Ice cream, though always a crowd pleaser, hasn’t changed much over the years. It’s comfort food at its best: chocolate sundaes, banana splits, vanilla shakes. Delicious–but daring? No way. But some Chicago chefs think ice cream has been a stunted sweet long enough and are giving new meaning to the name rocky road with savory flavors such as goat cheese, avocado and vinegar. Check out our faves.
Green Zebra
Chef Shawn McClain’s veggie-obsessed venture is all about small portions of playful, seasonally inspired dishes, and dessert is no exception. Try the ice cream tasting ($6) of four golf ball-sized rounds of carrot cake, tarragon, hot chocolate and cherry vanilla. Each scoop is presented on individual square plates so the bold flavors don’t melt together. And you thought tarragon was only good with chicken! 1460 W. Chicago Ave. 312-243-7100.
Acqualina
Ever eat salad for dessert or vice versa? Head to Lincoln Square’s cool California/ Mediterranean-focused spot and give it a try. Chef Greg Darrah serves thickly sliced heirloom tomato salad with a surprise topping: strawberry-basil vinegar sorbet. The sorbet combines fragrant flecks of basil with foamy champagne vinegar for a sweet yet tart taste that goes great (really!) with salad. Balsamic vinaigrette tops the whole deal, along with parmesan and cracked black pepper. $7.50. 4363 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-770-4363.
Miami Flavors
Owner and Chef Robert Bouyer took his inspiration for this brightly colored Latin American and Caribbean ice cream shop from his days as a chef on a cruise ship. “You won’t find cows or chickens in the Caribbean, so the ice cream there is more like ices,” Bouyer says. His homemade variety mimics that icy texture and contains very little cream–instead, he uses sweetened condensed milk or soy milk. On a given day, the shop offers 16 to 18 flavors, ranging from ginger to lavender to ube (Asian purple yam). Creamy avocado is a daily fixture and a customer favorite. The shop closes in November for the winter, but pints of a few flavors will be available at local Humboldt Park grocers until Miami Flavors opens again in the spring. $1.84 for an adult scoop, $2.50 for two scoops. 2504 W. Division St. 773-227-2337.
Pili.Pili
The French Provencal restaurant named after a hot North African chili pepper is known for serving adventurous desserts, such as pastry chef Paula Haney’s chevre-thyme ice cream. Since Haney substitutes California’s Laura Chenel goat’s milk cheese for cream in the pre-frozen mixture, the finished product is harder than most ice creams. Enjoy a scoop of the tangy treat atop a sweet fig tart with a drizzle of red wine syrup. $9. 230 W. Kinzie St. 312-464-9988.
Penguin Ice Cream
The decor at this hole-in-the-wall ice cream parlor makes Dairy Queen look like Ghirardelli, but the rich, gelato-like Argentinian ice cream turns the shabby atmosphere into an afterthought. Though most often served as a warm sauce for cakes or berries, here sabayon is made into ice cream. The heavenly blend of Marsala wine, egg yolks and sugar is cream-colored and tastes like fancy eggnog. If you’re hungry enough for two scoops, we recommend choosing a fruit sorbet to balance the intense creaminess of the sabayon. $2.50 for two dips. 2723 W. Lawrence Ave. 773-271-4924.
