The best Italian ice shops in Chicago

This no-frills seasonal stand has been churning out Italian lemonade since 1954. Though it serves novelties such as snowballs and nuts, you’re really there for the namesake goods: delicately shaved ice with pieces of lemon rinds and flecks of zest, naturally flavored and not too tart or overly sweet. Flavors get fancy—like chocolate or piña colada—but our recommendation is to stick to the fruits (cantaloupe, for example, comes with melon chunks).

You’d think that a seasonal Italian-ice shop run out of the basement window of a two-story house would be easy to miss, but thanks to the legions of fans who fill the sidewalk with their strollers and leashed-up dogs, there’s little chance of sidestepping it. It’s futile to resist anyway—fresh fruits get pulverized then frozen (seeds and all!) into a consistency somewhere between Hawaiian shave ice and sorbet. We swoon over fleeting flavors like peach and black raspberry (flavors change daily), but watermelon and lemon are just about as worthy of a detour.

Right about where Oak Park meets Berwyn, you’ll find Gina Tremonte scooping out Italian ice to her legion of loyal families in the summertime. She uses fresh fruit in most of the dozen flavors, with lemon, watermelon and cantaloupe as the top three sellers. Supertart lemon ice fans won’t be disappointed here, and fans of campy horror can stroll two doors down to Horrorbles to pick up a Svengoolie rubber chicken or a signed Basil Gogos book.

Walk up to this retro grill's bar that's lined with cases of Italian ice and ice cream, which will immediately draw your attention away from any of the other menus that exist. Large scoops piled in styrofoam cups of Italian ice flavors like the classic lemon and strawberry have us wishing summer could last forever.