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Categories: Candy Stores, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt
Neighborhood: Lakeview
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This is a place that I always meet up with one of my friends. It is perfect for sitting outside and watching people (and running into people that you know) on Broadway.
The ice cream is good, the prices are pretty reasonable (but extra money for extra fudge? hmm) They have lot of candy choices, and a pretty good selection of ice cream choices. If you get a sundae, your cherry on top is actually a little cherry colored candy. Which was cute.
It is great little meeting place for a summer evening and they have seating both inside and out. Yum yum. It is more decadent that your now ubiquitous fro-yo but sometimes you need some good old fashioned ice cream fun.
If I were five years old, this place would be my heaven. I would eat my vegetables, go to bed early and never throw a tantrum if I knew I could get a weekly trip to Windy City Sweets.
The problem is I'm twenty five and I still feel this way.
Living only a block away is like putting me near a hot stove and telling me not to touch it. I can't tell you how many countless times I'm sitting on my couch digging my nails into the cushions trying to resist those treats.
Candies shaped like Legos? Yes, please. Homemade smores? Yes, please. Homemade peanut butter cups? Now you're just being mean.
Although a bit on the pricey side (this isn't your neighborhood Dairy Queen), I'm a firm believer that you can't put a price limit on dessert.
It is a small shop and does get a bit backed up during hot weather days, so use the time to peruse around the store and check out the cute gifts. Who doesn't need a giant golf club shaped piece of chocolate?
I love this place. I live down the street so I stop here pretty frequently. I'm a huge fan of buying candy by the pound and since they have root beer barrels, it's hard to keep myself away. They also have fudge and ice cream which is awesome.
Possibly the best part of this is that they're open pretty late. I definitely have had to make some late night ice cream stops.
OMG! I stumbled along this place while I was walking...I have walked past here a million times but never paid attention. Let me just say if sweets is what you are craving...this is the place to go...holy cow is there everything in this store. I was like wow, I could definitely gain 10 pounds in this store...wow. That is really all I can say. They have lots of different flavors of ice cream...two scoops $5 something...not terrbile. They have fudge, chocolate candies, mints, gums, chewies...everything. It was sweet overload. They even have really cute little stuffed animals, probably like if you are getting someone a gift. Another bonus, they have a cute little eating area outside to sit and chow down your sweet cravings!
So much to sample. Too much to decide. Ice cream, cashew turtles covered in chocolate, s'mores, and on and on and on.
Late night ice cream with Daughter No. 1 was treat enough. But then, walking in was a sensory assault. As Daughter No. 1 put it:
"Step Right Up and Get Your Diabetes Here. Any Type You Like. What'll it be?"
One star off because I left here hearing remembering Sammy Davis Jr. singing "Candyman," and now I can't get it out of my head.
S'mores coated waffle cone ready to be filled with any ice cream flavor your heart could yearn for - need I say more! The staff is friendly and willing to let you sample as many flavors of ice cream until you find that toothsome flavor you've been craving.
If you've got a sweet tooth, this is your place. Every kind of candy you remember from your childhood. Candy from everyone's childhoods. Candy from current children's childhoods.
I don't have a sweet tooth. I have a wine tooth. But I'd go here with my candy and ice cream lovin' peeps for some Buttered Popcorn Jelly Bellies any time.
Love Windy City Sweets! I purchased about 60 lbs. of bulk candy for my recent wedding. Great variety, reasonable prices and very helpful staff. It was great to find a place I could pick up the candy from instead of paying an online company outrageous shipping fees.
A definite competitor to other ice cream places in the neighborhood. The people here are generally more friendly than some of the other places too which in the grand scheme of things I don't care about when I just want my ice cream fix. I was in a few nights ago and they had peanut butter moose tracks. Now I love anything with peanut butter in it, on it, around it, dripping off of it, or whatever... but this ice cream was heaven. After they lovingly placed my cold treat in a beautiful waffle cone I decided to take it down to the lake for a stroll. I figure all the walking will cancel out all the calories I'm about to eat, no? Well, anyway not only did I almost get hit by a stupid car walking across the street because I was mesmerized by the ice cream, it was totally gone before I even walked the few blocks to the lake. Yum.
best ice cream in the city. hands down!
I'm still searching for the best ice cream in town. After my less-than-stellar experiences at Bobtail, and given how many friends have raved about this candy haven, I decided to give it a whirl last night only to conclude that the hullabaloo was unwarranted.
I got a toothache just walking in and surveying all of the candy-coated confections and I expected more available ice cream flavors. The unique flavors they had -- like sugar free butter pecan (yet no version for the non-carb-and-fat-watching) -- didn't appeal to me. I mean, green tea ice cream? Do they serve it because they're adjacent to ping pong and wakamono?
Even though it was all of 40 degrees last night -- or at least, the wind made it seem so -- my friend and I savored our selections on the patio and watched people fight the wind. Plus one for the venue.
This is a good place in the summer. I've never tried the candy, but had a strawberry smoothie last week when it was in the 80s and it was great. The guy that served me was also extremely friendly.
It was a little expensive (about $5), but worth it.
I would recommend this place over Bobtail or Baskin Robbins.
I have an addiction to chocolate covered gummy bears. Once which can only be met at Windy City Sweets.
Along with an awesome collection of retro candies and homemade chocolates (at pretty decent prices), they also serve ice cream in a variety of yummy flavors.
Perfect place to satisfy your sweet tooth :)
Excellent ice cream and they had dark chocolate covered candied orange peel in the case. So I was a happy camper.
I love this place! You get an assortment of yummy candy and the best part you don't get any pushy sales people trying to get you to buy more. The people behind the counter are helpful and friendly. The prices are reasonable for some of these sweet treats. And you don't just have candy but cookies, malts, shakes and hot chocolate.
They take credit cards but you have to spend more then $5. Thats okay because with all the yummy goodness you'll spend more the $5. :-)
I'm going back and I hope if you go you enjoy it as much as I did!
Holy mother of all things good and sweet - this place is what I want my heaven to be like when I rest my sweet head in eternal peace.
Sure the candy is fantastic, and there are more choices than one knows what to do with. But the ice cream, oh praise that ice cream! It is the best I have had in the city. So fresh, and perfectly flavored, you would thing that Mother Mary churned that sweet cream herself. Sure, you have your average flavors, chocolate, strawberry etc, but then you have blackberry, peppermint (with chunks of peppermint sticks), and my favorite Elephant Tracks - dark chocolate with chunks of tasty peanut-butter.... mmm eat your heart out Elvis....
Get a hand packed pint, hot fudge from Margies and a spoon (bowl is negotiable)... you can thank me at the pearly gates of ice cream heaven.....
I love the s'more treats they make here! They are expensive, but a delicious luxury every now and then. The ones with peanut butter are really good too. I always eye the macadamia nut thingies they also have in the window. I like the huge selection of candy on the wall, perfect for satisfying a sweet tooth craving! I have also always found service to be quick and friendly.
I bought gum cigars ( Pink!) here when my daughter was born eleven years ago, so you could say we are longtime, multi-generational customers. For years we have been coming here for ice-cream, sugar-free chocolates for my pancreas-impaired spouse, trick-or-treat sweets (they give them out for free to kiddos!) and quick gifts on the way home from work. Nice patio outside to enjoy the sights and sounds (not smells!) of B'way. Yet one star is missing...despite our history we still feel like strangers, can't explain why. Maybe it's the timeless quality of this shop-same yesterday as today.
I actually jump up and down when I walk in here. It is the ultimate kid in a candy store experience! Aside from the fact that you can find ANY type of candy in here, the whole place is so warm and welcoming that I don't ever want to leave!
I'm not a big ice cream person, but holy hell it's delicious! They have a Birthday Cake flavor that literally tastes like cake!
My favorite thing though is the chocolate s'mores. I can't even speak when I'm eating one because I cannot be distracted from the chocolatey goodness.
This is a Willy Wonka dream come true!!!
You walk in and you see jars and jars filled with yummy goodness!!
Gummies, licorices, sours, jelly beans, old-timey brands, nuts, chocolate covered this, chocolate covered that.....everything you can possibly want in a candy store!!
They make their own fudge in house.
The best in the city!! In the autumn, the pumpkin fudge...to die for!
Around Valentine's and Sweetest Days they have huge, fresh, chocolate covered strawberries.
THE place for a "Pez" lover, all sizes and styles of dispensers.
Great "sugar-free" selection, also.
"Jerry" the owner is fantastic! If you go in for a gift, tell him what kind of person you're buying for and he'll come up with a perfect suggestion.
I'm partial to candy stores, so these 5 stars are very biased.
Staff is generally very friendly. I have seen them a bit bitchy on a couple occasions, but they're pretty cool with me. Awesome sales. If you go after a holiday, they will have all this stuff in bags for like 80 cents. I love buying those bags and dumping the delights in to a bowl at home and nibbling for days.
Best item: sour santas
I'm not a huge gummy fan, but these damn santas should be YEAR ROUND! Their ice cream is pretty good, too. And the caramel apples are small, nothing like Rocky Mountain, but they're good. They will put combinations of candy in to little gift containers and they look really nice.
If you love gummies, this is your paradise. Cherries, peaches, raspberries, apple rings, sharks, happy cola, sour cola, Fröschli, little race cars, wein gums... you get the idea. And yes, I am obsessed with gummies. I hear they sell chocolates and ice cream, too.
Delicious ice cream? Check. Candy you haven't seen since your childhood? Check. Fudge covered homemade peanut butter cups? OH DEAR GOD - CHECK.
Seriously, this place is a tiny slice of heaven. As an fyi - you can get a "kids" scoop - which is a very reasonably sized single if you don't want to go overboard.
3 reasons to come here:
1.pumpkin ice cream in the fall
2.cute "baristas" (or the ice-cream scooper equivalent)
3.outdoor seating so you can people watch
I've been here many a times and now I'm just getting around to the review. Yeah total kid in a candy store.... and by kid I mean a 27 year old man who is never close to acting his age. Such a great selection and love the ice cream. Great place to stop in on a warm night and get some ice cream, I'd recommend the mint chocolate chip. I love this place. Its very old school.
Would using the phrase "like a kid in a candy store" be too cliche? Cause that's kind of how I felt surrounded by rows and rows of the sweet stuff. I wanted 5 of everything! Then my adult self (with it's adult metabolism) came back to reality and I limited myself to just one thing, a hot fudge sundae with cookie dough ice cream (if your'e gonna go, go big) which was awesome.
I've been back for a small treat now and then. The peanut butter fudge is fantastic and they sell a lot of candy in bulk, including nuts, which are probably the only thing I can eat in this store without guilt.
2 things you have to try:
1. Green tea ice cream.
2. Dark Chocolate/Macadamia/Caramel Pattie. I just drooled a little.
Kind of an old-timey, fun, little shop! It's a little pricey, but ultimately worth it. I definitely recommend a visit to Windy City if you are in the 'hood!
The following plethora of Baby Boomer references may alienate Gen X, Y, and Triple-Z progeny. Please be advised before proceeding...
I believe I just saw the Beaver and his fat friend Larry Mondello hanging out and getting stomach aches from all the candy, fudge and ice cream they had. And here comes Ozzie and Harriet's boys, David and Ricky. They're meeting up with Wally, Lumpy and that jerk Eddie Haskell to buy some Pez and cruise girls. Uh-oh, now they're all gonna get it 'cause Sheriff Andy Taylor just walked in with Deputy Barney Fife. They're wondering why none of them are in school.
It honestly feels like a trip to TV Land when you walk into Windy City Sweets in Lakeview. The maximally stocked store is filled to the brim with so much hard candy, jelly beans, fudge, chocolate, nuts, licorice, malt balls, cookies shaped like cartoon characters and Pez dispensers of all sizes up the wazoo. This place is as old-fashioned as a sweets shop can get, and yet the yard sale appeal makes it way too infectious to pass up ...even if you planned to be real good on your diet. I actually didn't think I needed a bag of gummy fish until it seemed to call out my name.
But what really got me - even in 22-degree Chicago winter weather - was the ice cream. They don't have a huge selection, but I just had a hankering for the Pumpkin Spice milkshake. I didn't care that I was freezing my bulbous hiney not five minutes earlier on the street...it just tasted so good that I think I found myself skipping down the sidewalk on Broadway. And I could tell the bundled-up passers-by were palpably jealous of my dairy-saturated glee. There's something so Midwest cornbelt about Windy City Sweets that you can't help but explore your inner Opie here.
SWEETS / ICE CREAM - 4 stars...hits the spot...even if you didn't know you had a spot to hit before you walked in
AMBIANCE - 5 stars...stocked full of sugary goodies in a cluttered, old-fashioned way...hard to resist for a baby boomer if you ask me
SERVICE - 4 stars...friendly and fast with the scoop
TOTAL - 4 stars...I gotta go meet Whitey and Gilbert now...see ya in school, Miss Landers
Windy City Sweets might be my favorite place in all of Chicago. This here's an old school candy store and ice cream shop, y'all. The ice cream is fantastic (so are the milkshakes and ice cream sodas. OMG.) and the candy selection is huge. They have lots of packaged and/or brand-name candy including a jelly belly wall, as well as a great selection of fudge and handmade candies. The people that work here are AWESOME. I've come here after some pretty serious BYOB-ing at a nearby restaurant (for WCS is open late!! Until 11:00!) and also as a respectable person during the day, and let me just tell you, it's good both ways.
In the fall, the caramel apples are just...ridiculously good.
It's way too easy for me to spend a lot of money at Windy City. I mean, it's CANDY and ICE CREAM and NUTS and stuff. I am usually pretty good about staying away until the holidays (Christmas & Easter, in particular) roll around--then I, uh... make up for lost time, I guess, and go crazy buying things for my family. It is simply the one-stop candy shop that allows me to get all of their favorites in one friendly store.
They have Mamba, Jelly Belly beans, Bit O' Honey and homemade peanut butter cups for Nick. They have Necco wafers (assorted AND chocolate), all manner of nuts and other good old fashioned candy for Dad (dots on paper, those waxy bottles with the nasty syrup inside, those weird flying saucer thingies with nonpareils inside). They tempt me with chocolate covered pretzels, toffees and other handmade chocolate delicacies. They even have wide selections of gummy and hard candies, fudge AND marzipan, if that's your thing. They have gift baskets in a variety of price ranges, too! Wowsers.
The ice cream is a whole other issue for me. I do love me some Cold Stone, but I hate the line and the price, so I'd much rather come to Windy City. They have a great selection of flavors, I never have to wait for long and the people who work here are just so darn nice.
So yeah. If sugar's your thing, you should probably visit. If it's not, well, visit anyway and buy a treat for a friend. Everyone likes wax lips!
Oh yes...more candy and ice cream. What more could one want? Especially on this hot 4th of July day. My friend and I wandered in here in search of some ice cream and my eyes widened when I walked into this candy land. They have it all, but because of the heat I went right for the ice cream.
I tasted the birthday cake ice cream (yuuuummmm) and then checked out the fat free flavors, which is pretty typical of my experience in any ice cream stores- a taste of something bad followed by the stuff that's good for you. Well, maybe not good for you, but ya know...less fattening than the real stuff. I was disappointed to see that the only fat free flavors that had were chocolate and vanilla (cold stone even does better than that) so we left and went to Treats down the street. Now that's a place that really caters to us fat free ice cream lovers.
This may be the first Windy City Fruit & Nut Co has seen of me, but it certainly won't be the last. I won't be going there for ice cream in the future, but I'll certainly be back for candy!
My first five star review, and you better believe it!
Windy City is like the Sistine Chapel of candy stores, without the painted ceilings. Although perhaps they would paint the ceilings in some kind of candy-paint if it wouldn't attract a rather large army of cockroaches to encamp upsidedown for the remainder of the summer.
In any case, this place might as well be Willy Wonka's factory outlet store as they have every thing "candy" you could ever want. They have their own confectionaries like other similar places, as well as a wall of all the old fashioned hard candies, a libraic selection of Jelly Belly's, gummies, twizzlers, candy ropes, candy canes, candy cigarettes (I used to love these, so rebellious in the first grade), and even gummi pizzas and hot dogs. To top it off, they even have some of the best ice cream and fudge in the city, and always a rotating assortment of seasonal candy gifts. For instance, I have never seen so many different sized chocolate Easter bunnies in a non-dream state. Or perhaps you have had that chocolate Easter bunny nightmare, in which case stay very far away from here.
In truth, I try to avoid this place only because it's around the corner and if I went every day I would be fatter than the Blue Ribbon swine at the fair, but when I do go I enjoy that emotional release we all sometimes indulge in when the less scrupulous side of our nature applies the nitrus oxide to our reason and common sense and I go on a candy spree, buying more sugar-based items than should even be allowed by law. It is just too much fun, and I know I won't be back again for another month or so.
The service can sometimes be a little sore, but I am sure these folks deal with a lot of gawkers and are tired of seeing grown adults revert into "kids in a candy store" every week for eight hours a day. The prices, well, usually I am so enraptured by all the endorphins rushing through my skull and veins that I could easily set up a tab directly linked to my bank account if they provided the option.
They also have seating outside on the street for summer months when ice cream and sitting outside go together like waffles and syrup.
Windy City Sweets is perfect to satisfy any type of sweet tooth you might have. I can't help but feel happy when I'm in there. I'm a real sucker for gummy bears and had a really bad craving one day. The ones I got were nice and fresh, with a great texture. There is also an awesome selection of ice creams here, with some unique flavors in the line up. It isn't cheap, but in a way, you get what you pay for. I'll echo the same sentiments here - the staff is super friendly and not pushy at all.
I've never been in this place and thought "wow, that was amazing." Based on that I can't give it more than three stars. That being said, I've also never gone in and left unhappy. The last time I went I had some pumpkin ice cream. It was good. In the summer it is nice to sit outside and enjoy your snack if you can find a seat. Maybe it is a bit more exciting if you really enjoy candy because they have a pretty good selection.
Worth stopping in and making up your own mind. Keep your eyes open for the "dirty tasting spoons." They're so naughty!
When I eat ice cream here I don't feel like I'm selling my soul. It's a nice little independent thingy and there's not enough of that anymore.
It's great to sit on Broadway and poeple watch on the sidewalk.
Peppermint ice cream with real hot fudge.
Malted milk balls
Chocolate covered almonds
Best nuts in the city (almonds, cashews, etc. Don't flatter yourself, perverts).
Ship them to LA please.
Done.
MMMM. Ice cream!
Whenever I step into this little shop, I feel like I'm in some kind of quaint, touristy small town shop where people pay way too much for fudge and lollipops, etc.
But the ice cream at this place is straight-up Yum. No question.
It's maybe a bit expensive, but I'll just say that after a couple of stops at this place, I won't be venturing further down Broadway to "treats"--low fat, shlow shflat.
Sensory overload when you walk in here! And you can't help but walk in esp. when the doors are open and people are sitting outside munching on yummy ice cream! OOooo, the fudge! Oh so good and dangerous! I'll let my friend's buy it and I'll munch - otherwise the entire pound would be missing in no time flat.
I love candy stores where you can find your favorites. Or you have a co worker that loves Jelly Bellys and you can just run into here and find all sorts of gift baskets and sets. We buy beanies for different occasions for collectors here. I love the Cubs Pez holders! I love everything! It's a must stop every walk down Broadway! Thank god the dog can't go in! So at least I'm limited to the trips when I'm w/out the 'child'!
Great fudge. I tried two kinds, chocolate walnut and pistachio maple?
I'm constantly watching what I eat, so I bought tiny 1" cubes of each kind. It costs a little over $2. Robin M., is correct, they charge even more if you buy bite size pieces. I think that's kinda silly, but the fudge was really, really good. I'm saying that even though I'm not really big on chocolate.
If someone knows the secret to buying fudge here, please let me know. What is the ideal amount of chocolate to buy to get the best price? I can buy the ideal amount when I have people to share it with, otherwise it would be hazadous to my health.
Ok, Ok, I paid almost $6.00 for ice cream, but it was SO worth it. My friend took me here after the pride parade. I said I wanted ice cream and she knew exactly where to go.
I got 1 scoop of chocolate/peanut butter and 1 scoop of heath/carmel in a waffle cone that was dipped in chocolate and sprinkles.
I feel like it is completely moot for me to describe the caliber of this meal. Merely the description of what I ordered (and subsequently scarfed down) is enough for you all to know that "heavenly" doesn't do it justice. Eye-rolling, head lolling, and near orgasm would be more apropos.
Oh God of divine summer treats, Why must you forsake us at the end of September??
It's ok. I'll go back in colder weather and begin the candy and fudge sampling process. What a great little place!! And there's outdoor seating.
Nothing could be better than eating ice cream and watching the hotties stroll by on a hot summer day. Le sigh...why am I at work right now??? Le nostalgia...
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