Need a last summer fling? We rounded up some of the city’s best soft-serve ice cream to help you stretch the season just a little bit longer. Our guide — ranked in order of least favorite to most — is hardly comprehensive, but time is running short. Several of these places close in October; others, like Oak Lawn’s Premo’s, plan to stay open year-round. For some of us, it’s never too cold for ice cream.
Cone Gourmet Ice Cream
The menu promises “European-style soft serve.” It’s a term often applied to custard, but here it seems to mean a rather sugary and icy offering. Runny, too. Don’t go out of your way for it, but it’s an option if you’re looking for an after-dinner treat in the West Loop. Maybe opt for the hand-dipped ice-cream sandwiches instead. 1047 W. Madison St., 312-666-5111, conechicago.com
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Frosty Penguin
I ordered an ice-cream soda at the Frosty Penguin, and the delightfully polite teenagers who ran the place were clearly befuddled. Honestly, I would’ve been more surprised if they had gotten it right, since ice-cream sodas have lost their status to slushies and Blizzard-like concoctions. That aside, the ice cream here is a strong contender. The Frosty Penguin is obviously a neighborhood favorite, with a (socially distant) line on a Saturday night that never quite ended. We also tried the peanut-brittle crunch topping — essentially, peanuts mixed with sprinkles — but we’d skip it next time. The soft serve, particularly the vanilla, was better all on its own. 1056 Busse Highway, Park Ridge, 847-430-3178, frostypenguingrill.com
The Freeze
You’re almost as likely to see someone order a hot dog or an Italian beef at this Logan Square shack. Open since 1950, it’s a nicely priced standby, with a full menu of treats. We were tempted by its long list of cone dips — those waxy coverings that often look cooler than they taste. We went for the mildly sweet birthday-cake dip, which once again proved our theory that naked soft serve is the best soft serve. Or, if you want to dress it up, consider a hot-fudge sundae. 2815 W. Armitage Ave., 773-384-5211.
Glenview Dairy Bar
The kids behind me at the Glenview Dairy Bar were pestering their dad for “colors,” aka FlavorBurst ice cream. For the uninitiated, it’s soft-serve ice cream laced by brightly colored flavoring. We gave the strawberry a try. Our 3-year-old loved the pretty pink edging, but the grown-ups weren’t as thrilled with the Kool-Aid-style taste. However, this place — now 65 years old — makes a mean vanilla cone. 1015 Harlem Ave., Glenview, 847-724-2029.
Hole in the Wall Custard & Yogurt Shoppe
Maybe it isn’t fair to put custard up against egg-free soft serve. But this tiny shop just off the Eisenhower Expressway in Oak Park makes us want to break the rules. The custard is silky, but not too eggy. A salted-caramel milkshake won us over: It’s just the right hit of salty-sweet decadence. 901 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, 708-848-9910
Kurimu
Perhaps you’ve seen reports of Kurimu’s edible gold ice cream. Yes, it looks cool, but it’s quite literally gilding the lily. The shop’s matcha green tea and black sesame swirl cone is a food-lover’s soft-serve delight: indulgent, but not too sweet. It’s everything you’ve always hoped mochi would be, and yet it all too often arrives as a freezer-burned rock. Bonus: Kurimu’s green tea waffle cones are crave-worthy all on their own. 1159 W. Taylor St., 312-877-5227, kurimuchicago.com.
Dairy Star
The vanilla ice cream at Dairy Star is enough to keep you coming back: It’s nearly as rich as custard, so buttery and smooth, without even a hint of frost. But the strawberry soft serve? That’s what makes this place extra special. It’s creamy and flecked with tiny specks, just as fresh as summer-ripe berries. You can always split the difference — as we did — with a twist. And yes, the chocolate is solid, too. Maybe they’ll come up with a Neopolitan soft-serve machine someday. Of note: This nearly 40-year-old Dairy Queen-turned-family-operated stand is kosher. 3742 W. Devon Ave., Lincolnwood, 847-679-3472, dairystaricecream.com.
Premo’s
Sprinkles lovers beware: Premo’s rainbow variety comes with nuts. That’s just how it is here. And who would want to change this place? Its soft-serve custard is smooth and dreamy. Even better, its premium milkshakes hit (forgive us) that sweet spot: They’re generous and every bit a special treat without tipping into sheer gluttony. 5540 95th St., Oak Lawn, 708-423-8282.
Did you know? The ubiquitous soft-serve chain Dairy Queen was founded 70 years ago in Joliet.
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