A recent international study concluded that Denmark is the “happiest” country on Earth. Maybe it has to do with the ice cream? In the late 1990s, Dane Thor Thoroe made a gelato pilgrimage to Rome, soaked up Italian ice cream expertise and returned to open a shop in his homeland in 2000. Selling gelato tweaked for the Scandinavian tongue, he soon expanded to more stores in Denmark. Two locations on the U.S. West Coast followed shortly. Paradis makes its gelato fresh every day using only natural ingredients, buying fruit and nuts locally and importing chocolate, caramel and other confections from the best makers worldwide. The outlets feature 16 flavors a day, chosen from among 200 total, including addictive combos like salted caramel, strawberry buttermilk and mint-lime sorbet. The gelato has 40 percent less sugar than frozen yogurt and is gluten- and soy-free. Vegan sorbets are surprisingly creamy. How do you say “Yum!” in Italian with a Danish accent? 2323 Honolulu Ave., Montrose. (818) 248-1004. Also at 1726 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz. (323) 663-3311, paradis-icecream.com.

—Adam Gropman

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