The Chocolate Shoppe - Wizard of Oz [Pictures]

[All links are .wav sound files]

And Kansas, she said, was the name of her star



Follow the yellow brick road.



My dear, you've always had the power in your heart...



A simple truth



A belated Valentine's to the little LTH crowd.

The Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream
773-763-9778
5337 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60646

Take the kids ... it's a good thing.

I stopped at the Chocolate Shoppe last night post Katsu dinner and arrived in time to see the place full of cops. It seems that someone walked in and stole the cash register while the lone worker was in back. They just cut the AC cord and walked off with the register full of cash. The lovely scooper told me that there wasn't much money in the register. After all, how many people go out for ice cream on a cold night in February. The thief did the same thing at the hardware store down the block and was caught loading the cash registers into his truck. The thief took off running, leaving both cash registers and his truck behind. I'm pretty sure he will be caught, as all of the Edgebrook area cops were salavating at the chance to do some actual police work in this quiet neighborhood. They were in quite a tizzy to crack the big ice cream shoppe caper of '05.

BTW, Elephant Thai was not robbed.

Thanks to you, Cathy, for reminding me about the Chocolate Shoppe, which I had not yet tried. Today my kids had a day off school, so we went down to Edgebrook for a lovely afternoon. First, lunch at the Elephant, which was quite pleasant -- not the best Thai in the city, I'm sure (though I'm by no means the expert others are) but very nice. Especially good scallion dumplings, with a tasty spicy sauce. Then we walked down to Cut Rate Toys for a bit of shopping, followed by our visit to the delighfully decorated Chocolate Shoppe. I was especially happy with the Pistachio ice cream, which is actually almond ice cream with pistachios (which could have been fresher, I admit) in it. I love nut ice creams, so I liked that quite a bit. Not the best ice cream I've had -- that would be in Vancouver, too far to get to on a regular basis -- but very nice and certainly one of the sweetest places I've visited. Thanks for the reminder -- you made our day (in fact, the LTH forum has been responsible for many a happy outing in our family). You should have included in your photo display the horse of a different color, which actually does change color.

Thanks for the reminder -- you made our day (in fact, the LTH forum has been responsible for many a happy outing in our family).

You should have included in your photo display the horse of a different color, which actually does change color.

I was there around 9:15 PM, I looked at the horse who only seemed black. Did it change color depending on the angle you looked at it? If it had changed color, I guarantee it would have been included, I'll try to go back or perhaps someone can capture that image.

When my nieces were tiny I was always looking for places to take them, which would excite them as well as myself.

You've made my day, too!

Regards,

Wow! -- quick response. Yes, depending on your angle of view, the horse changes from black to green to dark purple (but maybe you do need to be there during the day.) My kids picked this up -- I certainly wouldn't have without them. I asked the woman in the Shoppe how they had managed to achieve this effect and was told that the horse was painted with auto paint of a particular kind in order to produce the color changes. (Not sure, actually, that you'd be able to capture this in a photo.) Pretty darn impressive that someone would know that this could be done and then bother to do it, just to decorate the walls of an ice-cream shop. Great art -- or, at least, art lovingly and pain-stakingly produced in an effort to make people happy -- can often be found in unusual places. Thanks again.

HI,

That is a very expensive auto paint. I have only seen a few cars painted like it: you see them from behind, that's one color; you overtake them, that's another color; and they're in your rear view mirror, that is the final color. I read about it in an automotive column before I ever saw one for real.

So they need full spectrum light to see it ... what a creative bunch those people are in that ice cream store. They are so knowledgeable about how to create illusions from relatively inexpensive materials, did you see the clouds above?, they must have a theater background.

Thanks for the clarification on the horse!

That is a very expensive auto paint. I have only seen a few cars painted like it: you see them from behind, that's one color; you overtake them, that's another color; and they're in your rear view mirror, that is the final color. I read about it in an automotive column before I ever saw one for real. So they need full spectrum light to see it ... what a creative bunch those people are in that ice cream store

Not to be rude, but wouldn't it be great if the Chocolate Shoppe people would put their apparently immense creative energy and not insubstantial financial resources into improving the quality of their very average ice cream?

stevez wrote:I stopped at the Chocolate Shoppe last night post Katsu dinner and arrived in time to see the place full of cops. It seems that someone walked in and stole the cash register while the lone worker was in back.

Cops say crook carried away cash registers

Police say LaFronza's spree began Feb. 16 when he allegedly stole a cash register from an ice cream shop at Devon and Central. Later that day, he allegedly tried to rob a hardware store but was scared off by workers. A stolen car and cash register from the ice cream shop were found outside, Cappitelli said.

...

LaFronza took registers from at least three more restaurants before Feb. 24, stealing a total of $3,700, Cappitelli said. Police say he is suspected, but not charged, in three other cash register robberies in Chicago and two more in Skokie.

Justice triumphs! Now what are the cops in the Edgebrook area going to do?

On this lovely early autumn evening I went to Elephant Thai for a nice bowl of soup to fight off the damp chill. It was a true sign of the season as I gazed out Elephant's windows at The Chocolate Shoppe across the street. They were starting to put up their Haloween decorations. It's still a work in progress, but very soon, the new decor will be totally revealed. For what I was able to see peeking out from around the white dropcloths hung on the walls to hide the ongoing work, it will be the usual high quality decorating job. I'd say that by early next week, they might be done.

stevez wrote:They were starting to put up their Haloween decorations. It's still a work in progress, but very soon, the new decor will be totally revealed

Steve,

Stopped at Chocolate Shoppe this evening and their Halloween extravaganza is almost, but not quite, ready. The theme is Graveyard, complete with wedding couple, ghost emitting trees and spiders. I can't wait to see it when they finish.

Here's a preview.






A few additional pictures may be found here

Enjoy,
Gary

Myles was saying today he was going to go in this year.

After seeing those pictures, I very much doubt it.

Myles was saying today he was going to go in this year.

After seeing those pictures, I very much doubt it.

That was my very first thought.

This has to be great destination for teenagers, though I wonder how many parents are inside buying ice cream for the kids who refuse to go inside.

Can't wait to see the finished product.

Regards,

Yes, I know tastes differ, even among kids, but I have to say I won't take my 8 and 10 year old there while these decorations are up -- they're fairly unsettled by gore of that nature (can't say that I find it really appetizing either). We did like the Wizard of Oz stuff and will wait to see what comes next.

ToniG wrote:they're fairly unsettled by gore of that nature.

Tony,

I should point out I used the zoom when I took the picture of the torso. It's up fairly high and the overall effect is (slightly) less dramatic than my picture would indicate.

I had lunch yesterday at Elephant Thai, right across the street, and poked my head in the Chocolate Shoppe. The artist in residence was in full swing.



Far as being off-put by the decorations, this little fellow seemed to be enjoying himself.


Enjoy,
Gary

Thanks; I appreciate your explanation. And I'm not annoyed with the shop for their decorations, as I really admire the artistry involved in all their displays. But even so, I'm afraid I still wouldn't take my kids, as they are pretty sensitive about wounds and blood (even obviously fake stuff) -- especially my oldest, actually. Not quite sure how this jibes with her desire to be a veterinarian, but those things change. We still have to skip over some scenes in movies where animals or people get hurt. Injury, death and ghosts are okay, as long as the circumstances leading up to those states are not too graphically depicted. We do like Elephant Thai, though, and perhaps the ice cream will draw them in. I just don't want to have to deal with the sleepless nights than might follow.

Inspiration for next year's theme at one of my favorite blogs.

HI,

I stopped in this evening while taking my Mom on a drive to see Christmas lights. Tomorrow they commence on pulling together their new theme: Peter Pan, which should take about 2 weeks. The young lady managing the store advised the servers may even get costumes!

"If You Believe in Fairies, Then Clap Your Hands"

I can't wait to bring my 2-1/2 year old niece over Christmas!

Regards,

Hi,

I was there last night after driving around looking at Christmas lights. They are in mid transformation with costumes and other enchantments on order and awaiting delivery. They expect it will be two weeks before they are in full Peter Pan mode.

Regards,

During this period of long nights and gloomy days, the soul aches for color. Last night after driving around looking at Christmas lights, we stopped at Superdawg for hot dogs:



We then drive east on Devon to the Chocolate Shoppe to check on their progress morphing to Peter Pan's Neverland. While the entire place is decked out in flowers, there is not one Peter Pan to be seen:



They have begun sketching out the design on the backdrop, though it is not yet complete enough to be colored in. The owner's friend who does the sketching was booked with work in December and into January. The completion of this task probably won't be until late January.



I inquired what kind of budget do they have to transform the backdrop of the shop like they do. I learned they used to decorate the shop on a less lavish scale for every holiday. Three years ago they decided to go lavish on the designs though change them fewer.

In this dark corner of Devon and Central, life is teaming from this little ice cream shop.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:During this period of long nights and gloomy days, the soul aches for color. Last night after driving around looking at Christmas lights, we stopped at Superdawg for hot dogs:

OMG, I think we saw you guyz! We were there last night, too.
Say, around 8pm?

Which one of you guyz was wearing the tan, furry, light brown boots?
I told my husband, "See those guyz....definately LTHers."

DanaK

Hi,

I was there around that time but no furry boots. I had a red coat with fur trimmed hood with eskimo dog sled scenes embroidered here and there.

Perhaps next time!

Regards,