2016 was a year of trying a lot of different restaurants and delicious food. It was when I switched my Instagram account from a personal account and focused only on food. If you’ve seen my Instagram (@topchicagoeats), you will notice a ton of pictures of desserts. Not only are the desserts delicious, but also photogenic.
Since desserts are my favorite type of food to photograph, I have narrowed down the “Top 10 Desserts I Ate in 2016″…
10. Fruity Pebbles Cookie at Warm Belly Bakery
Warm Belly Bakery offers over 40 classic and specialty flavors of cookies. They also serve Dark Matter Coffee and Bobtail Ice Cream. The Fruity Pebbles Cookie is one of my favorites because I’m not a fan of crunchy cookies and this one is soft and doughy.
FAB TIP: Delivery is available daily until 10 p.m.
{Location}
Warm Belly Bakery
West Loop || 1148 W Monroe St, Chicago, IL || P: (312) 265-0780
{Price Range}
$ (Under $10)
{Fab Ratings: 3.5 Fabs}
9. “Netflix & Chill” Ice Cream at Cone
Cone is a family-owned ice cream shop, which rotates their flavors seasonally so you’re always sure to find a flavor you’ll love. They also serve sundaes, shakes, and dipped cones. Cone features inventive ice cream flavors. Some may sound a little odd like their “Netflix & Chill” ice cream, but it is actually one of my favorite flavors. It is butter flavored ice cream mixed with mini M&M’s.
FAB TIP: Buy 9 cones or sundaes and get your 10th cone FREE with their loyalty card.
{Location}
Cone Gourmet Ice Cream
West Loop || 1047 W Madison Ave, Chicago, IL || P: (312) 666-5111
{Price Range}
$ (Under $10)
{Fab Ratings: 3.5 Fabs}
8. Lime Hibiscus Pie at Spinning J Bakery & Soda Fountain
Spinning J is a café serving seasonal pies and gelato in a vintage space. They even have a soda fountain bar from 1928. All of their sodas are made in-house with original recipes and the syrups are made with fruits, herbs, and botanicals. Their pie selection changes daily, but one of their most popular pies is the Lime Hibiscus Pie. It is topped with whipped cream and blueberry compote. The sweetness of the blueberry compote adds a nice contrast to the slightly tart lime flavor of the pie. I also like to add a scoop of vanilla bean gelato.
FAB TIP: Any of their sodas can be made into a float with gelato from Black Dog Gelato.
{Location}
Spinning J Bakery & Soda Fountain
Humboldt Park || 1000 N California Ave, Chicago, IL || P: (872) 829-2793
{Price Range}
$ (Under $10)
{Fab Ratings: 3.5 Fabs}
7. Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate at Katherine Anne Confections
Katherine Anne Confections is a chocolate shop specializing in hand-dipped chocolates and candies using fair trade cacao and seasonal ingredients. Their caramels and marshmallows are made with wildflower honey. I am a big fan of their house-made marshmallows because they come in creative flavors like salted caramel, peppermint chip, cinnamon sugar, and more. The marshmallows are also the perfect topping for their hot chocolate. The hot chocolate is on the indulgent side as it is thick and very rich. It is available in 10 different flavors and you can also order a flight of 3 mini-sized hot chocolates with marshmallows.
FAB TIP: You can order any of the truffles, marshmallows, and hot chocolate on their website.
{Location}
Katherine Anne Confections
Logan Square || 2745 W Armitage Ave, Chicago, IL || P: (773) 245-1630
{Price Range}
$ (Under $10)
{Fab Ratings: 4 Fabs}
6. Narwhal Sundae at Cold Storage
Cold Storage is a seafood-focused restaurant and raw bar. While the restaurant specializes in seafood, you cannot skip out on their dessert menu. They offer sundaes, sorbets, shakes, and more. If you haven’t tried the Narwhal Sundae, you must go and try! Whatever type of ice cream topping you can think of, it is probably on this sundae. It has eight scoops of ice cream, a brownie, a waffle cone, salted caramel sauce, hot fudge, crunchy toppings, whipped cream, and cherries. You’ll definitely want to share this with a few friends.
FAB TIP: Happy Hour is on Mondays-Fridays from 3-6 p.m. and features $1 oysters and $3 draft beers.
{Location}
Cold Storage
West Loop || 1000 W Fulton Market St, Chicago, IL || P: (312) 773-9420
{Price Range}
$$ ($11-$36)
{Fab Ratings: 4 Fabs}
5. Mango Yogurt Bingsu at Caffé Bene
Caffè Bene is a European-inspired coffeehouse serving a variety of unique desserts. They offer a wide selection of coffee plus hot and cold drinks. They also serve gelato, waffles, honey bread, and bingsu (Korean shaved ice). My favorite dessert is their bingsu. There are several flavors to choose from. I chose the Mango Yogurt Bingsu, which is layered with pieces of mango and yogurt on top of shaved ice. Then it is topped with mango sorbet.
FAB TIP: Free wifi available.
{Location}
Caffé Bene
Glenview || 1749 Milwaukee Ave, Glenview, IL || P: (847) 267-7340
{Price Range}
$ (Under $10)
{Fab Ratings: 4 Fabs}
4. Spring Donuts at The Heart of Europe Café
The Heart of Europe Café is a coffee shop and bakery specializing in donuts also known as chimney cakes. You have probably seen or heard of these donuts before as they are ranked the best donuts in Illinois by Buzzfeed. The Spring Donuts are made fresh to order. It is rolled onto a rod and baked in a special oven. You can choose to have the donuts plain or coated in Oreo crumbs, sprinkles, or cinnamon sugar. Then you can pick Nutella, peanut butter, or honey as the filling. The dough itself is not too sweet, but the toppings and fillings make it sweet.
FAB TIP: Closed on Mondays.
{Location}
The Heart of Europe Cafe
Barrington || 113 S Cook St, Barrington, IL || P: (872) 808-9321
{Price Range}
$ (Under $10)
{Fab Ratings: 4 Fabs}
3. Rolled Ice Cream at Aha Crepe
You have probably seen many photos of rolled ice cream on your Instagram feed from ice cream shops in New York City. Aha Crepe is well-known for their savory and sweet crepes topped with ice cream, but now they also serve rolled ice cream. They are the first dessert shop to bring rolled ice cream to Chicago. There are several ice cream flavors to choose from like Mango Tango, Matcha, and Nutella Oreo. You can also choose toppings and fruit to add to your ice cream.
FAB TIP: They also sell smoothies and bubble tea.
{Location}
Aha Crepe
Lincoln Park|| 2435 N Clark St, Chicago, IL || P: (773) 883-4766
{Price Range}
$ (Under $10)
{Fab Ratings: 4.5 Fabs}
2. S’mores Hot Chocolate at BomboBar
BomboBar is a walk-up dessert window located next door to Bar Siena. They are a popular spot for gelato and bombolonis (Italian-style donuts). This fall they started selling over-the top, extremely photogenic hot chocolate. My favorite is the S’mores Hot Chocolate. It is made with milk chocolate, toasted marshmallow fluff, chocolate biscotti, and a donut.
FAB TIP: They also offer Funfetti Hot Chocolate.
{Location}
BomboBar
West Loop || 158 N Green St, Chicago, IL || P: (312) 492-7775
{Price Range}
$ (Under $10)
{Fab Ratings: 4.5 Fabs}
1. Funnel Cake Sundae at Sugar Shack
If you drive through Bridgeport in the summer, you can easily spot this popular dessert shop by the long line of people outside. The line does move pretty quickly so you won’t have to wait too long for your dessert. Sugar Shack offers various desserts including hand-scooped ice cream, homemade Italian ice, milkshakes, slushies, and more. However, what they are well-known for is the Funnel Cake Sundae. You can choose between a regular size funnel cake or a mini version and then add cereal or candy toppings. I went with the mini size, which I still found to be more than enough, and topped it with Fruity Pebbles and hot fudge.
FAB TIP: Cash only.
{Location}
Sugar Shack
Bridgeport || 630 W 26th St, Chicago, IL || P: (312) 225-6568
{Price Range}
$ (Under $10)
{Fab Ratings: 4.5 Fabs}
What are some of your favorite desserts that you had in 2016? Share below.
Eat, Eat, Repeat,
Lisette
Note: These items were not complimentary. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the writer.
