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Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt [Edit]
Neighborhood: Beverly
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A tradition for anyone who grew up in Beverly, Morgan Park, or Mt. Greenwood, and possibly for the rest of the South Side as well. I can remember my mother packing a large hand towel, soaked in water, into a gallon-sized ZipLok bag to be used in cleaning off our faces and hands...
I'm perturbed by the people who have suggested that Beverly is "downtown Baghdad" or that someone should be "scared of coming to Beverly." I have to wonder what those folks' idea of a good neighborhood is, if it isn't 92nd and Western. Folks, you can rest assured that your chances of suddenly becoming caught in the middle of a gang war while waiting in line for a large Rainbow are pretty slim.
FYI: Rainbow cones come in two sizes: large and small. I recommend the large for the full experience. Their cones are nothing special, almost papery, in fact, but who cares about the cone? It's all about the wonderfulness on top of the cone. In the summer, the place is packed with families returning from AYSO soccer games in the forest preserve just north or from little league baseball games in the parks to the east and west. Expect to wait in line, but in my experience, they're very good about managing the flow.
Be careful parking in the O'Reilly Auto Parts lot across the street; while the store is open they will tow your car. If you go after the auto parts store is closed, though, they seem to have a "gentleman's agreement" of no harm, no foul.
Easily my favorite south side ice cream place, and like many others grew up to love it, thanks to its annual appearance at the Taste. Glad I finally went to their original location for the first time earlier this summer, to see where it all started. And score that they now have a downtown location, so I don't have to fight Taste crowds to satisfy my annual cravings anymore!
I've countlessly wanted to branch out beyond the infamous rainbow cone and try the rest of their ice cream creations, but haven't had the proper chance to do so. Not to mention, its actually very accessible by public transit, unlike what some think. Pace bus #349 and CTA bus #49A both stop just south of here at 93rd, and on weekdays, it's only a short walk south from the 91st St. stop of the X49 route. Short-turned northbound X49 runs that go north to Archer operate as late as approximately 8:30pm, and serve the Western Orange Line stop at 49th/Western. The closest Rock Island Metra stop is 3/4ths of a mile east, at 91st St.
Rainbow used to be one of my favorite colors growing up. And not that I won't eat chocolate or strawberry ice cream, but since when are brown and pink part of the rainbow?
I loved the pistachio and Palmer House flavors, but wasn't so crazy about the orange sherbert. If it's there as a palate cleanser, okay... you won't have to twist my arm. I'll eat it.
You know you're a foodie when you'll drive an hour and 10 minutes one way to get the (second) Original Rainbow Cone.
Great Ice Cream
Recently, my boyfriend was there when this establishment received a delivery of ice cream. Bbbbbbbbzzzzzzz... this place doesn't make their own ice cream?!!?!?!
Like I mentioned already, it's fun to eat ice cream at a place that was on TV, but that's where the fun ends. If you really want to treat yourself to some awesome ice cream, I suggest Oberweis.
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My brother and his girlfriend saw Rainbow Cone on the Food Network, and they wanted to go while they were visiting me in Chicago. When we entered, the first thing my brother commented on was the decor as it was completely different from how it was presented in the show.
Nevertheless, we got the rainbow cones. I think the experience of eating ice cream at a place that was featured on TV made the cones taste better than they really were.
I've been back several times since then for the rainbow cones. They are fun and gimmicky and nice on a hot day.
I am pretty sure I wrote a review about the cone before but who knows, maybe not...
A southside tradition, this place has been here when this was the middle of nowhere. My grandpa used to go here for ice cream when he was young. It's that old. You don't stick around over 80 years if you suck (well, Margie's has been around for that long probably and it blows, but I think it's a northside tradition and hey, if they like it, cheers to them).
Most people come here for the Rainbow Cone. I do not. I get a 2 scooper of Mint Flake and Cookie Dough. The cookie dough has orange colored vanilla and the mint flake is green, so it's almost like the irish flag - very apropos for the 'hood. I just like their regular ice cream...not to mention that when it's busy they pre-make the rainbow cones. This never used to be this way and now it is to expedite service...and that can get the edges kinda icy. That's why they're only a 4/5 because the rainbow cone is down in quality. And size. They used to be outta control and you could barely eat em, not so much anymore. Maybe it's better off that way so we don't die young from all that fat :)
The only seating here is outside - they are also not open in the winter. If you are craving ice cream in December and/or you want to sit inside, please see my reviews on Cupid Candies, Gertie's, and Plush Horse. You can't go wrong with those guys either.
If I did ice cream awards, they'd go like this:
Best ice cream flavor selection - Plush Horse
Best outdoor seating - Rainbow Cone
Best Marshmallow Sundaes - Gertie's
Best Turtle Sundaes - Cupid Candies
Best Whip cream - Gertie's (they make it HOMEMADE)
Best people watching - Gertie's (lots of squads, couples on hot dates, CTA workers, and hoodrats...plus my man Steve Dolinsky's picture is on the wall, along with a cardboard cutout of the Miller High Life guy)
Best yogurt - dude, who gets yogurt? Go to TCBY for that
Best vanilla ice cream - Gertie's
Best cones - Rainbow Cone
Best Green River - Gertie's and Cupid Candies
Best hand-packed ice cream to go - Cupid Candies
Best ambiance - Plush Horse
Best value - Gertie's
Denise's favorite overall - Gertie's (specifically the one on my corner, 37th and Archer)
one word YUM!!
Never thought a mixture of chocolate, strawberry, Palmer house, pistachio and orange sherbet would taste good together, until I had an Original Rainbow Cone. I had 2 last time I visited!
Crawl,Walk, Run, just get here and treat yourself to ice cream heaven. No need for a lengthy review. Just the flat-out best flippin ice cream cone you ever tasted !
I saw this place on Food Network's "Unwrapped" before I moved here, and it all came hurtling back today as I sat in the passenger seat of my friend's car as we drove down Western Ave. and I glimpsed "Original Rainbow Cone" on my side.
"OH! Rainbow Cone!" I yelped [no pun intended].
"Huh?" she said.
I explained what I remembered from the show: the fact that they had different layers of flavors of ice cream and they were put in a particular order on purpose (orange sherbert on top to be palate cleansing, chocolate on the bottom because it's the "heaviest" flavor and shouldn't disrupt the fruit flavors, etc.). Her interest was piqued enough to turn the car around (and not be deterred by multiple confounding Beverly backstreets with deadend culdesacs), and we checked it out.
We went in and inquired about our maiden Rainbow Cones; the teen girl staffing the register could hardly spare us the energy to explain that it came in two sizes. The Hispanic lady manning the freezer case was much smilier, at least.
The cones were pre-dipped and looked a little worse for wear. We took them outside to eat at the picnic tables between the building and the parking lot.
The order of ice creams, top to bottom, is orange sherbert, pistachio, Palmer House (french vanilla with cherries and nuts), strawberry and chocolate. I recall on "Unwrapped" the discussion of them using a spade to make "slabs" rather than scoops, which created the "rainbow" effect of the colors arching over each other, though we definitely had scoopage happening. Though maybe it was because we had small cones rather than large ones? Or again, maybe it was the pre-made cone thing(....)
The ice cream here was okay, but it wasn't phenomenal. It had a bit of an "old" taste. (Again, the pre-scooped cone may be the culprit. Don't do it!) If this is always the case, maybe people are just coming here for the nostalgia factor. If it's not, then maybe I just got stuck with a bum cone. I can see why they might have to pre-make on a busy evening or week-end, but there was no one in the place. Just make 'em!
Anyway, glad that I at least got to try a piece of Chicago tradition.
This place is dangerously close to my work. Thank goodness it is only open during the summer months. Like a little kid who doesn't want their food touching, I do not like my different ice cream flavors touching...so I pass on the rainbow cone.
I walked in here yesterday on my way home from work and things have changed since last summer. They now have (GASP!) computerized cash registers instead of the old ones. They also moved the freezer case full of ice cream away and you can't peer into the case and drool over the yummy flavors that you see. Boo. I like to see my ice cream and be inspired to try different flavors from seeing them. No more :(
The teenage girl who rang me up seemed bored and like she was too cool to be working there. See even cut me off as I was telling her my order to yell out something to the girl who scoops the ice cream out of the freezers behind her. Awesome.
$3.20 for a single ice cream cone. Nothing spectacular. They do have a cute outdoor sitting area and that was packed with families enjoying their ice cream on the hot summer day.
The one in the loop on State is OPEN!! weeeeeeee
How can you say no to the original rainbow cone? I kept hearing talk of it so I made the trek down to see for myself. It's worth the trip and definitely worth taking a pint or cone back home for later.
Rainbow cone is by far a favorite now. And I live off of their pints. :)
Thank you Rainbow Cone!
nostalgia has it's place
and when it is summer, and you stand in line for 30 minutes with everyone in a good mood on a hot sunday afternoon, and people who will never meet agin engage in idle chatter, and the children behave, and we all just get along because this is america, nostalgia is not so bad.
did it happen that way? maybe. or maybe, the ice cream headache that resulted from wolfing my cone before it melted created mixed memories in my brain.
no matter whether it was real or not, i remember it, and it was rainbow cone where it happened.
Rainbow Cone is a Chicago classic. I have to go to Rainbow Cone at least once every summer, and have been going there since I was a kid. The mix of ice cream flavors - chocolate, strawberry, orange sherbert, Pamler House and pistachio - is not something you'd normally expect to work, but it is damn good! They also do other ice cream creations, such as sundaes and shakes, but I always go with the original rainbow cone (small). There is nothing better on a hot summer night than Rainbow Cone!
My boyfriend grew up on the south-side of Chicago.
It is a tradition in they're family to always go to rainbow. His father did it when he was a child, my boyfriend did it when he was a child.
I went for the first time a week ago. I completely understand why Rainbow cone is tradition. This place is amazing the ice cream was like nothing I had. My boyfriends father said "you cannot go here and not have a rainbow cone" Listen to the man! This place is great!
Decent ice cream, but definitely not the best.
The freakishly hot and muggy October weather today brought out the summer-like, Disneyland style zig-zaggy lines, and being the chief honorary Southsider, of course I was there too.
Actually I'm the dumb ass, because I was certain I was having an original idea going over there tonight....
Probably known to many as an eagerly awaited Taste of Chicago staple, this place is like heaven for the indecisive, because an Original Rainbow Cone has five flavors of super sweet and creamily old timey ice cream all piled up together on the same cone - chocolate, orange sherbet, pistachio, strawberry and, my absolute favorite here, the Palmer House - like a french vanilla with cherries and walnuts. Prices are more than decent and they give you a whole bunch. And you can get a big banana split or other sundae for about $5.
We sat at the colorful benches outside and tried to cool off and at the same time tried to soak up what was probably the last of the summer's sun (unless climate change will be rescheduling "summer" for January...) , and when all of that creaminess left me parched and slimy tongued, Rainbow Cone didn't disappoint - free jugs of cold water and some cups are out on the counter for exactly that reason.
I'm thinking it's only open on the weekends through the end of October and after that I think it's all closed up until Summer 2009 - and perhaps awaiting a photo op with the hometown new prez. getting down on their specially advertised "Patriotic cone".....
I have never been to Rainbow Cone before but only went because my brother was visiting Chicago and saw it on Unwrapped. It was off the beaten path, older building, no indoor seating, kids behind the counter who didn't seem to care, and hard to make a left turn out of their lot. The things I do for family. Anyway, when in Rome.....I ordered their signature Rainbow Cone because it is what they are famous for....but I saw orange sherbet as one of the flavors and cringed. But went ahead and ordered anyway....if I didn't....it would be like ordering tofu at a steak joint. The Rainbow Cone was made up of orange sherbet, pistachio, Palmer House (not sure what comprised it but there were cherries and nuts), chocolate, and strawberry. The order may not be right but I believe those were the flavors.
To my surprise, the combination was fantastic! Even the sherbet mixed well with the other flavors. I gobbled up my cone and even finished up my kids' cones. I will definitely drop by Rainbow Cone whenever I am in the area to get their Rainbow Cone!
This place is a nice diversion. We go here occasionally but we have more penchant for all-natural ice cream.
Rainbow cone is a South Side Tradition. They have been in business over 80 years, that alone says something about the quality of this place. Service is quick and friendly, ice cream is Delicious, what more could you ask for from a ice cream shop? Go with the Classic Rainbow Cone (Banana, Cherry, Strawberry, Pistachio & Orange Sherbet) and you won't be disappointed.
Holy crap, that photo of the original place is as old as I am! Older!
Rainbow Cones are unique & delicious, as already described by other reviewers.
My memory goes like this:
Once upon a time, about 100 years ago, my BFF Peek & me used to volunteer to go to Rainbow Cone to pick up treats for everybody at her house. Any excuse for us HS kids to drive the parents car without them in it!
The cones would drip on the way home, and we could not risk slopping up the interior of Peek's mama's car so......
we made her little sister hang out the back seat window holding all the cones, on the ride home! Haha the windblown goop would splatter the kid in the face, much to our evil delight. Her little arms would be coated with rainbow ice cream up to her elbows.
We were so baaaaaaaad........
(Note: My BFF was paying back her little sis 'cause she had to drive the kid to her damn riding lessons 3x a week, and sit in the car outside smelly horse stables, waiting, for hours......)
Yummy, yummy, yummy! The rainbow cone is my favorite. Whenever I feel down...I go and get ice cream and I feel a lil betta.
Sherbet? Sherbert? why do i pronounce it SURE-BURT?
Wow...this place even has the overly energetic/awkward teens working behind the counter - no diss - just super cute/Americana with fantastic waffle cones. Reminds me of the Dairy Queen's in Minnesota (the old school joints - think dilly bar not butter finger blizzard).
I have the worst luck. My friend's cone was perfect. Mine only had orange sherbe[r]t and pistachio (my VERY last bite had a touch of yellow stuff I think...). My rainbow cone (advertised as five flavors) was a sad excuse for a rainbow - but a delicious two tone-waffle cone by any standards. This place is great and worth a stop on your way to Gary for a day trip.
Who doesn't love Rainbow Cone? This is really a South Side tradition.
Also, the owners of Rainbow Cone are really great. The BAC worked with them in August - they came out during the Chi-Town Kids concert and sold their cones, making our patrons even happier!
Waiting for Rainbow Cone in the summer is kind of like waiting for Santa in December. It's always worth the wait.
While never a combo I'd come up with in my wildest dreams, it's fabulous.
And don't be afraid of Beverly. Folks are nice down here.
Rainbow is a tradition in my family & neighborhood for as long as I've been alive that I hope never goes away!
Rainbow cone rocks!!! Creamy goodness in Beautiful Beverly...
... not Baghdad like that last crybaby suburbanite or transplanted Michigander or whatever said.
Widen your horizons Captain Xenophobe!
This place is kind of crazy. It's one of those neighborhood establishments that was probably all the craze at one time but that has lost much of its luster for a variety of reasons social and economic. The ice cream itself is good, but it's hard to lose the feeling that this place used to be so much more.
I kind of like the tragic nostalgia of this place's datedness.
Rainbow Cone gives me chills down my spine.
I'm serious.
This is the real deal. This isn't some Johnny-come-lately organic, fancy, creamery, elitist, gourmet, yuppie, uppity, real waffle cone, ice cream boutique. This is ice cream as it was meant to be. As my parents ate it. As THEIR parents ate it.
Ok maybe not, because its better than that.
Eating a Rainbow Cone is like entering your own little world. And I'm not talking about getting one at the Taste of Chicago. Part of the process is the setting.
Things have changed very little at the shop since I was but a little whippersnapper, who could barely see over the counter while they slapped the flavors on with that ice cream shovel.
Old school cake cone, neon rainbow of ice cream (both edible and a real neon one on the roof)... there is nothing else like it on earth.
Sure they sell other variations. But this is the only thing to eat, and if you don't enjoy it, there is something wrong with you.
Even eating it is an experience on its own. You have to have a quick and skillful tongue to keep that MOUNTAIN of flavors from melting down onto your hand... from the orange sherbet top to the little reward of chocolate at the bottom, you may not even LIKE the flavors on their own, but they come together like ... like... those stupid Power Rangers, but tasty.
Nothing says summer like Rainbow Cone. I love coming here for a mashed mess of ice cream.
When I was a little girl, I dreamed of having a ranbow cone wedding cake. Well, I got one. Marge, the cake decorator was very accomodating and made fantastic recommendations. I know not everyone wants ice cream cake, let alone Rainbow Cone, so I wanted a matching non-ice cream cake. I didn't want to fuss with multiple bakers, and she was happy to make a "normal" cake for me.
She was able to decorate with a ribbon and had other embellishments if I wanted (which was not what an employee told me), and everyone RAVED about it. They delivered to our dinner location for a nominal delivery fee. Marge suggested we have a 2-tier normal cake, and just cake logs for the ice cream. I resisted, because I wanted a traditional cake. But she was so right. I'm glad I listened to her. She saved me money with the logs, and they were easier to transport back home, and were much simpler to cut.
A+ all around!!
Best ice cream ever!
check out the RAINBOW CONE song at http://www.myspace.com... or http://www.chitownkids...
Super-delicious ice cream.
I'd go there more often if it weren't located in downtown Baghdad.
Awesome Ice Cream and a great "road trip" for something special.
I have been going since I was very young and it is as good as I remember!
"I am like Neopolitan ice cream, but I got pistachio,orange sherbert, and cherry nut thrown in."
I have always gotten one summertime at the Taste, but I imagine the lines long at its home base.
I grew up on this stuff. I remember freaking out around spring, knowing that "ANY DAY NOW", they could open for the year. Great ice cream, it's the only brand of the stuff that I idolize.
rainbow cone 4 lyfe.
This place was really cool. It was my first time going there just recently and i got a brownie sunday that was delicious and the famous rainbow cone. The line was long when we showed up and it wasn't the warmest so i knew that the ice cream was serious bussiness...and it was. The people were also great and the vibe was cool..i'll be back for more i ce cream soon=]
This place is so awesome! I always beg my husband to take me here whenever we come to the south side to visit his enormous Irish family. When you go, you have to get the original rainbow cone which is chocolate, pistachio, palmer house, orange sherbet, and strawberry.
My only complaint is that usually they put too much orange sherbet on the cone. In my opinon, you should have an equal ratio of all 5 kinds of ice cream, not small amounts of 4 and a wallop of orange.
mmm pistachio
the rainbow cone is the way to go
I can't believe this wasn't listed on yelp already...
I went for the first time earlier this week, and it was well worth the trip. I got the Rainbow Cone - a mix of chocolate, strawberry (with strawberries in it!), "Palmer House" (cherry and walnut, I think), pistachio, with a scoop of orange sherbert on top. The orange sherbert almost dissuaded me, but it was worth it (tasted like the old Flintstones push-up pops!) Chances are good I'll be visiting several times more this summer.
This place is the reason I love the southside. The service is great and the ice cream is always fresh. The lines are sometimes long, but it's worth the wait.
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Category: Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
Neighborhood: Bucktown
Category: Candy Stores
Neighborhood: Lincoln Square
Category: Desserts
Neighborhood: Fulton Market
Category: American (New)
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