Van Leeuwen Ice Cream
Ice cream shop · Wicker Park ·
Artisanal ice cream with dairy/vegan options, milkshakes, cookies
Artisanal ice cream with dairy/vegan options, milkshakes, cookies
"After debuting its first Chicago location in Wicker Park last month, the New York-based brand is set to open another shop at Catalog inside Willis Tower on Wednesday, October 15, where customers can try signature flavors like mango sticky rice and vanilla bean alongside sundaes and shakes; the Jeppson’s Malört ice cream will also return, available exclusively at this location for a limited time." - Jeffy Mai
"New York’s cult ice cream chain lands with scoops of vanilla bean, earl grey tea, mango sticky rice, and more, available as sundaes, shakes, floats, and ice cream sandwiches. For a local twist, there’s a limited-edition Jeppson’s Malört ice cream nodding to Chicago’s notorious spirit." - Jeffy Mai
"At the new Wicker Park shop, I sampled a few flavors but ultimately ordered the limited-time Malört scoop—a choice that drew a surprised, approving nod from a staffer. There aren’t many ways to make Malört palatable, and the ice cream didn’t try to soften it: my first lick hit with the liqueur’s signature bitterness so intensely that any other notes were nearly impossible to detect, and every subsequent taste delivered the same overwhelming bite; aside from the waffle cone’s sweetness, nothing else came through. For better or worse, they nailed the brief—it tastes like bottles of Malört poured into vanilla ice cream—and if you love the spirit, you might manage to finish a full scoop, but everyone else is better off taking a sample, wincing as after a shot, and moving on to a safer pick like the mango sticky rice. As much as I have a certain affection for Malört in cocktails and other riffs, this leans more toward gimmick than something I’d want to eat regularly." - Jeffy Mai
"In Wicker Park, New York’s Van Leeuwen makes its Chicago debut with more than 30 signature ice cream flavors served as sundaes, shakes, floats, and ice cream sandwiches, plus a bold, bitter limited-edition Jeppson’s Malört ice cream made as a local nod; the shop opens September 12." - Jeffy Mai
"The New York–based scoop shop is opening its first Midwest location and will join a multi-level food-and-retail space inside the skyscraper; more outposts are planned for Chicago and signage is already up at Wicker Park’s Six Corner intersection on Damen next to Foxtrot." - Jeffy Mai