Bobtail Ice Cream Company Wilmette, Wilmette

Sweet vanilla, chocolate, and fruit flavors meld together in homemade ice creams inspired by three generations of family recipes at Bobtail Ice Cream Company. The company's roots stretch back to 1950, when Grandpa Wilcoxon handed out his first personally created treat from his ice-cream truck. Mr. Wilcoxon's unquenchable admiration for his products and his customers inspired his grandson, Jeff, to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and invent a time machine. Today, Bobtail Ice Cream Company carries on the dulcet tradition, even creating new flavors based on customer suggestions, including lemon-oreo-lavender, and Rahm Rasin—a version of rum raisin that enacts tax legislation. The unique flavors bring out the underlying notes of individual ingredients, just as the blue-and-white awning links the parlor's history to a modern sense of nostalgia.