Restaurant Review: Happy 100th Birthday to Chicago’s own Original Rainbow Cone! Let’s celebrate! 🎊 🎊 🎊
“Five flavors. One unforgettable experience.”
Welcome to #NationalceCreamMonth!
Recently, my kid and I took a mini-vacation to New Buffalo, Michigan. It’s our mini-Mayberry, complete with a main street, quaint shops, and friendly townspeople. But in the midst of all that we knew loomed another familiar shop…pink…ornamental, and unmistakable…Original Rainbow Cone.
And, like Pavlov’s dog, we were salivating at the sight.
Why? Before air conditioning, Original Rainbow Cone🌈 was a summer rite of passage. Those who trekked down to the Western Avenue store or the Taste of Chicago were in for a big treat. The five-layer slices on a sugar or plain cone were a puzzle to eat…one slab at a time? Mix them with your tongue? How were Orange Sherbet and Pistachio together? And what the heck was Palmer House ice cream?
History
Enjoy Illinois tells the best story of how this Chicago phenomenon came to be. Joseph Sapp was just a kid when he discovered his love for ice cream. As an orphan on an Ohio work farm, Joseph never lived a life of luxury. As he got older, the Buick mechanic scraped pennies together for a scoop of ice cream now and again.
Sadly, Joseph’s only two options at the time were chocolate or vanilla. And he didn’t want just one or the other… Joseph wanted both those flavors (and more).
“Be the change you wish to see in this world.”
Mahatma Gandhi’s quote fits here, because seeing nothing of what he wanted, Sapp invented the delectable combination that made them famous. In 1926, Sapp and his wife Katherine opened the Rainbow Lodge, a small ice cream shop on a dirt road not yet known as Western Avenue, surrounded by cemeteries.
Little did Joe and Katherine know, his creative combination of flavors would become a Chicago staple for decades and decades to come.
As the Beverly Area Planning Commission recounted, the Sapps invented a way to eat ice cream that wasn’t limited to one flavor at a time. They served ice cream sliced, not scooped. And those flavors!! Chocolate, Strawberry, Palmer House (New York Vanilla with chopped cherries and walnuts), Pistachio Almond and Orange Sherbet, artfully piled so no flavor slid off.
Is it any wonder that the Original Rainbow Cone, in its distinctive pink ice cream parlor at 9233 S. Western Ave, was so popular that it became a Chicago legend?
When Joe and Katherine retired, they passed the business to their son Bob, who then handed off Rainbow Cone to Joe’s granddaughter, Lynn Sapp. She helped bring the treat to the mainstream by selling it at major city events like the Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza.
In 2018, Lynn reached out to Buona Beef and Restaurants to grow the brand. And grow, they did. Buona Beef startted offering sliced Rainbow Cone ice cream cakes and other delights at their locations. Today, Original Rainbow Cone has locations across three states, including their original location in Beverly, as well as Navy Pier, Wicker Park, the Magnificent Mile and Millennium Park. Click here for a complete list of locations across three states!
What’s on the Menu?
Signature Cones feature perfectly blended flavors stacked onto a single cone. The Wicker Park location offers an Orange Dream Sliced Creation, calling it a “perfect blend of citrus and cream with our Orange Dream Cone. Featuring orange sherbet and creamy vanilla ice cream slices.” Upside Down Pineapple Cake Super Sundae is made with vanilla ice cream, crushed pineapple, caramel, cinnamon sugar donuts, and topped with whipped cream and a cherry.
Their 100th Anniversary specialties include a Rainbow Banana Split, featuring Rainbow Cone ice cream, banana, hot fudge, pineapple and strawberry sauce, topped with whipped cream, peanuts, rainbow sprinkles, and cherries.”
On the Magnificent Mile, their Signature Rainbow Whole Cake is made with vanilla sponge cake and layers of chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House (new york vanilla and walnuts), and pistachio almond ice cream, topped with a layer of orange sherbet, topped with pink tinted vanilla butter cream frosting and white chocolate polka dots.
For a complete list of menus at Original Rainbow Cone locations, start here.
Special Celebration: 100th Anniversary Exhibit at the Museum of Ice Cream
From Wednesday, July 15 to Monday, August 3, the-Museum of Ice Cream Chicago, 435 N. Michigan Avenue, celebrates Original Rainbow Cone’s 100 years of with a colorful, limited -time tribute. For tickets, click here.
Also, as Do312 notes, on Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19, Museum of Ice Cream’s iconic Sprinkle Pool will make an outdoor appearance along Michigan Avenue, inviting guests to jump in and soak up the fun. Original Rainbow Cone’s signature pink truck will also serve special $5 Rainbow Cones as part of the 100th anniversary celebration.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
