It's hard to beat a frosty cup or cone of ice cream—and there's no shortage of spots around town to sample the very best scoops. Here are four of our favorite creameries around town, where you can beat the heat (or embrace the chill) with a sweet treat.
BomboBar
West Loop
After a bowl of pasta or a pizza at Bar Siena, head next door to BomboBar for authentic Italian frozen treats, including handmade gelato, Italian ice, and "cooler chocolate," a massive, decadent frozen version of Bar Siena's famed hot chocolate that comes with whipped cream, chocolate drizzles, and a bomboloni, or mini-donut, on the straw. You can also get a "gelato sandwich," with vanilla gelato pressed into a hot bomboloni and served with salted caramel dip.
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams
Lakeview/Wicker Park/Lincoln Park
Jeni's may have started out in Columbus, OH, but it's become a staple for Chicagoans since the business opened its first of three Chicago storefronts in 2013. The multitude of flavors rotate throughout the year: brambleberry crisp in the summer, sweet potato pecan praline in the fall, and dark chocolate peppermint at the holidays. And almost any time of the year, you can get Black Cat Espresso, made with beans from Chicago's own Intelligentsia.
Scooter’s Frozen Custard
Lakeview
Frozen custard is the ultimate taste of the Midwest, and this "mom-and-pop custard shop" has been serving up some of Chicago's best since 2003. Enjoy the chocolate or vanilla custard by the cup or cone, or order up one of their creamy concretes, like the signature Strawberries and Cream (hand-mixed, so as not to bruise the fresh strawberries), and the Mocha Snicker Madness, with vanilla custard, coffee syrup, and Snickers bars. Or build your own, with mix-ins like marshmallow, gummy worms, and strawberries.
Original Rainbow Cone
Beverly
As the name suggests, this creamery, which opened way back in 1929, specializes in towering cones of rainbow-colored ice cream. Chocolate is the base layer, then strawberry, Palmer House (cherry walnut), pistachio and orange sherbet are added to complete the masterpiece. The rainbow flavors are also available as a layered ice cream cake; if you'd prefer to stick to one or two colors, you can sample them in a sundae, banana split or shake. You can also snag a rainbow cone at the shop's new Navy Pier kiosk.
Black Dog Gelato
Multiple Locations
Owner Jessica Oloroso, who named her creamery after her pooch Kaya, makes her ice cream fresh every morning, offering 13 unique flavors that rotate with the seasons, including butterscotch bourbon pecan and maple cayenne bacon, as well as a sundae station. If you're looking for a certain special flavor, be sure to get there early: while Oloroso takes requests, the lineup changes often, and once a flavor runs out, it's gone
