Many have tried (ahem, Chikalicious) and few have succeeded at making a soft serve sundae as perfect as the McDonald's classic vanilla with hot fudge (and optional nuts). Also, McFlurries.

Fruit, sugar, and water are all you'll find in Chloe's refreshing soft serve. Try yours in a sundae or with a vegan waffle.

Japanese cafe Zaiya has matcha and black sesame flavors that are great together or alone. Grab one of their still-crispy onigiris while you're there for the perfect summer lunch.

Creamy, milky burrata and salt and pepper caramel are the two flavors on offer right now at Dominique Ansel's dine-in dessert spot. Head's up though, soft serve is only available Friday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.

Mall favorite Dairy Queen has a centrally located Manhattan outpost to meet any and all Blizzard and sundae needs.

House-made soft serve at Takashi is the one dessert at this otherwise beef-only spot. Enjoy it in unadorned austerity or get the works, which include azuki beans, black sesame flour, rice dumplings, and even gold flakes. (Pictured here with halva.)

Top the vanilla soft serve at ChikaLicious however you desire — the real joy in this dessert comes from the flaky churro cone.

You don't have to be lactose intolerant to appreciate the Victory Garden's goat milk soft serve. They cycle through four flavors at a time, so there's always something new to try, like mastic or black walnut.

With six locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, you're never too far away from some of the iconic sweet, cereal-infused soft serve from this New York favorite. Don't miss the passion fruit chocolate chip flavor either.

In the words of Eater NY critic Ryan Sutton, "The right call at the end of the meal is a soft-serve gelato delivered in a glass cup, anointed with your choice of toppings; try garnishing it with candied orange rind for an impromptu creamsicle."

Soft serve with cotton candy is as unusual as it is Instagram friendly. Order a Thunder Cloud where the fluffy stuff sits on the ice cream or a Dreamy Balloon (pictured) with the candy lofted over the soft serve with Pocky.

If — for some reason — you don't want to order an entire whale cake, go for the soft serve at Carvel: available in a cup, a cone, a sundae, or even sandwiched between two cookies.