Its crater is believed to be the original freezer relied upon to make helados de paila, intensely fruity ice creams or sorbets, made by whipping tropical fruits with sugar in a bronze basin set over salt and volcanic ice. Ibarra is also known as La Ciudad Blanca, or the White City, for its whitewashed colonial houses, but it might as well be called that for a modern variant of the local ice cream. Nube’s Ice Cream & Coffee Shop’s helados con quesoCredit: cori nakamura lin | onibaba studioIn the mid-1990s, as if inspired by the surrounding Andean peaks, a helados shop owner named Rosalía Suárez began grating fresh queso blanco over her confections, and the idea slowly snowballed its way to Uptown. The tropical flavors come from their equatorial origin, and their bright acidity pierces their luxurious full-fat jackets and cheesy blankets above with special clarity—with a drizzle of blackberry syrup to underscore the exclamation points. Nube’s Ice Cream & Coffee Shop4442 N. Broadway773-358-0857@nubeicecreamshop$8.99–$14.99