Well, that went by quickly! The ten weeks of ice cream tour has ended and below is wrap-up from the tour and the two ice cream parlors that got the top four star ratings! Scroll down for a wrap-up of ten delicious weeks of ice cream treats!
Week Number One: Proctor Snacks ‘N Sodas
The tour started on July 25, 2017 and I thought the Snacks "N Sodas restaurant in Proctor Hospital would be the perfect spot to kick off a Peoria ice cream tour because they have recipes from Hunt’s Restaurant, an iconic Peoria ice cream place from the past. Link: Week One: Proctor Snacks ‘N Sodas.
Week Number Two: Emack & Bolio’s
Emack & Bolio’s has two ice cream shops here in town, well, at least for part of the year. The location on Prospect is open all year long and the downtown one is seasonal and it just shut down last Saturday for the season. It was open for this week of the tour however and so I went to both locations for a scoop of chocoate at one and vanilla at the other! Link: Week Two: Emack & Bolio’s.
Week Number Three: M&M Twistee Treat
The M&M Twistee Treat is a unique ice cream shop because the building is a giant ice cream cone! I had to go there for the tour and I got a tasty Brownie Delight at this stop. Link: Week Three: M&M Twistee Treat.
Week Number Four: Lake Road Inn
Since this was a short food tour we only had one long distance road trip with MBIP Wheelman Scott Turley. But this was definitely a fun and memorable one to Lake Bloomington. We had some tasty chicken wings, spectacular onion rings and then a sweet and delicious giant homemade ice cream sandwich! Link: Week Number Four: Lake Road Inn.
Week Number Five: The Spotted Cow
The Spotted Cow is a Peoria favorite and has been in business for over 30 years now. I started off with a chili cheese dog and it’s definitely one of the best I’ve ever had. Then I got a Turtle milkshake and it was so delcious! It’s the only milkshake I got on the tour and I definitely picked the right spot for a milkshake break on the ten week tour! Link: Week Five: The Spotted Cow.
Week Number Six: Lou’s Drive-In
You can’t have an ice cream tour in Peoria and not stop at Lou’s Drive-In! So I went there with my dad on the closing week for the season and got a tasty butterscotch sundae and said goodbye to Lou’s Drive-In until next season. Link: Week Six: Lou’s Drive-In.
Week Number Seven: Maurie’s Of Pekin
For the seventh week we took a mini road trip to Pekin with my friend and owner of Acme Comics, Bob Gordon. Maurie’s is a legendary Pekin spot for candy, magazines, lunch and of course ice cream treats! We had a nice lunch and I got a bowl of cake batter ice cream with sprinkles and caramel sauce! Link: Week Seven: Maurie’s Of Pekin.
Week Number Eight: Las Delicias
Las Delicias has been doing sweet business on West Main Street here in Peoria for over four years now. They make their Mexican styled ice cream from scratch using family recipes here every day. The ice cream is really unique tasting and I went there with my friend Marie Blackburn, who had never been there before. She said she’s definitely going back again! Link: Week Eight: Las Delicias.
Week Number Nine: The Big Chill Ice Cream Drink Tour
This was a special week where I went out with my friends, Amber and Joe and took a tour of four restaurants that have specialty ice cream drinks. Joe and Amber were the judges and while it was a close and delicious race, the winning drink was the Polar Vortex from Sky Harbor! Link: Week Nine: The Big Chill Ice Cream Drink Tour.
Week Number Ten: Emo’s Ice Cream Shack
The last week happened to be the week that Emo’s Ice Cream Shack was closing for the season, so of course we had to do the final week from that legendary ice cream shack with the creepy clown atop the building! I had puppy chow ice cream and it’s a lot tastier than it sounds! Link: Week Ten: Emo’s Ice Cream Shack.
Crème De La Ice Cream: The Two Four Star Ice Cream Parlors!
While all of the ice cream shops on this tour were delicious and served up sweet and tasty treats, there were only two that got the coveted four star ratings and those two were, Emack & Bolio’s and Las Delicias! Congratulations to both of them and thanks to all ten places we stopped at on this tour! Next week we’ll be doing a palate cleanser and announcing the next MBIP food tour, so stay tuned for that! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
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