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Chicago's Best Ice Cream: Mid-Season Power Rankings
Chicago's Best Ice Cream: The Mid-Season Power Rankings. Our official stance on the best ice cream shops in Chicago.
Whether we like it or not, summer is halfway done. And that can only mean one thing – it’s time for the Mid-Season Power Rankings, ice cream edition. We carefully broke down 15 of the top Chicago ice cream spots using our own equation derived from a combination of sabermetrics, Kenpom ratings, and the BCS. That’s a fancy way of saying we’ve been eating a sh*t ton of ice cream.
You can count on all of these places making a run at the top spot before the fall hits. Here are the 15 best ice cream spots in Chicago, ranked.
The Spots
Jeter glory days, Showtime Lakers, MJ’s Bulls, and Margie’s Candies. Yes, it’s possible we could see an upset by the end of the season. But right now, Margie’s sits comfortably at the top of our Power Rankings. Championship or bust.
Bobtail’s flavors are like the Steve Nash led 7 seconds or less Phoenix Suns. Signature flavors like Sunset (merlot ice cream, dark chocolate chips ) and Cubby Crunch (vanilla ice cream, sprinkles, Oreo, chocolate chips, toffee) are offensive juggernauts. They say defense wins championships, but Bobtail is looking to flip the game on its head.
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Like The Knicks hope Kristaps can do for them, Black Dog has made a European mark on the ice cream game. Gelato may just be a fancy Italian word for ice cream, but Black Dog has a talented roster from top to bottom.
What do the San Antonio Spurs and Rainbow Cone have in common? Championship pedigree, consistency, longevity, and an entire team (of colors), playing together unselfishly. They have the mental edge on everyone else, and look really, really good in pictures.
Sugar Shack has Superman ice cream. Never bet against Superman ice cream.
George's Ice Cream & Sweets
Andersonville is to the ice cream world as the Pacific Northwest is to sports – nobody has a damn clue what’s going on over there. George’s may not get all the press, but they’re no slouch. Keep an eye out on them.
Don’t let the name fool you, Annete’s is a duel threat with Italian ice and ice cream too. It’s what gives them an outside shot this season.
Scooter’s has been lurking as a perennial division leader for a while now, but taking that next step isn’t easy. This could be the year they actually contend.
Amorino
Amorino may be big in Europe, but the fledgling Gold Coast store is going to have to prove itself here. If the recent woman’s world cup ratings are a sign of Amorino’s foreign potential, then this could be a good long shot bet.
Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop
Ghirardeli is aging, but their championship window hasn’t closed yet. Look for them to make a push after the aggressive opening of a second store on the Mag Mile.
Mitchell's Soda Shop
Shout out to Mitchell’s in Homewood, whose ice cream you can also find in your local grocery store. Mitchell’s has some of the best chocolate chip ice cream in the game, but can a classic ground attack carry them through a brutal road schedule? We’re skeptical of their chances.
Lickity Split has a strong fan base, but a strong support system isn’t enough to take home top honors. We would, however, like to eat 100 different versions of their concretes as a consolation prize.
Scoops Ice Cream
Scoops has a big time cone game (dipped in chocolate and covered in Gummy Bears), but are they too one dimensional? Our analytics team says yes, and we don’t think this is Scoops’ year.
Everybody enjoys a good Italian Lemonade, but is it a sign of the past? Even Brett Favre had to retire.
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams
Like steroids, recalls due to listeria are not good for the sport. Look for Jeni’s to unload some of its veteran players this year as they reload for 2016.
