Italian Ice and Lemonade in Chicago: Summer Stands

Italian ice and lemonade in Chicago mean a seasonal stand and a cup of shaved, fruit-flavored ice. Mario's Italian Lemonade on Taylor Street is the classic stand, Miko's Italian Ice runs walk-up shops in Logan Square and Irving Park, and a gelato shop covers the gelato side in Ukrainian Village. Most of the stands close in cold weather.

What is Italian ice and lemonade in Chicago, and how is it different from a snow cone?

Italian ice is a frozen dessert made from fruit, sugar and water, churned to a smooth, scoopable texture. A snow cone is shaved ice with syrup poured on top. In Chicago the term often means the lemon-forward ice sold at stands, where it is also called Italian lemonade because the lemon flavor is the signature.

The texture is closer to sorbet than to a slush, and it keeps for the length of a walk. The best stands use real fruit, so you may find rind or seeds in your cup. That is a good sign.

Where do you get Italian ice near Taylor Street?

Mario's Italian Lemonade is the Little Italy answer, a walk-up stand on West Taylor Street still run by the DiPaolo family. WBBM Newsradio reports that the first lemonade cost two cents and was churned by hand with lemons, sugar, block ice and rock salt, and that the red flavor came from a snowball that fell into the batch by accident.

City Cast Chicago calls it the city's best Italian ice, with shaved ice in many flavors from lemon to lychee. The Infatuation singles out the lemon, which has small chunks of rind. If you are walking the strip, the Taylor Street Italian food guide has places to eat first.

Is there a Chicago Italian lemonade summer season?

Yes. Mario's is seasonal. Reports describe it opening in spring and closing in early autumn, and its reopening is treated as a sign that the warm months have begun.

Miko's Italian Ice is seasonal as well. The Chicago Sun-Times describes it as a 25-year-old, family-owned stand that sells a dozen or more flavors of water ice, with locations in Irving Park and Logan Square and a season that runs from spring into fall. Treat any date you read as approximate and check the stand's own page before you travel.

Where else do you find Chicago summer frozen treats?

Miko's is the other name on most Italian ice lists. ABC7's taste test called it a family-owned business that rotates 35 flavors over the summer, and Classic Lemon was its runner-up. The Irving Park and Logan Square shops are walk-up counters, so expect a wait on a hot weekend.

City Cast Chicago's summer guide groups the city's frozen treats by type: ice cream, soft serve, custard, paletas, gelato and Italian ice. That is a useful way to plan a crawl, because each kind is made differently. For Mexican paletas, City Cast's guide points to Pilsen, which the Pilsen Mexican food guide covers, and the Little Village 26th Street guide covers the neighborhood to its southwest.

Where is the Chicago gelato and Italian ice crossover?

A gelato shop in Ukrainian Village is the gelato answer on the near northwest side. Enjoy Illinois describes handcrafted Italian gelato with unusual flavor pairings, made in small batches with seasonal fruit, toasted nuts and fine chocolate, and City Cast names it the best gelato in the city, with a rotating menu that includes dairy-free options.

The flavors rotate and come in limited quantities, so do not count on a particular one. If you like the sharper, fruit-first side of Italian ice, order that at Mario's or Miko's, and keep gelato for the creamier cup. The Logan Square and Wicker Park food guide covers the neighborhoods next door to both.

How do you order Italian ice like a regular?

Start with lemon. It is the flavor every stand is judged on, and The Infatuation's reviewer picks Mario's lemon for its balance of tart and sweet. Then add one fruit you would not normally pick, such as lychee or cantaloupe, and compare. A small cup is enough to decide, and you can go back for a second flavor.

Eat it where you bought it or within a few minutes, because Italian ice melts quickly. Bring napkins, and keep a spoon for the last bite. If the line is long, step out of it and look at the flavor board first, so you are ready when you reach the window.

How do you keep track of the frozen treats you try?

A summer of cold cups blurs together fast. In Mosey you can rate a place with just stars, then name the flavor you had, so "lemon" at one stand and "lemon" at another are compared from your own notes. Tag a stand Dessert or Family Friendly, and note why it belongs on a list.

Make a list called Chicago Ices, share an invite link with friends, and follow the people whose cups you trust. Your ratings stay linked to the flavor and your followers see what you rated, so rate honestly and add what you would order again. Stands in other cities are collected in the US food guides. How this works in the app: Rate by the dish.

Get the Mosey app, rate your first Italian ice by the flavor and start a list you can add to every summer.