Six months of locally-produced gelato, delivered to your doorstep. A better gift would be hard to imagine. more ›

Baskins Robbins is hosting a "Create Baskin's Next Favorite Flavor" contest! One lucky winner who submits a new flavor combination on BR's website will get a free trip to Boston and their concoction will be sold in BR stores everywhere. So, that's fun. more ›

Pastry chef Patrick Fahy, formerly of Blackbird, has established himself at Cafe des Architectes. We stopped in to see what he could dish out. more ›

As the weather today reminds us, summer is coming to an end. At the beginning of each summer, we make a list (in our case, a mental one, but we're willing to accept that some are more organized) of all the fabulous thing we want to do and eat before the summer ends. And then, suddenly, it's September and summer is just about over. If we try hard, there are a few more weeks of decent weather left for us to pack in the fun - and pack on the pounds. This is our checklist, our "bucket list" of summer food activities left to do. more ›

Nice Cream owner Kris Swanberg said that she would fight the regulations, which essentially requires small-batch makers like Nice Cream to adopt preparation and production processes that "macro" ice cream producers use. more ›

Illinois Department of Public Health regulations could force small batch ice cream makers like Nice Cream Company and Black Dog Gelato to adhere to the same regulations as mass-produced ice cream makers. more ›

Pinkberry, the trendy, California-based frozen yogurt shop, is opening its first Chicago store. To celebrate the grand opening, you get free food. From 5-9 P.M. today, stop by their new location and get a free small yogurt. Sounds like a great afternoon treat! more ›

The event will now take place in Mid-August. more ›

Lick Lick, a new food "truck" (more of a cart) for dogs, has hit the streets. We can't tell if this is the moment that food trucks jump the shark or if dog owners everywhere will converge on the new venture. Now, while you're waiting for your mac and cheese or your designer cupcake, you can buy food for your pampered pooch. Lick Lick offers "preservative free gourmet dog treats" and "artisanal ice cream." more ›

On June 3, JBar in the James Hotel will be transformed for only a couple of hours into a cash-only, pop-up ice cream bar featuring the frozen cream creations of Jove Hubbard, executive pastry chef at David Burke's Primehouse. more ›

The Chicago Luxury Ice Cream Festival keeps growing. For the third annual installment scheduled for July 9 and 10 at Little Italy's Grand Piazza they're bringing in some heavy hitters. more ›

Love milkshakes? Yeah, so do we. On Wednesday, to celebrate their 25th anniversary, four Chicagoland Johnny Rockets locations will be selling their hand-dipped milkshakes for just $.99. The regular price is $5, so it's quite a deal. The shakes come in Vanilla, Chocolate or Strawberry, and the locations participating are below. more ›

Frozen treats are probably the last thing on most folks' minds during this bitter February deep freeze. Yet for those of us with a chilly sweet tooth, some things are worth the chattering of our jaws. Really good frozen custard is one such thing. Smooth, creamy, and decadent are just a few ways one could describe it. Absolutely addicting is another. You may scream for ice cream, but we raise our voices for the frosty, velvety texture of frozen custard. Try it once and you may never look at ice cream the same way again. more ›

October marks the second birthday of Chicago's Downtown Farmstand, one of our favorite under-appreciated gems. The farmstand is dedicated to selling only food produced within 250 miles of Chicago and stocks a great selection of goodies. This month, there will be tons of different local food events, tastings, conversations with local producers and special exclusive products only available in October. more ›

I scream, you scream, the heat screams for ice cream. And you can get your ice cream free tomorrow night from 7-9 p.m. at Kenmore Live Studio (678 N. Wells St., 312-265-0871) as a preview of the Chicago Luxury Ice Cream Festival. more ›

Despite the recent excitement over food trucks, the mobile ice cream scene has been thriving for years on the South Side. A fleet of ramshackle trucks glide through the neighborhoods playing nursery rhyme-sounding Christmas songs to engage kids while selling hard frozen popsicles and Good Humor Products. more ›

Looking for an after-work or after-dinner treat? It's once again Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day. Started in 1979 to celebrate the first anniversary of Ben and Jerry’s, Free Cone Day has been running ever since. Every year, scoop shops around the country give out free ice cream to all comers. Lines are often long, but the ice cream is always tastier when you don’t have to pay for it. Free cone day is today, and scoop shops will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Patrons can have one scoop of any flavor left in the store. more ›

It was around 8 p.m. Labor Day when we heard the familiar jingle ringing down the street. And if you grew up hearing the Mister Softee song, you know it's unmistakable. 'Course, being 40 we just couldn't run out of the house barefoot and shirtless trying to catch up to the truck with five dollars we took from Mom's purse before asking. We had to don shoes and leash the dog. Emmy's 10 and doesn't run anywhere anymore. We were thinking this was going to be a futile endeavor. more ›

The moment we saw this article on Lifehacker which referenced this article on The Kitchn (both of which contain pictures worth seeing), we knew we'd be trying it. Now, we know what you're thinking...obviously it isn't ice cream in the literal sense of the term. But we found that it is surprisingly pretty darn good. more ›

You've just gotten over your fancy ice cream headache from last weekend's Chicago Luxury Ice Cream Festival. What's next? Make your own at Fox and Obel's ice cream making-class this Thursday. From 6-7:30pm and for $25, join Amy Donati (Fox & Obel Charcuterie and Kitchen Manager) in a hands-on class that will have you whipping up Honey Lavender, Red Currant, Kahlua & Espresso, Wine Sorbet and Creme de Menthe ice cream as well as ice cream sandwiches and pies. Leave your kids at home- this is adults only. As always, two hours of validated parking and 10% market purchases on the day of the class. more ›

It was sometime after 8 Friday night at the Chicago Luxury Ice Cream Festival when Benjy texted me from one of the many long lines formed inside the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. The text read, "This is like going to Great America, only you have a small bite of ice cream waiting for you at the end instead of getting on a roller coaster." more ›

In the interest of responsible journalism (and getting our readers as much cheap/free ice cream as possible) it is our responsibility to inform you that Ben and Jerry’s free cone day was not the only discount ice cream opportunity available. Baskin Robbins is having its third annual 31 cent scoop night on Wednesday, April 29th. From 5-10 PM, stop in at any store for 31 cent scoops. There is a 3-scoop limit. Be sure to check your local shop in advance - all of their advertising has the dreaded *, indicating “participating stores only,” but unlike Ben and Jerry’s, their website doesn’t make it easy to tell which outlets are participating. more ›

It’s that time of year once again, when Ben and Jerry’s fans rejoice with free ice cream! Started in 1979 to celebrate the first anniversary of Ben and Jerry’s, Free Cone Day has been running for 31 years. Every year, scoop shops around the country give out free ice cream to all comers. Lines are often long, but the ice cream is always tastier when you don’t have to pay for it. Free cone day is today, and scoop shops will be open from noon to 8 PM. Patrons can have one scoop of any flavor left in the store. more ›

Ice cream fans rejoice - iCream, the liquid-nitrogen-based “designer ice cream” shop in Wicker Park is finally open. iCream originally opened last year to great fanfare, but quickly closed a few days later - our attempts to visit were unsuccessful. Whatever difficulties they had encountered have apparently been resolved, as they have been open for over a week and were filled to capacity this past Sunday. more ›

• Great to see Janet Rausa Fuller back in action at the Sun-Times. The Bright One's food editor has a page 2 story on how the economy isn't really stopping folks from dining out. Fuller cites a Zagat survey stating that 83 percent of diners surveyed are eating out as often as they were two years ago, but a third of them are taking advantage of fixed price specials and cutting back on items such as dessert and booze. BYOB, the blueprint for the future. [Sun-Times]
• In our visits to the Publican, we haven't had to wait for a table. Just wanted to mention that as a contrast to Sandy Thorn Clark's cover story in yesterday's Sun-Times food section on the buzz behind hot restaurants. [Sun-Times]
• Localvores take note: there's folks out there more zealous than you about the food we eat. The 100 foods no environmentalist should ever eat. Imported beer and wine make the list, as well. Fie, we say! [X-Ray Technician Schools, via MP Chicago]

Metromix has their opening date as yesterday or today. Helen Rosner at the always entertaining MenuPages Chicago has been waiting with bated breath for the doors to open, as well. We placed a call over to iCream in Wicker Park (1537 N. Milwaukee, 773-342-2834) to see when they would, indeed, open for business and were told "Thursday or Friday." more ›

Andrew Huff at Gapers Block's Drive-Thru blog called Forbes Traveler's decision to include Margie's on its list of the best ice cream in America "lazy ice cream journalism," while Mike Nagrant lists his alternatives at Serious Eats. more ›

This evening is 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins, with a limit of ten scoops per person. (Please, we really want someone to order a 10-scoop ice cream cone). Baskin Robbins will be honoring the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation by making a $100,000 donation. We don’t really get how the ice cream promotion has anything to do with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, though there will be the opportunity for patrons to donate to local fire charities at “some locations.” more ›

It wasn't just Presidential candidates that were running for nominations in yesterday's vote. A handful of local Democrats and Republicans also ran for their party's spot on the November ballot as well. more ›

The Tribune Editorial Board released its list of endorsements in the upcoming Illinois primaries on February 5. Among the list are 3rd District Congressman Dan Lipinski (striking a blow to challenger and progressive blog champion Mark Pera) and tenacious ice cream magnate Jim Oberweis -- running for Congress in the 14th District -- who is determined to get himself elected to some office, somewhere, some time (we hear Sugar Grove is looking for a new mayor, perhaps he should start there). They also endorse Senator Dick Durbin's challenger, Steve Sauerberg, who has about as much chance of unseating Durbin as Spanky the Clown. more ›