Best Dessert in Chicago River

"After the world fell out of love with cupcakes a few years ago, a bunch of boutique donut shops started opening around Chicago. Firecakes in River North was one of those spots and has thankfully managed to stay around. They have great seasonal specialties (like a gooey meyer lemon or apple-spiced), but our favorite is their vanilla iced."

"Stop in to try our orange poppyseed old fashioned, Boston Cream long... Nothing says classic like a cuppa coffee paired with a simple doughnut. Head to this fairly inexpensive place if you find yourself in a doughnut fix while in Chicago."

"One of Chicago’s Many Great Donuts: Tahitian Vanilla Iced ($2.95). I’m not going to decide if it should be “donut” or “doughnut” so be prepared for me to write it interchangeably."

"Put together your dream sweet drink with the help of Bar Siena’s walk-up dessert joint, BomboBar. Depending on the season, try the Gelato Shakes or Hotter Chocolates with interesting toppings like Oreo cookies and gummy worms. Not a milkshake fan?"

"Bombo, short for bombolone, is an Italian doughnut filled with jelly or cream. With their cookies and cream bombo, you get the best of both worlds."

"Restaurants Bakeries Lincoln Park. They had us at hello, those dreamy, creamy cupcakes. (Us and every other Chicagoan with taste buds.) This sweet-as-can-be bakeshop may have cornered the local market with its simple little chocolate and yellow cakes slathered in a colorful array of buttercreams, but there’s much more to salivate over here."

"When you hit up Sweet Mandy B’s you can’t fight the urge to slow the pace and plant yourself to savor whatever treasure you find in the glass encasement and soak up the old-school nostalgia. One taste of their icing will have you wishing you had a vat full and a giant spoon. Call the bakery or stop in to place your special cake order and enjoy the warmth the pastel colors and old-fashioned decor evokes."

"In all our years of baking cookies, we can’t believe we never thought of this. Even if you have no qualms eating raw cookie dough on your own, rest assured, Sweet Mandy B’s has made the filling of this next-level sandwich safe to eat (aka eggless)."

"Stan’s Donuts originated in Los Angeles, and has only showed up on the Chicago donut scene a few years ago. Regardless, they continue to open new locations and rarely run out of donuts unlike other shops in the city. The great perk about Stan’s isn’t just that you can actually sit down at any time of day and enjoy a donut and coffee, it’s also that they have endless donut options available that make choosing one nearly impossible."

"The Best of the Batch: Glazed Old Fashioned Donuts ($2.75) or Nutella Pocket Doughnut ($3.75). Stan’s yeasty doughnuts have become a Chicago staple in the past few years. Stan’s was one of the first specialty doughnut shops to open in Chicago."

"Stan's Donuts has quickly become a Chicago icon with decadent flavored donuts, cookies and delicious beverages. They are currently open every day for takeout and delivery."

"Editor's Note: There's no photo available at the time of writing. Visit Margeaux brasserie and experience classic, French dining at its best. Nestled on the third floor of The Waldorf Astoria Chicago, this restaurant features an exotic menu filled with exquisite food devoted to retaining the classic French vibe while the bar is filled with a dynamic cocktail menu."

"If you're going to create a space reminiscent of a particular time, place and spirit, 1920's Paris would be it. Margeaux Brasserie is Chef Michael Mina's "moveable feast" to double metaphor Hemingway's ode to the city of the 20's. The restaurant's traditional brasserie fare is enlivened by Midwestern ingredients and bonhomie."

"Three floors above the lobby of the swank Waldorf Astoria is restaurateur Michael Mina's ode to 1920s-era Paris. Classic Parisian bistro fare (escargot, steak frites, duck breast) gets a contemporary spin. Foie gras comes as parfait with preserved cherries and cornichons."

"Compromise on Italian without spending too much by going to Pizza Rustica. This cozy BYOB feels just like an Italian trattoria and serves huge pizzas with doughy crusts featuring toppings like Italian sausage, mushrooms, pineapple, artichokes or spinach. Salads are heading and pasta is made by hand."

"A post shared by Cookie Spin (@cookiespinchicago) on Sep 11, 2019 at 2:57pm PDT. Cookie Spin brings its own unique flavors to the dessert scene, with traditional fare like chocolate chip and sugar cookies and more avant garde treats like the cinnamon-sprinkled caramel apple cookie and blue raspberry flavor-infused sugar cookie. Plus, the shop’s cookie pies are bigger, thicker and richer than your standard cookie, perfect for a guy whose belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly."

"No matter what dessert you’re in the mood for, this amazing dessert place in Chicago is going to have something you’ll love. The Parlor Pizza Bar’s Dessert Dealer is next on our list of the best desserts in Chicago – and it’s really cool and unique!. Read more food inspiration: Top 15 best desserts in Portland"

"Restaurants American Loop. Trying to keep out of the sun when you dine riverside?. The contemporary American restaurant Rivers, located on the lobby level of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange building facing the Chicago River, features a large patio with a hanging roof ideal for those aiming to avoid freckling while they munch on grilled salmon salads and burgers."

"With baseball games in short supply this summer, gazing at Wrigley Field may be the next-best thing. Settle in on Smoke Daddy’s rooftop patio to dig into Chicago-style spareribs or dip soft pretzels into jalapeño beer cheese. After a few old fashioned cocktails or smoky Bloody Marys, nobody will blame you if you start singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

"Long before you see Wicker Park’s Smoke Daddy, you’ll smell the intoxicating wafts of smoked meat lingering in the air. The barbecue is described as “Memphis-Texarkana” and, though we don’t know exactly what that means, we can definitely say it makes our taste buds sing. The slow-cooked pulled pork is no-frills but absolutely heavenly."

"West LoopTouted as Chicago’s largest outdoor patio at 14,000-square-feet, this multilevel West Loop drinking deck is never a bad idea on a sunny day. A whimsical collection of mural-adorned shipping containers plays host to a variety of bars, cabanas, and food stations dishing up signature cocktails from large-format “water coolers” to frozé alongside refined pub grub seven days a week.How to book: Reserve via OpenTable"

"Nestled within 30 shipping containers on a West Loop corner, Recess is home to a cozy amalgamation of bars, food stands, and cabana houses within a 14,500 -square-foot space that holds the title of the largest patio in Chicago. The stacked shipping containers give it an awesome reclaimed industrial vibe that you won’t find anywhere else in Chicago."

"People dine and drink at Recess, a West Loop restaurant with one of the biggest patios in Chicago, on June 3, 2021. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune). Meant to hark back to the carefree days of school-sanctioned fun time, Recess is a sprawling West Loop space with a structure composed of shipping containers."

"Check out this delightful rooftop deck overlooking Evanston’s Central Street. Their Mexican cuisine-with-a-twist is something to be savored, from the Sweet Potato and Green Chili Latke with apple salsa and citrus crema to the Roasted Cauliflower Queso served with crisp tostones (fried plantains). I recommend a Mezcal Paloma to wash it all down under the twinkly lights."

"(Primary Neighborhoods: Avondale, various events and locations, city and suburbs). Another food truck that demands to be tracked by culinary hunters is Dönermen(A döner is the vertical spit used for roasting meat). German street food is the concept behind this truck; or German by way of Turkey, as Turkish immigrants heavily influenced this mix of spiced meat, vegetables, and bread."

"The family-owned Il Vicinato Ristorante has welcomed Chicagoland diners since 1983 and has changed little on its menu of Italian classics since its early days. The nostalgic neighb..."

"A National Historic Landmark, this South Loop church suffered a devastating fire in 1900, so the congregation hired architects Howard Van Doren Shaw and Frederic Clay Bartlett to rebuild the building in the then-popular Arts and Crafts style. Over the years, the church welcomed many famous Chicago families including the Pullmans, Blackstones, and Armours. Open Saturday, October, 19, from 10 a.m."