The Plush Horse

11/18/07

Sunday afternoons

by davesch at Citysearch

I grew up in the 60's and 70's in nearby Palos Heights. My Dad used to pile us all into the car on Sunday afternoons in the summer to go to the Plush Horse. Both of my older brothers worked there in high school and the lines were so long that they would wake up with a start in the middle of the night and say "Can I help you, sir?" and then go back to sleep. The lines didn't matter because you knew half the people and made new friends out of the rest. Usually the men waited in line while the women chatted on the back patio waiting for us to bring them their ice cream. Palos men were a chivalrous lot.

Back then we used to call it Sophie's amongst ourselves because Sophie (the original owner's wife, I think) was still with us. She was very elderly but had jet black hair and still worked in the day to day operations right up until she passed. She always seemed to find the extra scoops for the kids if Dad was digging for change to pay. She had special treats for the regulars. There used to be a merry-go-round horse in the window that had a plush velvet-like surface. Sophie would have my Dad put us up on it. The plush surface became worn, but she didn't care. She loved us kiddies.

The hand packed ice cream was the order of the day. It cost more but was a better value and made a better tasting cone. Folks in the know ordered it in advance. Since my brothers worked there, we always had hand packed in the freezer. Butter Pecan was my Dad's favorite.

I'm pleased that the things the made the Plush Horse great from the beginning hasn't been lost on her subsequent owners. The Plush Horse is a generational thing, with parents (and now grandparents) from this period making the pilgramage whenever they come back to where they grew up. I hope that my kids (now teenagers) can take their kids to have the same experience that we had.

04/19/06

South Side favorite!

by southside67 at Citysearch

What can I say? My family and I have been going to the Plush Horse since my older brothers were small. This place is awesome! The homemade ice cream is extra delicious, the portions are huge, the prices are cheap and the look of the place and the atmosphere are reminicent of an olde ice cream parlor. What a great place to sit outside and chomp some on a summer night!

• Pros: Great value, Great atmosphere, Great taste
• Cons: long lines, long lines, long lines

09/02/05

Best Ice Cream In Chicagoland

by bluelightning42 at Citysearch

The Plush Horse has been my favorite ice cream parlor since I was a child. I have been to many of the other ice cream parlors in and around Chicago, but plush horse is by far the best. It is a great value and two scoops will fill up anyone I have ever brang there. Oh, and if you like Cookies-&-Cream, it is the best ever!

• Pros: Great Value, Great Enviorment, Tons of flavors