The Original Rainbow Cone

Locatiom closed a year ago. It’s now a frozen yogurt place!!!

A Chicago Icon and a family tradition!

I love me some Rainbow — but this location is closed!
I walked (what felt like) forever to get here one day to find a Yogen fruz instead of Rainbow Cone. What a major letdown.

I did not expect to like this rainbow cone. After all, half the flavors were not on my list of favorites at all. How am I supposed to separate the chocolate and strawberry from the every-​awesome pistachio? However, I was pleasantly surprised at this treat. It’s a great find and the store is open late which is great for late-​night conversations. And affordable!

Very tasty, huge portion, not too expensive. I was impressed with how well all the flavors interacted. Would definitely get again, though it wasn’t so mindblowingly fantastic that I feel the need to make it a weekly thing.

So, I hadn’t eaten all day and when my hubby got home from golfing, he suggested Portillos and Rainbow Cone. Greatest idea he has ever had. We found a parking spot (and we didn’t have to pay!!!) right on Lake and State. Just a HUGE FYI, this place is located in the Halsted Street Deli. We walked past it a few times before I called and then found where it was. It’s so unassuming since it’s located in the deli at the half opened door.
We each got a small Rainbow Cone and the small is a large size anywhere else. It was layer upon layer of awesome goodness. From the bottom up: Chocolate, Strawberry, Palmer House, Pistachio and Orange Sherbet. Somehow, these flavors work and as my husband says, it’s due to the order they place them. I love the texture the walnuts and pistachio adds, as well as the cherries. This is some of the best ice cream I have had.
For the two «small» cones, its was just over $ 6. You can’t beat that. And that is unfortunate since being so cheap, I’ll probably eat here more than one should.

5 flavors in one cone? Heck yeah!
As tasty as it was inexpensive, a regular size rainbow cone hit the spot on a hot afternoon last week. Thought it was neat that flavors are stacked in layers, rather than scoops, which made it easy to get a couple of flavors per lick if you want. Unique presentation and certainly good enough to be more than a novelty.

I ate a small rainbow ice-​cream. It was a very different and unique experience of eating 5 layers of different flavors. I didn’t give a 5 star cuz I didn’t hit the awesome experience after eating it.

Delicious and inexpensive. I stopped in here for a quick cold treat with a friend of mine while we were shopping downtown and was intrigued because the same friend and I ate Rainbow Cone at the Taste of Chicago.
The alleged original location looked like they were grateful to be sharing the store front with the Halsted Deli and the service was provided through a side door to the left of the cash register. The service was a little slow but the prices were very good considering this place is a novelty spot along with a quality one. I enjoyed the Rainbow Cone slowly and hope to be doing so again soon.
I would have been happy to give a 5 star rating had we been served at the actual cash register and a little bit faster.

I would have never thought 5 different flavors in one cone would be a good thing, but it is. It’s a kid’s dream come true, and I have to say every time I have a Rainbow Cone it makes me feel like a kid again too. It’s not super cheap but you certainly get a lot for what you pay for.
I heard a rumor the story behind rainbow cone was the guy who invented it was an orphan, and they only got ice cream every so often at the orphanage. They could only pick one flavor but he always wanted to try them all, so that inspired him as an adult to invent the Rainbow Cone. I don’t know how true the story is but it always warms my heart as the ice cream freezes my brain.

Definitely my favorite ice cream in all of Chicago. It’s like nothing I have ever had before. Thank goodness there is finally a store in the loop. I take a special trip down to state street, which is an area I usually avoid for these tasty, tasty cones. If you haven’t had one yet, you haven’t lived.

This has been a lunch trip in the making for quite some time, possibly since last summer when we swore we would try to get some Rainbow Cone at the Taste of Chicago. Unfortunately, it took us way too long to make this long hike.
We’re at Jackson and Canal so we’re talking 1.1 miles each way. Maybe enough to burn off one of the five flavors piled on top of this cone.
$ 3.11 with tax for the small cone and it is not small in the least bit. We had to get back for a meeting so we got the cone under a little bit of control before venturing out into the heat and racing against The Melt.
Maybe 0.5 miles into our walk, I think all four of us got it down to about the size of a normal cone from any standard ice cream place. I was full at that point but you can’t just STOP eating a rainbow cone.
Like my friend said, each bite was like a new surprise. Once the flavors start melting together, one lick is chocolate, the next is orange. It’s wonderful. Once we finished, the same friend said, «I’m really glad I didn’t know about this as a kid. No ice cream ever would have lived up to that.»
I think that’s pretty well said.

You can never go wrong with rainbow cone and now they have a location that doesn’t require driving.
This is accessible from the CTA lines, right in the loop so on your way home from work this summer, you should totally stop in.

It’s an 80 degree day in Chicago and people during the lunch hour are sporting their favorite accessory: frozen/​cold dessert or beverage!
Today I decided to keep my accessory local, colorful, sweet and diverse… LIKE ME ;-P…by going to Rainbow Cone.
For $ 3.11 (including tax) I had a small «original» (wafer) cone of delicious, creamy chocolate, pistachio, palmer house (venetian vanilla with cherries and walnuts) and strawberry ice cream topped with a giant dollop of orange sherbet. Being an equal-​opportunity-​ice cream flavor eater, every flavor mixed together put a smile on my face.
It’s also a good day when the ice cream scooper has a hard time balancing all of the ice cream on one cone.
Show off your cone to other Chicagoans as you traverse State St. shops, or sit in the window of Rainbow Cone’s shared quarters with Halsted Street Deli and people watch. People will approve (and be jealous) of your classy accessory choice.

The Original Rainbow Cone? Without having to wait for Taste of Chicago or having to drive that far south of Madison Street? I WANT TO GO TO THERE!
For those who are fortunate to live near Beverly, within striking distance of 92^th and Western, or those who frequent the Taste of Chicago, you may not understand the pangs that one may suffer when it isn’t as easy to get an Original Rainbow Cone.
What’s an Original Rainbow Cone? Well I’m glad you asked! (Although I’m sure others can describe it more poetically than I.)
Think of five different flavors of ice cream: Chocolate, Strawberry, Pistaschio, Orange Sherbet and Palmer House. Each flavor strong enough to stand on its own. Each flavor delicious in its own right. Imagine if these flavors got together, combining forces to provide a wonderful harmonious layer of flavor… a cool stack of sugary sweet cream slowly melting into your waffle cone. (Well, I suppose you could have it in a regular cup or cone, but your results may vary!)
That, my friends, is The Original Rainbow Cone. Now available without traveling too far out of your neighborhood (for us North Siders) or without traveling with a time machine (for those of us who wait for Taste of Chicago). A delectable combination, for about $ 4 (if you get the small.)
If you want to mix it up, they also have other classic ice cream flavors like Butter Pecan, Cookie Dough, Cookies & Cream and Black Walnut. They also do thick ice cream shakes in Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry and Banana. They’re on the east side of State Street, just north of the Chicago Theater.
Readily accessible from all CTA lines, and a number of buses. They are co-​located with Halsted Street Deli.