Today is the first official day of fall, and I'm actually less-than-thrilled about it. Don't get me wrong; I love football, sweaters and the changing of the leaves just as much as the next gal. But, I miss more about summer than I enjoy about autumn.

To get me in the mood for chilly breezes and crunchy apples, I decided to find out more about the fall versions of one of my favorite parts about summer - ice cream. Summer and ice cream seem to go hand in hand, but I found a surprising number of sweet cream specialists in St. Louis who make my favorite treat fall-worthy.

At AnnaMarie's Ice Cream on Clayton Road, they embrace fall with several different flavors. Caramel Apple, Pumpkin and Cinnamon are three flavors that simply taste like fall - in a good way that is. An added bonus is their tasty home made waffle cones.

"I eat ice cream year round. It's a comfort food when the weather gets yucky. Warm fudge goes well when it gets chilly outside." -Heidi Williams, one of the two friendly owners of the unique home made ice cream shop.

At Bar Italia Ristorante-Caffe in Maryland Plaza, they have a different take on fall's fun flavors. Being an Italian restaurant, they specialize in gelato, which is an Italian version of the sweet ice. It's lighter than ice cream because they don't use any heavy cream to make it, and flavors like Hazelnut and Ginger Raisin are seasonally sound.

"Anyone could have ice cream any time of the year. Gelato is great for after dinner because it's a palate cleanser. Since we use all fresh ingredients, our gelato is more about the flavor of whatever we're using." -Yohannes, the General Manager of Bar Italia

Nothing says St. Louis ice cream more than Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. They're known for their custard's remarkable ability to stay in your cup even when it's being held upside down, but this time of year, they're well-known for their autumn creations, too. The Pumpkin Pie Special, which consists of a piece of pumpkin pie mixed into a regular concrete and topped with whipped cream, sounds like a party in my mouth.

"Frozen custard is good any time. One of our most popular items this time of year is the Pumpkin Pie Special, but so is the hot fudge sundae with nuts." - Ted's son-in-law Matt.