Hidden Gems

A great new dessert stop: Sweet Treats
A new ice cream shop has opened in the Lincoln Square/North Center neighborhood, and it’s the very definition of a hidden gem. Although with the way word is spreading on the North Side, it won’t stay hidden for long.

Sweet Treats, located at 2207 W. Montrose, at the corner of Lincoln, Montrose and Leavitt, a couple doors from Bowmans Bar and Grill, is the kind of parlor that your parents could have visited to spend their allowance or take a date back in the 1950s and ’60s. It has that kind of charm. More than a dozen ice cream flavors you can peer down into the freezer at, a plethora of sundae options to test your willpower, bright colors, smiling faces and plenty of tables at which to enjoy your dessert of choice. Adorning the walls are colorful paintings on glass with old window-sill frames, all from local artists, and the service is friendly, helpful and more than willing to dole out the samples to help your decision.

But as inviting as the place is, it’s the ice cream creations that will undoubtedly bring you back. Sweet Treats is stocked with delicious Sherman’s ice cream from Michigan and is the only Illinois distributor. Besides an assortment of flavors that can be made into cones or old-fashioned sundaes, Sweet Treats also can put together a killer root beer float or specialty options like the glazed oatmeal sandwich with caramel ice cream wedged between two oatmeal cookies and caramel topping, or the chocolate chip sandwich with a pair of chocolate chip cookies surrounding vanilla ice cream. It’s hard to leave, however, without sinking a spoon into one of their Sweet Treat Temptations. If you can decide on just one, that is.

Every Day’s Your Birthday is a yellow cupcake topped with yellow cake batter ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles. Or perhaps you’ll lean toward the PB Dream, consisting of a chocolate peanut butter brownie, Mackinac Island fudge ice cream, bananas and hot fudge. Another one to tempt your taste buds is the Chocolate Razmatazz, made up of chocolate fudge brownies, razmatazz ice cream, raspberry sauce and whipped cream. These desserts are hardly skimpy in size, and perfect for two, really. And in the $5 range, the cost is just right for a summer evening excursion to satisfy your sweet tooth.

It doesn’t stop with ice cream and toppings though. They also carry a wide assortment of pastries, cupcakes and chocolate-covered candy like cookie dough, peanuts, malt balls, raisins, almonds and coffee beans, all of which make for great gift ideas.

It’s a can’t-miss trip, I tell you. And if you live in the neighborhood, consider yourself lucky. You can go to the gym tomorrow. Treat yourself today.
— Trent Modglin

World premiere of ‘Envoy’ at the Chicago Theatre Building
If you’re looking for a light-hearted play or a foot-tapping musical to put you in the right mood after a stressful day, stay away from “Envoy” at the Chicago Theatre Building.

But if you’re looking for non-stop intensity and emotion and some impressive performances by a young, up-and-coming cast, then “Envoy” is where you want to be.

It is the world premiere drama by award-winning Chicago playwright Belinda Bremner, as well as the inagural production from Echo Theatre Company.

“Envoy” explores the collective and individual fate of a group of American college students who, while on a service project in a third-world country that promised to be “the adventure of a lifetime,” are taken hostage by a militia group. The entire play is one powerful 80-minute scene from inside the house in which they are held captive, as the group finds itself “far west of where they should be,” in a situation dire enough to bring out the best — and worst — in each other.

Friends In Deeds is the semester-long service project the students join, but it doesn’t take long to realize that their efforts in the foreign land are not only exhausting physically and mentally, but also unwanted by many and directly responsible for putting them in harm’s way.

One student is eventually forced to make an unscripted choice that will determine their collective future (the student who chooses is selected at random from one performance to the next) at the hands of a group of masked gunmen with a political agenda.

The strength of this production is that it never lets up. You can’t help but have a knot in your stomach as the frazzled characters argue about politics, religion, personality conflicts and, ultimately, their fate, as they come to grips with the prospects of never seeing their families or the Fisher College campus again. Emotions run high, and the characters clash with one another as often as they provide comfort, which only makes it more believeable, given the circumstances.

“Envoy” runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Sept. 16 at the Chicago Theatre Building, located at 1225 W. Belmont.

Call 773-327-5252 for ticket information.
— Trent Modglin

 

Gioco offers Bears’ pre-game brunch and valet in South Loop
Gioco and newly appointed executive chef Daniel Sweis (312, Marche) welcome Chicago Bears fans on game day with two great reasons to dine.

Gioco offers a sumptuous brunch menu each Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Diners may also delight in a parking perk: Guests may valet their car for only $10 and leave the car at Gioco until the game is finished. Soldier Field is only a short walk away.

After the game, dinner and bar service begins at 5:00 p.m. with numerous rustic Italian dishes such as homemade pastas, wood-fired pizzas, steaks, fish and more. The same $10 parking promotion applies.

Gioco is housed in two adjacent buildings from 1890. In historic Chicago tradition, Gioco features a Prohibition-era “speakeasy.” Gioco also boasts a storefront that is open for alfresco dining, weather permitting.

Gioco offers brunch every Sunday, whether there is a home game or not. Call (312) 939-3870 to make a reservation. Walk-ins welcome.

Gioco is located at 1312 South Wabash in the South Loop.

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