Honey Lavender and Madagascar Vanilla. With my brain being baked by the sun, I rushed my painstakingly thorough decision-making process and ordered the bacon caramel toffee. Even as the ice cream melted onto my hands and dripped on my shirt, it was obvious this is a superior ice cream–as in maybe the best we’ve ever had ice cream. The donut, too, was outstanding. If Novel made more donuts like this one, they truly would be the country’s best donut shop.
My Kim’s choice was two scoops of Madagascar vanilla ice cream in a cup. Madagascar vanilla is the world’s gold-standard, producing roughly 80% of the global supply. Her ice cream was replete with rich, buttery, and creamy flavor notes–“the best vanilla Ice cream I’ve ever had” she said. Tiny ground vanilla bean flecks are visible throughout the ice cream. The term “vanilla” is often used to describe something that’s conventional, average, and lacks unique excitement. Perhaps this vanilla ice cream should be renamed to something that doesn’t connote boring. It’s simply wonderful.
It could be said that everything is novel at Novel Ice Cream where one single donut will change everything you ever thought about donuts and ice cream.
Novel Ice Cream
40 N Macdonald #2
Mesa, Arizona
(602) 579-9198
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 25 July 2026
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$
BEST BET: Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream with Caramel, Bacon Caramel Toffee Ice Cream Donut
REVIEW #1537