treats-- lincoln park, chicago

for being some kind of 99% fat free weird preservative-filled dairy dessert, this stuff was not bad. i am on a diet, so i need all the help i can get. i was able to get a chocolate dip PLUS chocolate sprinkles, which kicked some serious ass. the vanilla soft serve tasted much like a melted marshmallow, which is not altogether a bad thing. there was a crazy long line, and the signboard is too small to read from the back. having the various toppings, etc. listed somewhere visible would be nice.

as mike was waiting outside, since he refuses to eat fake food, he overheard some guy say to another, "dude, why do people go to treats? don't they know it makes you fart?" and i have to say, that my stomach was in turmoil almost immediately afterwards for a full day, at least.

kopp's frozen custard -- milwaukee, wisconsin

double rainbow ice cream -- (closed) wrigleyville, chicago

this was a lie and a waste of time. double rainbow is this kick-ass ice cream from the bay area that they retail at trader joe's. adam and i were all stoked to go to the store, but found that it had been closed and replaced with a cold stone (boo!!). we considered cold stone and the nearby dairy queen, but decided instead to buy a couple half gallons of the real stuff from trader joe's and eat it in peace at the house.

sapore di napoli -- lakeview, chicago

i was here sans adam and got dinner too. the couple that own the place are quite charming, though there were definitely some kinks to be worked out. also, the bathroom is behind the kitchen, which is pretty much totally surreal. however, the gelato is really good, and they give you samples. and you get a cute cup for the gelato, which you could probably get to go if you wanted to walk around or whatever. nice atmosphere, tasty gelato.

tastee freez -- chicago, il

this was good enough soft serve, in a vaguely sketchy location. it would probably be fun in the summertime. i got a dipped cone with sprinkles, but i have to say that i was disappointed that they only had rainbow sprinkles. i am a chocolate kind of girl. apparently this stuff is low-fat (or reduced fat, or something). it wasn't bad. probably no better than your standard dairy queen, but i was jonesing for soft-serve and this helped ease the pain a bit.

oberweis dairy -- wicker park, chicago

village creamery -- skokie, il

margie's candies --bucktown, chicago

carvel soft serve-- wilmete, il

this is what it's all about, people. the night after we went here i had a dream about owning a soft-serve factory and being able to dispense big tubs of the stuff. good good good soft serve, with a fantastic texture and no metallic aftertaste. they will roll the cone in sprinkles (chocolate, people, chocolate), which should be standard everywhere, as far as i am concerned. completely worth the drive, and not far from the skokie mall, if you needed to be out that way.

(adam says...)

I am putting this place on the list of reasons that the University of Chicago Anthro department should relocate, possibly taking over Northwestern. The drive out was long but well worth it. Some of the better soft serve I've had ever and definitely the current, Chicagoland, champ in its category. The only down side was the pack of viscous kids who forced us to eat outside.