It’s a scream! Local ice cream parlors offer summer’s favorite dessert
Nothing
tastes better on a warm summer evening — or any time of the year— than a cone packed with tasty ice cream, a sundae dripping with hot chocolate sauce and topped with whipped cream and a cherry, or a fruity sorbet.
The Chicago area is fortunate to have a wealth of ice cream parlors that cater to anyone with a taste for an icy cold treat. Whether you crave a scoop of vanilla, mint chocolate chip or strawberry, or prefer such exotic flavors as goat cheese with red cherries or wild berry lavender, there is a parlor ready to tantalize your tastebuds.
Here’s a sampling of some local ice cream parlors:
Daily Scoop
9 S. Prospect Ave. Clarendon Hills 630-655-4115
This parlor is a magnet for nearby residents who crave any of its 27 flavors of hard-packed ice cream, as well as sorbets and slushies. The store also breaks out a grill during the summer and serves hot dogs, burgers and chips. It offers indoor and outdoor seating. Owner Chuck Kaufmann left behind a career in the hotel business to open the parlor in 2002.
“No one’s ever crabby in an ice cream store,” he says. “The kids are always smiling.”
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Chicago and Oak Brook jenis.com
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream got its start in Ohio, but also calls the Chicago area home with several locations in Chicago and in the western suburbs in Oakbrook Shopping Center.
Its ice creams are prized for their smooth texture and buttercream body. Jeni’s takes pride in not using synthetic flavors, dyes or off-the-shelf mixes. Some of its intriguing flavors include Strawberry Pretzel Pie, Fluffernut Pie and Buttercream Birthday Cake. The shop was founded by ice cream entrepreneur Jeni Britton Bauer, who’s lauded as an artisan ice cream pioneer.
Capannari Ice Cream & Catering
10 S. Pine St. Mount Prospect 847-392-2277 capannaris.com
Capannari is an award-winning purveyor of artisan ice creams and offers a range of unique flavors such as Chocolate Chili Pepper, Green Apple Sorbet and Dulce de Leche.
The store is the passion project of the husband and wife teams of Ken and Katie Dix and Meg and Jim Capannari. Katie and Meg are sisters and that family feeling is never forgotten at Capannari’s.
Van’s Frozen Custard & Burgers
16 E. Main St.
East Dundee 847-836-VANS vansfrozencustard.com
Van’s Frozen Custard & Burgers specializes in frozen custard — a high-end ice cream that contains quality dairy products and egg yolks. The parlor’s website promises a custard that’s just as it should be — smooth, creamy and delicious. The custards come in an array of flavors including Banana Cream Pie, French Silk, Toffee Coffee and Guinness, to name just a few.
Tate’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream
25 S. Ashland Ave. La Grange 708-352-4848
Just as its name indicates, Tate’s offers not just ice cream cones and sundaes, but some old-fashioned treats such as ice cream sodas, which are made with soda water, and root beer floats. Owner Maria Marciniec says customers seek out her parlor for their ice cream sodas, as well as its many flavors including Glazed Donut and Lemon Blueberry. Have an idea for a flavor? Note it on the suggestion board, and it may be a future offering. For a bit of fun, the store also hides wooden nickels in local parks every day, which entitles the finders to a free cone.
Petersen’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream 1100 Chicago Ave. Oak Park 708-386-6161
For more than 90 years, Petersen’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream has been offering sweet treats to a loyal following. Whatever the flavor — Birthday Cake, Peppermint or Vanilla — it is sure to delight. Its super premium ice cream topped with hot fudge sauce and whipped cream is a treat you’ll want to skip dinner for, and want to come back for again and again.
Plush Horse
7903 W. 171st St. Tinley Park 708-444-1800 theplushhorse.com
Anyone seeking a sweet treat and plenty of it can’t go wrong at Plush Horse. The parlor that was founded 35 years ago has a wide range of flavors including Brownie Batter, Black Walnut and Bubble Gum. It also creates sundaes with four to five scoops of ice cream.
“It’s all homemade. We make our flavors on-site and we use only high-end ingredients,” says Mary Rydberg who owns the store with her husband Steve.
Ice Cream cakes with greetings custom to the occasion are available by special order.
Homer’s Ice Cream
1237 Green Bay Road Wilmette 847-251-0477 homersicecream.com
Legend has it that Al Capone used to frequent this parlor that offers 60 different flavors of ice cream, yogurt, sherbet and sorbet. Founded by restaurant owner Gus Poulos in 1935.
The store is in its original location and is still run by the family including Andrew Poulos, vice president.
“We make it the old-fashioned way,” says Poulos. “With the best ingredients. We have people who drive hundreds of miles to get our fresh peach.”