Lake County weighs in on summer dessert establishments

Some people swear by frozen custard. Others prefer the creamy taste of gelato. Then there are those who just like soft-serve ice cream.

Area establishments that serve a variety of cold treats will tell you their stuff is the best, and Lake County customers will follow with their undying loyalty to certain dessert operations.

But sometimes it's nice to try a new flavor or a variation of a cold treat. Here's a look at some different places to visit before the warm weather turns cool.

Divino
Italian ice cream sounds oh-so-fancy, and the term gelato – translated from Italian to literally mean "frozen" – makes this dairy-based product sounds even fancier.

While ice cream makers inject 50 percent air into their products, gelato only has 20 to 30 percent air, which means the denser product is able to hold a lot more flavor, said Bill Todd, employee at Divino in Grayslake.

Fruit flavors taste fruitier, mint chocolate chip tastes mintier and when you mix the flavors, watch out, Todd said.

Todd gave 13-year-old Emma Wagner of Gurnee a small sample of the mint chocolate chip, and that's all she needed to make up her mind. She ordered a small cup of the minty gelato while her mother, Anne, went with a small cup of key lime Aug. 19.

An added bonus to the taste is the healthy side of gelato. All of the products used in Divino's gelato make up only half of the calories of regular ice cream, Todd said.

"It's kind of a contradiction," Todd said. "It's better flavored, but yet it's better for you."

Divino employees try to come up with new flavors, too. Ashley Childs, Catie Bakota and Katie Druffel combined their energies to come up with S'mores gelato, and were quite satisfied with the product.

"That's the job I want – just gelato taster," Todd said.

Location: 821 Center Street in Grayslake
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Sundays; open year-round
Contact: 847-223-2500

Smoothie On Over
Perhaps the healthiest cold treat you can sip on this summer is a smoothie.

Each smoothie made at Smoothie On Over in Libertyville contains three to five servings of fruit, so it's a healthy alternative to a snack, said owner Justin Rosenberg, 29.

"It's a meal replacement," Rosenberg said. "There's no real empty calories – it's a lot of fruit ... then you don't have to go eat a cheeseburger and get fat."

There's also no added sugars and no preservatives, just ingredients that are already healthy for you, like pomegranate juice and açaí fruit, he said.

"[I see] a lot of 30-something, first-time Jenny Craigers, and they want to lose weight," Rosenberg said. "They usually like it; they get hooked."

Patty Rudolph of Libertyville has frequented Smoothie On Over enough that she received a free smoothie with her purchase Aug. 20. For every 10 smoothies a customer purchases at the Libertyville shop, the 11th one is free.

When she was pregnant, she turned to Smoothie On Over to be healthy. Now, Rudolph, her husband, her two children and her parents from Hawthorn Woods, frequent the smoothie shop.

"They're good," Rudolph said. "They're the best smoothies I've had ... My husband doesn't eat sweets at all, so this fits. It's fruits, juice and non-fat yogurt."

Location: 1432 S. Milwaukee Ave. in Libertyville
Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays; 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays; open year-round
Contact: 847-918-0527

Greg's Frozen Custard
Frozen custard has a smoother, denser consistency than other ice cream treats, and it's healthier for you, too, said Greg DiPiero, owner of Greg's Frozen Custard in Mundelein.

DiPiero's frozen custard is even healthier than other custards, he said. He uses only 10 percent fat in his handmade recipes; other frozen custard places use 13 or 14 percent fat, he said, while ice cream has a much higher percentage.

Greg's was created after DiPiero visited the famous Ted Drews Frozen Custard in St. Louis, Mo., and DiPiero fell in love with the product. Favorites from Greg's include the turtle sundaes and concretes – frozen custard mixed with different toppings.

Many area residents say Greg's is simply the best.

"This has replaced Dairy Queen," said Mary Diab of Mundelein. "My son absolutely love[d] Blizzards, until I took him of these [frozen custards] the other day. He said, 'You only bring these from now on.' ... The quality of the frozen treats [at Greg's] is the best we've found around."

"It's way better, that's all I can say," DiPiero said, noting Greg's just celebrated it's 10-year anniversary a few weeks ago.

Location: 1490 S. Lake St. in Mundelein
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closes after Thanksgiving, reopens in March
Contact: 847-837-4175

Tastee-Freez
Sometimes simple is best.

"They just like cones with ice cream and sprinkles," Lori Christensen of Grayslake said of her children Katherine, 8, and Tommy, 3. "And soft-serve just seems to be what the kids like."

Locals often frequent the old-fashioned, nostalgic Tastee-Freez in Grayslake to satisfy their cold treat cravings. They come for the soft-serve of a franchise that celebrates its 60th anniversary this summer, but as often as not, they also come for the ambiance.

Owner John Santner, 30, said that's exactly what his shop is all about.

"We're off the beaten path, so the majority of my customers aren't people who just drive by and see an ice cream sign," Santner said. "We're definitely a community-based business here."

Dan and Alice Harrigan have lived in Grayslake for 19 years, and Alice Harrigan said she thought the couple must have stopped by the Tastee-Freez once a week every year they've been in the village.

"We like the concept," Dan Harrigan said.

"It's old-fashioned, sit outside," Alice Harrigan explained.

"That's what's cool about it," Dan Harrigan agreed.

Location: 131 Hawley in Grayslake
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day; closes Oct. 31 for winter, reopens in March
Contact: 847-223-2262

Other places to stop in Lake County

Country Ice Cream and Coffee, ice cream and gelato
Location: 121 Towne Centre Lane in Fox Lake
Contact: 847-973-9414

Diana's Dreams, 1950's ice cream parlor
Location: 843 W. Rollins Road in Round Lake Heights
Contact: 847-546-2378

TCBY, The Country's Best Yogurt
Location: 5250 Route 132 in Gurnee
Contact: 847-249-8229

The Twisted Cow, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor
Location: 2112 E. Grand Ave. in Lindenhurst
Contact: 847-356-3283