Gelato
The perfect scoop: Coconut
Where you can find it: Cafe Descartes, 111 E. Wacker Drive; 312-565-2557
Value: $2.99 for a single, hefty scoop.
Why we love it: The dozen or so flavors at this humble indoor stand shift constantly and include spumoni, frutti di bosco (fruits of the woods), hazelnut, amaretto and banana fudge. But it’s the coconut that gets my vote. It’s so moist you’d think it spilled out of a soft-serve machine; it has just the right flaky texture and a long-lasting aftertaste that conjures visions of a palm-studded island … and a copious supply of umbrella-garnished drinks.
–Louis R. Carlozo
The perfect scoop: Limoncello
Where you can find it: Freddy’s Pizza, 1600 S. 61st Ave., Cicero; 708-863-9289
Value: $2.99 cup gives a nice sampling of two different flavors.
Why we love it: Freddy’s is an Italian-food landmark, and its nine gelato flavors are homemade delicacies. The limoncello is made with real Italian liqueur and has a richness you might expect to find in a martini shaker. Other varieties include tartufo (Italian chocolate hazelnut), donatella (Italian chocolate), tiramisu and frutti di bosco (fruits of the woods). None has yet to disappoint.
–Louis R. Carlozo
Ice cream
The perfect scoop: Soft-serve vanilla
Where you can find it: Polar Bear, 7901 W. Cermak Rd., North Riverside, 708-442-8048.
Value: The small cone, $1.58, is respectably large.
Why we love it: Some consider soft-serve ice cream–issued from small, freestanding, independently owned neighborhood ice cream stands like Polar Bear–the ultimate summertime treat. I don’t have a favorite when it comes to the ice cream/soft-serve/gelato/custard wars. I love them all. However, soft-serve is usually lower in fat grams and, frequently, calories. (I take my fringe benefits where I can find them.) Speaking of which: It’s often cheaper. The vanilla soft serve at Polar Bear is super creamy and rich, with good flavor and a satiny texture.
–Renee Enna
The perfect scoop: Chocolate-vanilla swirl
Where you can find it: Hole in the Wall, 901 1/2 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, 708-848-9910
Value: $2.50 for one scoop.
Why we love it: This is the anti-overpriced, overbutterfatted ice cream stand. Tucked between a dry cleaner and a hair salon, the tiny storefront has standing room for about six customers. The rest line up outside, sometimes all the way down to the used CD store. It’s worth the wait. For $2.50, you get a creamy chocolate-vanilla swirl in a classic cone. Not too rich. No Butterfinger mix-ins. Just simple deliciousness.
–Tim Bannon
The perfect scoop: Peppermint
Where to find it: Mitchell’s Candies & Ice Cream, 18211 Dixie Hwy., Homewood, 708-799-3835
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The value: $2.50 for a scoop, it should be noted, that looks like two–a bottom layer and a smaller top hat jauntily to the side.
Why we love it: Sure, “candies” is Mitchell’s middle name. And why not? The marshmallows bathed in milk or dark chocolate are ambrosia. But it’s the ice cream than has been bringing fans in for 75 years. Though the chocolate, vanilla and strawberry (all the flavors are made on the premises) always beckon, my tastebuds were set for peppermint–one scoop on a plain cone (no need to gild the lily). You get rompin’, stompin’ frozen dynamite. The color’s perfectly pink, the flavor full and bold, and it has plenty of peppermint candies (that’s how you get to partake of both of Mitchell’s specialties).
–Mary Jane Grandinetti
The perfect scoop: Original Rainbow Cone
Where to find it: Original Rainbow Cone, 9233 S. Western Ave., 773-238-7075
The value: $3.50 for large.
Why we love it: It opened in 1926 (it’s a little bit older than I am), and for all of my life, an ice cream treat has meant an Original Rainbow Cone. The large ($3.50) and small ($2.50) traditional versions include chocolate, pistachio, strawberry and Palmer House (a cherry-nut blend) ice creams, as well as a layer of orange sherbet. Though you might never match up these flavors on your own, be glad someone else did; they work together perfectly. Other options include shakes, floats and ice cream cakes (highly recommended for birthday parties).
–Maureen Hart
The perfect scoop: The M&M McFlurry: Vanilla soft serve with mini M&M’s mixed in.
Where you can find it: Where else? McDonald’s! (locations … everywhere, www.mcdonalds.com)
Value: 12 creamy ounces for $3.03.
Why we love it: Nostalgia. I spent the summer after college studying for the LSAT and subsisting on McFlurrys alone … and survived to write about it! Later, penniless in humid, sticky Brooklyn, McFlurrys were my monthly splurge. While some folks look back fondly on DQ’s Peanut Buster Parfait, nothing reminds me of summer more than a big cup o’ McFlurry.
–Allison Benedikt
The perfect scoop: Oatmeal Cookie Chunk Original Ice Cream
Where you can find it: Ben & Jerry’s, 338 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-281-3150 (see www.benjerry.com for more Chicagoland locations)
Value: $2.49 plus tax for one heaping scoop.
Why we love it: If I decide that I deserve to indulge in ice cream, I don’t want an anemic excuse for a cone. There’s no skimping at this Vermont-based ice creamery known for its deliciously kooky and decadent concoctions, not to mention an environmentally savvy business sense. This flavor’s base is rich, cinnamon-spiced and creamy, and the firm chocolate fudge chunks are perfectly sized accents to the swirls of soft, chewy morsels of oatmeal cookie. The flavors work so well together that fans petitioned successfully for the initially “limited edition” treat to be spared from the notorious “flavor graveyard.” Waistlines be damned, this is dessert nirvana.
–Fauzia Arain
The perfect scoop: Fudge Royal Sundae
Where you can find it: Margie’s Candies, 1960 N. Western Ave., 773-384-1035
Value: This two-scoop sundae is priced at $3.95.
Why we love it: You can’t beat ice cream (or better yet, gelato) fresh out of the ice-cream maker, but to me the perfect scoop is almost any ice cream (that is, non-artificial-tasting vanilla, coffee, banana, even coconut … but no mint) topped with the perfect hot fudge, with sliced bananas and chopped nuts as garnish. The fudge at Margie’s is rich, intense and just the right amount of lumpy to give it that homemade quality–and it’s served on the side so you can pace yourself. The ice cream itself is creamy and rich without being too butterfatty. And the atmosphere is time-warp, family-run, ice-cream-parlor homey.
–Mark Caro
The perfect scoop: Chocolate-dipped, swirl-tipped soft-serve cone
Where you can find it: Dairy Queen (many, many locations; check www.dairyqueen.com)
Value: $1.99 for a small–and worth every bite, lick, bite, slurp, slurp, slurp.
Why we love it: This baby is a bite back to a time when butterfat content didn’t matter, quirky flavor names didn’t get more attention than good eating and breaking through the chocolate shell led to cool, creamy relief from muggy summer days. It’s hanging out with high-school pals with nary a care in the world.
–Judy Hevrdejs
Custard
The perfect scoop: Vanilla
Where you can find it: Culver’s, 541 Plainfield Rd., Darien, 630-734-0400 (and other locations; www.culvers.com)
Value: $1.92 for a big scoop.
Why we love it: It’s not too fancy–a vanilla scoop in a cup. But it’s so creamy, so cool, that it slides down easy. Soft serve is messy, but Culver’s custard is a neat, round scoop, though you’d better eat it fast, before it melts. It’s not too sweet, and that little bit of a residual mouth feel only reminds you of the creamy delight that disappears way too quickly.
–Linda Bergstrom
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