Ballard’s Novelty 7 Broadway Ballard’s is a South End staple for ice cream aficionados. And talk about variety! There are 51 flavors of hard ice cream, 10 flavors of soft-serve and – for those lactose-intolerant souls suffering through ice cream withdrawal – several varieties of soy ice cream. And if you happen to be lactose- and gluten-free, there are even gluten-free cones available. We tried a three-scoop helping of Salted Caramel Chocolate Pretzel, and though we’re not certain all the words are in the right order – is the caramel salted? Are the pretzels chocolate? Does any of this matter when you can be shoving this delicious cone in your face? – it was a tasty blend of flavors. Whatever was salted created a nice balance with the sweetness of the ice cream, and the pretzel bits provided a pleasing texture. Would we eat it again? We may have already! Ballard’s gets creative with its offerings, too, and now has a sinful creation called ice cream pizza on the menu. It’s a brownie crust topped with all sorts of ice cream and other sweet bells and whistles. We were going to try it, but we were full from having just finished some ice cream burritos and burgers.