School will soon be closing, and kids from one to 92 will be looking for refreshing ways to beat the infamous Atlanta heat. Have no fear: in addition to a dip in the closest pool or a trip to White Water, try these spots for icy treats that will cool from the inside out.

Becky Stein/AJC special (ENLARGE)
The refreshing watermelon soup is served in a white bowl with basil sorbet and poured tableside with a siphon.
Jenni Girtman/AJC (ENLARGE)
Yoforia owner Jun Kim has a serving of pomegranate yogurt with fresh kiwi, blackberries and strawberries.
Gavin Averill/AJC special (ENLARGE)
The Strawberry frozen custard served at Rita's Italian Ice in Suwanee.
Charlotte B. Teagle/AJC (ENLARGE)
Mango ice pop is mixed, poured into a cup and ready for freezing at LottaFrutta.
Elissa Eubanks/AJC (ENLARGE)
The selections of gelato at Paolo's in Virginia-Highland.
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Alon's Bakery and Market

Sure, this new outpost of Alon's Bakery and Market has all the goodies of the intown location: the panini, the salads, the gorgeous cakes and pastries. But this plus-size version also boasts the city's best bread, a coffee bar featuring local roasters Batdorf and Bronson and an expanded wine and cheese selection. Owners Alon and Janine Balshan have capitalized on the big space that was once Eatzi's. One of the perks of larger real estate is room for the return of Alon's gelato, spun on the premises in an array of flavors (go ahead — mix cherry with dolce de leche, no one will know), all in to-go-cups so you can scoop your scoop while shopping for some fine chocolates. 4505 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Atlanta. 678-397-1781, alons.com • Map it and review it

The Chocolate Bar

Two talented chefs, Aaron Russell and Nick Rutherford, have teamed with owner and former nurse Karen Britain to create the area's very own reason for eating dessert first. A small space is bathed in warm wood tones (very chocolate-y); there's a small bar and even tables to sit outside on Decatur's main drag, West Ponce de Leon. If life were perfect, this is how we should eat all the time, ice cream first. Depending on the season, Choc-Bar can be counted on for an array of excellently spun sorbets, ice creams and milks, all as part of bigger options, like the signature "caramel ganache" with chocolate sorbet and sponge cake. Or banana sherbet with "liquid" dark chocolate and olive oil. Think of the desserts as elegant deconstructed sundaes, but don't think DQ. 201 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. 404-378-0630, thechocolatebardecatur.com • Map it and review it

LottaFrutta

LottaFrutta offers some of the best batidos (think Mexican smoothie) and far-out fresh fruit cups in the area. But come summer, it's the Mexican ice pops, called paletas, that make my brakes screech to a halt outside this adorable shop's old Fourth Ward address. Pineapple, coconut and mango with guajillo peppers, lime and strawberry are all offerings of which lovely owner Myrna Perez (a Carmen Miranda lookalike) is planning to expand as the weather warms. Future possibilities: Cucumber with chile, guanabana (a Latin American fruit that tastes like a cross between a banana and a cucumber), mora berry and passion fruit. 590-A Auburn Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-588-0857, lottafrutta.com • Map it and review it

Rita's

Rita's, the Philly-based franchise offering ices and soft-custard ice creams, has been opening branches in the area since last October. These pristine shops — decked out in checks of blue, cream and red —offer Philly-style ices and soft-serve ice cream in cups or cones, in flavors like tangerine, cherry, vanilla, mango and chocolate. The real treat here is the "blendini," a Blizzard-like concoction that swirls an ice flavor together with one of the frozen custards and a cookie (Oreos or Vanilla Wafers). The power-packed punch of mango ice with vanilla custard — with or without cookies — is an addiction waiting to happen. Blend the chocolate custard with mint-chocolate chip ice, or vanilla custard with cherry ice and open the psyche ward. At area locations. www.ritasfranchises.com/stores/store.cfm/
Suwanee-30024/store/1443/ • Map it and review it

Yoforia

With engulfing waves of lime green and white, plus an overload of minimalist decor, Yoforia makes eating frozen yogurt a flashback to 1974. The original flavor (let's call it vanilla since it's kind of like vanilla) has a tang that almost bites back: one spoonful and you're at the mall getting a feather cut and buying a bottle of Charlie's cologne. Refreshing green tea and pomegranate will bring you back to the present, especially if you top them with fresh fruits like pineapple, blueberries and mango. The newest flavor, chocolate, tastes like a frozen Yoo-Hoo. Try it with a topping of Fruity Pebbles and some chewy gems of sticky mochi. 1402 N. Highland Ave., Suite 7, Atlanta. (Other locations inside Perimeter Mall and Windward Parkway in Alpharetta) 404-685-3747, yoforia.com • Map it and review it

Sara Jean's Ice Cream

Sara Jean's Ice Cream n Treats serves nothing but locally based Greenwood's ice cream. Best flavor? Black cherry. 109 N. Park Square, Marietta. 770-424-5179. • Map it and review it

Paolo's Gelato Italiano

Paolo's serves up some real Italian flavor, like stracciatella (think Italian cookies and cream), zabaglione and zuppa inglese. Panna cotta is yummified custard creaminess, and limoncello is as refreshing as the Italian spirit, with an icy punch and bright lemon flavor. 1025 Virginia Ave., Atlanta. 404-607-0055, paolosgelato.com • Map it and review it