One of my favorite things about traveling is sampling the local cuisine. Not just the famous, obvious stuff, but the out-of-the-way stuff too, the stuff that is famous only locally, that residents flock to but visitors don't often know about, unless they have family who lives there or really seek it out.
Since I moved to Chicago from Pennsylvania four years ago, I have been given a multitude of suggestions about what I should try and where, and most have lead to tasty experiences. I've enjoyed countless burgers, steaks and deep dish pizzas. I've even eaten cheesecake on a stick -- which, for the record, was ironically disappointing in that the food itself was too good to spear in that perilous manner. I enjoy most types of food on a stick -- corn dogs, popsicles, you name it -- but I prefer to keep that to foods I wouldn't mind dropping on the ground. Drop a corn dog, and it's no big deal. Drop a piece of cheesecake, and you're bummed the rest of the day.
This past Saturday, I was visiting a pal in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago, and she introduced me to a place where I sampled my most original local cuisine yet: The Original Rainbow Cone, which is the name of both the place and the product. I had heard of the place (and the product) a few years back but never experienced it for myself...until this weekend.
The shop has been open since 1926, and although I haven't done the homework, I assume that the cone has been around this whole time; if not, the shop's early customers must have been confused. Anyway, the cone consists of layers of chocolate, strawberry, pistachio and Palmer House (cherry and walnut in vanilla) ice cream and topped with orange sherbet.
Sounds weird, doesn't it? Well, that's why I ordered a small. I don't even like to eat more than one flavor at a time from the carton of neapolitan. Still, there's no denying the Rainbow Cone's success over the past 80 years, so perhaps there was something to mushing together five layers of ice cream and sherbet.
And oh, there was. Suddenly, I was sorry I hadn't ordered a large.
The Rainbow Cone is a classic, a dazzling addition to the Windy City's repertoire of local treats. The odd combination makes for a tasty one; you get a different taste in every bite. But why do those flavors go together so well? I'm baffled. But judging by the name, and borrowing a phrase from a famous frog, I figure "it's probably magic."
Too dramatic a description for an ice cream cone? Perhaps. But 80 years' worth of lovers and dreamers from Chicago would disagree.
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