Okay, I'll give the Fish Keg another try.

eatchicago wrote:Jackey's is one of those rare places that used to be a major chain that sells the same thing (31 Flavors), but went independent and succeeded.

Agreed. The woman that works there (maybe the owner) is a hoot. The ice cream flavors are varied and delicious with seasonal offerings and large portions. Last time we were there, I had pumpkin pie ice cream and my friend had a banana split the size of his head.

It reminds me most of the Evanston Creamery, before it closed and became that strange cook-you-own-damn-pizza place...

shoes wrote:It reminds me most of the Evanston Creamery, before it closed

That's no coincidence. Evanston Creamery had the same ice cream (from the Chocolate Shoppe in Wisconsin).

germuska wrote:but I'm excited about Paleteria La Monarca on Clark Street,

Hey Ive mentioned this before but I'm a giant fan of the coco-leche paletas at monarca - I'd take them over most of the nearby ice cream/gelato options (with the possible exception of the occasional gelato at the italian coffee house)

On the larger issue of rogers park living, I live in Evanston but am much more likely to eat in rogers park - at some point, maybe in one of the linked threads I've a few times made lists of the options in the area and its generally kind of unexpectedly stunning, not just for the variety of options but of the general quality level

there are other non-food related reasons as well - because of the number of different thriving immigrant communities in the area there are a variety of cultural/musical/art events in the area that I at least find appealing, and dont' forget proximity to water.

zim wrote:

germuska wrote:but I'm excited about Paleteria La Monarca on Clark Street,

Hey Ive mentioned this before but I'm a giant fan of the coco-leche paletas at monarca

I know -- your mention of them in the past is part of what made me finally make sure to get in there!

Last night I had the banana paleta -- wow, it was great. Many banana "flavored" products are just foul, but this one didn't seem to have any added flavor at all. Just rich creamy flavor with a gentle banana undertone, and an occasional little piece of banana.

A couple of days ago, it was the piña colada which rocked me -- to cap it off, it had a little maraschino cherry in there amidst the coconut and pineapple pieces.

germuska wrote:As for the DQ, it's way past time for it to have reopened after the seasonal close. I've been meaning to post seeing if anyone knows, but I'm giving it up for lost.

A week or so ago, our Alderman mentioned that the franchise had been purchased and it will re-open under new management. (word on the street is that the former owners moved to Florida) I noticed yesterday that the sale sign was down and somebody (gasp) was cleaning weeds out of the picnic area - so hopefully by the time it's warm enough for a dipped cone... We often do a Fish Keg/DQ picnic in the summer.

PS. Has anybody accidentally ordered food at the DQ? OOg.

If the DQ is under new ownership that is wonderful news. I had a truly awful service experience there almost 9 years ago and never went back.

Hooray! Summer is truly here!

This weekend we stopped in at Monarca for one arroz con leche and one mango paleta. The mango was good, but the arroz was awesome. Creamy delicious rice pudding on a stick. Of course, everything tastes better with a stick in it.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:Hooray! Summer is truly here!

This weekend we stopped in at Monarca for one arroz con leche and one mango paleta. The mango was good, but the arroz was awesome. Creamy delicious rice pudding on a stick. Of course, everything tastes better with a stick in it.

After trying a dozen or so of their bars now (thanks, germuska!), I'd have to say that everything tastes better with a little milk in it at Monarca. Though, that lime water-based one is satisfyingly sour, too. Otherwise, those chunks of fruit at the bottom of the banana and strawberry milk bars really take the cake for me. A delightful summer treat.

--Dan

The new owner of the DQ on Howard was at a neighborhood meeting, he plans to have it open fairly soon (after the close, it needs to be brought back up to code) and will be keeping it open year-round!

It will also have the full Brazier menu (oog) but I'm really looking forward to being able to walk and get a dipped cone - in fact, our usual M.O. is walking to Fish Keg, getting something fried with a side of hush puppies, and then DQ.

Update: The DQ on Howard just west of Ridge never did re-open; in fact, there is a "For Sale" back on it again. It strikes me as a metaphor for this part of Rogers Park - things just never quite get to where they are supposed to be.

sundevilpeg wrote:Update: The DQ on Howard just west of Ridge never did re-open; in fact, there is a "For Sale" back on it again. It strikes me as a metaphor for this part of Rogers Park - things just never quite get to where they are supposed to be.

I thought the DQ was on the Evanston side of the street - technically not in Rogers Park.

I thought the DQ was on the Evanston side of the street - technically not in Rogers Park.

Close enough, though, wouldn't you say - especially since the ongoing DQ discussion is in this RP-centric thread?

Okay, close enough ... who am I to quibble over a few feet?

Sorry - forgot to update this again - the original owners somehow changed their agreement with the buyer after he attended Dairy Queen University, and he decided not to buy. No further word, but I'll keep you posted - we've got a couple neighborhood meetings in the next two months, one upcoming about the Howard Street Business District specifically (interested? PM me)

I came across this website and thought I would inform everyone what had happened to the Evanston Dairy Queen. I am associated with Dairy Queen and just wanted to let everyone know the real reason the store has closed. The owners of the location did not want to put any more time or effort into running the business and tried to sell the location. The owners have many other businesses they wanted to focus the majority of their time on. Because of certain reasons they were unable to sell the location as a dairy queen. They have tried to sell the location many times but they were unsuccessful every time. The most recent buyer went through all of the training and backed out at the last minuet. Because the location is an older location he would have had to make major changes and probably found it not favorable. The store will most likely never reopen as a dairy queen. I have looked into opening another dairy queen in Evanston but due to the sky rocketing rents in the city of Evanston it is very difficult to find a location. It is sad to see one of our stores shut down but hopefully we will be able to find a location within Evanston to open another store and bring Dairy Queen back into Evanston.

llmm22 wrote:I came across this website and thought I would inform everyone what had happened to the Evanston Dairy Queen. I am associated with Dairy Queen and just wanted to let everyone know the real reason the store has closed. The owners of the location did not want to put any more time or effort into running the business and tried to sell the location. The owners have many other businesses they wanted to focus the majority of their time on. Because of certain reasons they were unable to sell the location as a dairy queen. They have tried to sell the location many times but they were unsuccessful every time. The most recent buyer went through all of the training and backed out at the last minuet. Because the location is an older location he would have had to make major changes and probably found it not favorable. The store will most likely never reopen as a dairy queen. I have looked into opening another dairy queen in Evanston but due to the sky rocketing rents in the city of Evanston it is very difficult to find a location. It is sad to see one of our stores shut down but hopefully we will be able to find a location within Evanston to open another store and bring Dairy Queen back into Evanston.

See I find that strange, the DQ on Lake Street in Wilmette is if anything, older and mroe decrepit but they manage to stay in busness. The only real difference I see is the Lake St. one has a coller at the counter for Dilly Bars and such. Oh and Howard had much better parking and seating.

llmm22 wrote:It is sad to see one of our stores shut down but hopefully we will be able to find a location within Evanston to open another store and bring Dairy Queen back into Evanston.

You could open one across the street and pay Chicago rent instead. Is anything planned for that vacant Burger King on Howard Street? It's on the Chicago side of the road. Or that storefront which was "Apollo's Pizza" for a while?

Isn't there a discount mattress shop inside "Apollo's Pizza"?

I haven't been keeping up on this thread, but was wondering if the O.P. ever moved, or what? It's been 9 months....?

BTW, I can think of a few reasons not to move to RP, foremost of which is because it's ridiculous to get to. But no reasons to move there. I know there are some decent restaurants in the area, but there are decent restaurants most everywhere else too. So, ....

Cogito wrote:I can think of a few reasons not to move to RP, foremost of which is because it's ridiculous to get to.

Have you heard of the El's Howard Street (aka Red) line, with stops at Morse, Jarvis and Howard? Or the Metra's Union Pacific North line's Rogers Park stop?

Sure, I don't have anything against RP. It's just that whenever I go there it's usually by automobile, from the west. So it makes for a pretty tedious trip.

Cogito wrote:Sure, I don't have anything against RP. It's just that whenever I go there it's usually by automobile, from the west. So it makes for a pretty tedious trip.

I guess to people in Rogers Park, wherever you live is equally ridiculous to get to.

Perspective.

Correct, that's why they shouldn't have moved there.

Cunningstunt wrote:Like I said I grew up in Rogers Park and it has no redeeming qualities. It is dirty, dangerous and I wouldn't feed my dog the food from Devon Ave.

Wow, quite the blanket statement. I wasn't too fond of growing up near Devon myself, but South Asian cuisine grew on me (in no small part thanks to the kind folks at LTHForum). Perhaps you'd qualify that statement, just to appear not so extreme?

While technically I live in Evanston, I'm so close to RP that I could throw a rock from my house and hit it. Suffice it to say, there are plenty of folk, myself included, that love South Evanston/Rogers Park, especially because of the wealth of international culture and cuisine. To go out for Jamaican, Mexican, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Montenegrin, Italian, Persian, Peruvian, Colombian, Afgan, Indian, Pakistani, or Kosher, I've got less than a 15-minute drive. In twenty, I'd bet I can go even farther around the globe. Why try to get somewhere else?

As for the other comments, I smell troll, here....

Mhays wrote:As for the other comments, I smell troll, here....

There is a certain je ne sais quoi in the attitude, an acute sensitivity to real estate and ethnicity, a belligerent "I'm right/You're an idiot" dramatic posture...yes, that does remind me of someone. Can't quite put my finger on him...?

David Hammond wrote:

Mhays wrote:As for the other comments, I smell troll, here....

There is a certain je ne sais quoi in the attitude, an acute sensitivity to real estate and ethnicity, a belligerent "I'm right/You're an idiot" dramatic posture...yes, that does remind me of someone. Can't quite put my finger on him...?

Yes - the guy who moved to River West?

Knew something was up when I first saw the "Clever" screen name.

I'm moving to Rogers Park within the next month or two, and am already trying to figure out what my new "go to" places will be for takeout, grocery stores, etc. I'm moving from the western burbs so I don't know that area real well, though I have a lot of friends in the area. I'll be in the Columbia and Clark area.

I've searched through some threads here and found a few potential nuggets. I'm especially interested in thoughts on the various Thai, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Mexican places in the area. I'm probably more interested in the cheaper places but all suggestions are welcome. Especially when it comes to the Taqueria-type places; there are just so many of them, and I want to narrow the places I have to try down to the good ones!

What are your recommendations?