Coffee & Treats in Cicero

Time Out Chicago Kids raves about the strawberry lemonade flavor. Chicago magazine claims the "coconut tastes fresh from the tree." And Michael Mednick, owner and founder of Anthony's Italian Ice, knows exactly why. After a stint selling name-brand ices, an unsatisfied Mednick decided to test his Italian ice-making talents by tossing fresh fruits into an old ice-making machine. A series of trials, errors, and brain freezes finally led Mednick to the sweet spot he holds today: manning his own Southport store, where he churns out 25 decadent Italian ice flavors⎯such as lemon, mango, and peach⎯from scratch.

Though Italian ice is Anthony’s big draw, the shop also purveys smooth ice cream produced by fellow Chicago shop Bobtail, and offsets dessert appetites with Italian beef sandwiches, locally made soups, and Chicago-style hot dogs.

With baskets full of hand-plucked wild blueberries, Vincent Colombet and his cousins happily crammed into their Alsatian grandmother's tiny kitchen. In that quaint room, equipped with only a wood-burning cast-iron stove, Vincent learned over the years how to tuck berries into pies, prepare meats sourced from neighboring farms, and eventually produce elaborate meals for his entire family.

Driven by his passion for French family-style cuisine, he traveled to Paris before a longing for experiences abroad tugged him across the pond and into the arms of the Windy City in 2004. The following year he opened Cook Au Vin, where he leads three-hour BYOB cooking classes centered on classic techniques and organic ingredients.

Colombet's second culinary venture, Logan Square bakery La Boulangerie, opened in 2010. Open seven days a week, the bakery rolls and bakes its dough daily, churning out fresh loaves every two hours. While snacking on the shop’s creations, guests can sit at cast-iron bistro tables set beneath a chandelier. In late 2012, a second location opened on Belmont Avenue in Lakeview, which, in addition to baguettes and baked pastries, offers gourmet sandwiches on its menu.

At Yogurt Pier, self-service dispensers fill bowls with dozens of flavors of sweet, fat-free frozen yogurt. One bowl can house many flavors in harmony, with a rotating cast of characters that may include strawberry, vanilla, snickerdoodle, and irish mint. Most servings pack a scant 100 calories or fewer, leaving enough stomach space for patrons to munch on an additional snack or swallow priceless heirlooms for safekeeping.

ZBerry stocks its quaint setting with self-serve machines that dispense flavors of frozen yogurt and sorbet into waiting customer cups. After obtaining their preferred amount of tart and tangy dollops, patrons can dapple their soft-serve creations with a slew of fresh fruits and candy from the toppings bar. Concoctions, like jockeys, perch atop a scale before they are priced by weight.

Pierre’s Bakery’s third-generation sugar savants have baked their way into the upper echelons of the Chicago confectionary scene, sating sweet teeth at Taste of Chicago and orchestrating charitable feasts for The Love of Chocolate Scholarship Foundation. Each year, bakers whip up towering wedding cakes for the bakery’s very own bridal expo and take a break from jousting with their spatulas to direct visitors toward an array of traditional Mexican, American, and French pastries. Desserts commemorate multicultural traditions, including rosca de reyes and Sweet 16 celebrations.

The confectioners at Ace Bakery ornament lavish cakes with custom designs and bake fresh pastries on-site daily. With a host of cake flavors and two dozen cake fillings, including fruits, creams, and chocolates, bakers design individually tailored cakes for weddings, birthdays, and themed garage sales. In addition to their signature confections, the staff bakes cupcakes, muffins, and cheesecakes to quell cravings for saccharine treats.