2018 Chicago Vegan Ice Cream Crawl

July 15th, 2018 was National Ice Cream Day.  How did I celebrate?  But hosting the 2018 Chicago Vegan Ice Cream Crawl!  This was the second ice cream crawl that I’ve hosted, the first one was last summer.  You can check out that post here.  Taking a biking ice cream tour of Chicago is the perfect way to celebrate summer in the city.

 

2018 chicago vegan ice cream crawl bike tour
Like last year, on this ice cream crawl, I rounded up a group of friends and we set off on our bikes to tour various neighborhoods of Chicago.  I had four criteria when choosing placed for the Ice Cream Crawl.

1) Each place had to have a plant-based option for vegans.

2) Each place had to be near a Divvy stand and a maximum of 25 minutes of riding between each place.  Divvy is Chicago’s bikeshare company; you can buy yearly memberships or single day passes.  That way everyone could participate even if they (like me) don’t own a bike!

3) Each place had to be new to the tour and not from previous years.

4) Each place had to offer something slightly different, like traditional ice cream, hand-rolled ice cream, Italian ice or gelato.




George’s Ice Cream & Sweets
5306 N Clark St.

First stop on the Chicago Vegan Ice Cream Crawl was George’s Ice Cream and Sweets in Edgewater.  They source their ice cream from Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream in Madison, Wisconsin.  I recognized the dancing cow logo from my days at UW-Madison.  George’s is a traditional ice cream shop.  They have 32 flavors each day that include traditional, no sugar added, sherbet, Italian ice and vegan soy-based ice cream.  I enjoyed a scoop of soy-based butter pecan vegan ice cream in a vegan sugar cone.  YUM.

 

2018 Chicago vegan ice cream crawl vegan butter pecan

 

Georges Ice cream chicago vegan ice cream crawl
The George’s bike crew

 

 

Freezing Point
3127 N. Ashland Avenue

Freezing Point is a family owned shop in the Lakeview neighborhood.  They make Thai hand-rolled ice cream creations that are absolutely beautiful.  Plus they roll it right in front of you!  After choosing your kind of milk and mix-ins (I went with soy milk and Oreo cookies – yes Oreos are vegan!), the staff spreads the mixture on a cooling plate to freeze.  Once it’s cooled, they roll it, add toppings and voila!  Time to devour some vegan Thai hand-rolled ice cream.

 

2018 chicago vegan ice cream crawl hand-rolled ice cream

 

chicago vegan hand-rolled ice cream
The Freezing Point bike crew

 


 

Ava’s Italian Ice
1814 N Western Ave

I was most excited to go to Ava’s Italian Ice.  This small shop opened in May 2018 in the Bucktown neighborhood.  The make their Italian Ice daily using fresh organic fruits and serve it in 100% recycled cups.  They also offer FLIGHTS of Italian Ice so you can try multiple flavors.  I shared a flight of plum, grapefruit, blueberry and raspberry.  They were absolutely delicious and hands down the best Italian Ice that I’ve had in Chicago.  Outside the shop is a colorful mural of fruits and plants in the shape of a heart.  I’m giving all the love to this shop!

 

chicago vegan ice cream Italian Ice flight

 

 

Ava's Italian Ice vegan chicago ice cream
The Ava’s bike crew – getting bigger!

 

Amorino Gelato
838 N State St

Amorino Gelato was the last stop on our Chicago vegan ice cream crawl.  Located in the Near North Side neighborhood, they offer gelato and sorbet. The sorbet flavors are vegan.  Amorino’s presentation is on point.  If you order a cone, they use spatulas to shape the gelato into beautiful roses.  I was a bit full at by the end, so I shared a cup of the chocolate, lemon-basil and mango.

 

vegan gelato chicago

 

amorino gelato chicago vegan ice cream crawl
The Amorino bike crew

 

 

The 2018 Chicago Vegan Ice Cream Crawl was a success!  All the ice cream, italian ice, and gelato were delicious.  Biking from Georges to Freezing Point, to Ava’s to Amorino is just over 10 miles.  With the ice cream rest stops in between, this ice cream bike crawl of Chicago is a perfect weekend activity.  Whether it’s National Ice Cream Day or not, enjoy one the many shops in Chicago that offer some vegan ice cream.   I might even squeeze in another ice cream bike crawl before the summer ends!

 

For more Chicago vegan ice cream locations, check out this post.  Are Donuts more your thing?  See where you can find vegan donuts in Chicago here.

 

What are some of your favorite ice cream places in Chicago?  What shops should we plan to visit next year? 

 

Happy biking and ice cream eating,

Becca

 

 

 


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