Note: I have no financial interest in the subjects of this submission, nor am I a personal friend of any of the owners.
While we’ve lost so many family-owned dining spots around here the last few years, we’ve also gained a few that, in the case to two new family-owned venues, have raised the ice cream and fried chicken scenes to new levels.
Let’s not kid ourselves, the Oak Park area has some of the best ice cream shops in Chicagoland. But Jennifer Wimmer’s new Sticks and Cones at 308 Madison St. ups the ante. It may have a lot to do with her importing “super-premium” ice cream from the legendary Chocolate Shoppe of Madison, Wisconsin.
And it may have a lot to do with her willingness to listen to customers. In addition to the usually available extraordinary “This $&@! Just Got Serious®” concoction of salted caramel ice cream brimming with rich sea salt fudge and salted cashews, she has been so kind as to fulfill customers’ requests for other unique flavors from The Chocolate Shoppe.
That led to Sticks and Cones recently offering the unimaginably scrumptious “Black Licorice” flavor as well as “Malt Amore” and “Caramel Apple Pie.” Sticks and Cones stocks about 10 flavors at a time plus pints of other flavors. With nearly 80 flavors available for them to choose from, figure the flavors to rotate quite frequently.
It’s not all super-premium ice cream. They also offer Hawaiian-style shaved ice, as well as house-made bubble tea and cold-brew coffee confections. But it’s the extraordinary and unique ice cream flavors, accommodating staff, and responsive ownership that makes the difference.
Remember Big Guys at 7021 Roosevelt Road, across from the Jewel? Some of the finest burgers and sausages you’ve ever tasted originated there. Forced to close by the pandemic and Berwyn politics, owner Brendan O’Connor has resurrected the quality of Big Guys as Berwyn Chicken Company. Everybody I’ve run into who has dined there says it is the most delicious fried chicken they’ve ever tasted—even better than the top venues in the South. I’ve never liked chicken tenders, but as “Chicken Pierre,” they’re really something else. Also on the menu are fried shrimp and much more. But it is the fried chicken that stands head and shoulders above the rest.
New additions like Sticks and Cones and Berwyn Chicken Company keep the “fine dining” tradition at all price levels in the Oak Park area alive and well. Enjoy them while the weather is still so beautiful.
Dan Lauber
River Forest