What a blazing hot summer it’s been! What’s the best treat on a hot day? Ice cream of course. My family and I have long visited Barrington’s top spots for ice cream, but we’ve also discovered some new destinations serving our favorite flavors and more in Barrington this year.
With about six weeks left of summer, I thought I’d take a minute to pass along our recommendations about the best places, old and new, to grab a few scoops around town…
The Classics
For those of us who’ve spent many summers in Barrington, there are a handful of ice cream stops that we’ve all come to know and love. You can never get enough of these local favorites…
Kaleidescoops
106 W. Main Street – Barrington, IL
Prominently located on Main St. just West of Barrington Road is this good old American ice cream chain.
We love Kaleidesoops for their reliably good standards such as a banana split or scoop of mint chocolate chip, but also love that they are on trend with flavors such as cake batter and blueberry pomegranate granola.
Also, where else can kids get their favorite blue ice cream (Blue Moon) or Bubble Gum scoop?
Cold Stone Creamery
ColdStoneCreamery.com
20330 N. Deer Park Boulevard – Deer Park, IL
Located in Deer Park, this chain has been a welcome addition to the Barrington ice cream scene. Very popular with Deer Park moviegoers and those who love the uniqueness of what Cold Stone refers to as their ”creations”. What they offer is, in their words …”Freshly made smooth, creamy ice cream blended on a frozen granite stone with endless combinations – fruits, nuts, candy, cookies, brownies…you name it – you can mix in to your heart’s content.”
New to the Scene
While neighboring towns boast many a self-serve fro-yo shop, it is with much anticipation that we finally can claim one of our own — Bamboo Spoon Frozen Yogurt Cafe at the Arboretum in South Barrington.
Bamboo Spoon Frozen Yogurt Cafe
BambooSpoonYogurt.com
100 W. Higgins Road – South Barrington, IL
This self-serve frozen yogurt shop features both sweet and tart frozen yogurt, with a choice of over 40 decadent toppings. The fun and the combinations are endless! When we stopped in we were delighted at the wide variety of flavor options ranging from root beer float to pink lemonade and pomegranate raspberry. We all loved the unique topping choices, and went to town filling our bowls. After all, all of the frozen yogurt is either fat free, or low fat.
Surprises that will make you Scream
If it’s not a place you frequent for candy, you might not also have known that the SweetSpot is a favorite local destination for ice cream as well.
SweetSpot
Facebook.com/SweetSpot.Barrington
102 S. Hager – Barrington, IL
Located on Main street just East of the High School, the SweetSpot offers a great selection of ice cream along with their many candy choices.
They have chocolate, vanilla and swirl soft serve ice cream as well as chocolate and cherry dip for cones and mix-ins for cups of ice cream.
As a provider of classic sweet treats, it also makes sense that they offer homemade snow cones along with homemade Italian ice.
Gavi Café
GaviCafe.com
600 Hart Road – Barrington, IL
Gavi Café is located in the Barrington Corporate Center on Hart Road just South of Route 14.
Gavi Café is is a popular lunch spot for those “in-the-know” and, by far, one of the area’s best kept dining secrets. While in place mainly to service the office residents with quick-service pizzas and sandwiches, it is also a great place to stop for their out-of-this-world classic Italian Gelato. Who knew you could get divine Gelato right here in Barrington?
With cooler temperatures this week and the start of school just 10 days away, there are signs that the seasons will soon change. But these great local hot spots are open year-round serving scoops of ice cream or Gelato to remind us of summer in all seasons.
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About the Author
Kelly Donlea is a Barrington mom, chef, cookbook author the owner of Organizing Dinner, a company that brings sensible cooking solutions to busy people. She has published several cookbooks and one of her specialties is helping parents plan family meals with fewer trips to the grocery store. Kelly also offers cooking classes and demonstrations in your home or public facility. To learn more about Kelly, her recipes and her services, you’ll find her Facebook page by clicking HERE and her website at OrganizingDinner.com. Kelly is going to be sharing recipes, cooking tips and special features about chefs and popular menu items at area restaurants right here at 365Barrington.com.
Please join us as we discover local culinary treasures and new kitchen classics in our new, local and regular food feature here at 365Barrington.com called “Barrington Eats” with Kelly Donlea!
If you’d like to us to feature you favorite chef or restaurant or if you have a food related question that you’d like Kelly to answer, make a quick stop at the 365 Barrington Suggestion Box and leave us a note in the form which you’ll find by clicking HERE.
