Margie’s Candies Review

By Torie Gehrig

When you step into Margie’s Candies, you step into a time warp. Illuminated by Tiffany-style lamps that hang from the ceiling, numerous cozy booths are clustered together side by side, each with their own tabletop jukebox. Shiny gold boxes are piled high atop glass cases displaying plates upon plates of delectable homemade sweets. This place would give Wonka’a candy shop a run for its money.

A long standing Chicago institution since the 1920s, this old fashioned ice cream parlor is essentially a city landmark. Over the years, Margie’s Candies has been graced by the presence of many legends. Infamous Chicago gangster Al Capone, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones numerous sports stars and many more have come to Margie’s to satisfy their sweet tooth.

The shop has been family-run for three generations, commencing in 1921 when Peter George Paulos opened the parlor at the corner of Western and Armitage of Chicago’s northwest side. The name we know it as today was given when Paulo’s son George Peter married his fiancé Margie, and it is their son, Peter George, who owns the Parlor today.

Though they are primarily known for their ice cream and sweets, Margie’s has a charming food menu, which calls to mind classic soda fountains. Unfortunately, some of the more outlandishly retro items, such as the Sardine Plate and something called the Hawaiian Plate (consisting of cottage cheese and pineapple sherbet served with toast, lettuce and pineapple garnish), are no longer available. However, Margie’s Candies does still offer classic sandwich standbys, such as egg salad, tuna salad, turkey, ham, and corned beef.

Here, you can dine like Holden Caulfield when he sat down to a “swiss cheese sandwich and malted milk” at a local drugstore. We ordered the Corned Beef Sandwich and the Turkey Sandwich with Swiss Cheese. You are given the choice of wheat, white, or rye bread (toasted or untoasted). Each sandwich is served with lettuce, tomato, and a pickle with potato chips on the side, as well as a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup.

Packets of mustard and mayo are placed on the the table. Both of these sandwiches were completely pleasing and well proportioned. These are the kind of sandwiches your mom would make you–made in a pinch but with care and wholesome ingredients. But let’s get to the main event which at Margie’s is, of course, dessert.

A sundae at Margie’s Candies is the the culinary equivalent Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus.” Mountains of ice cream scoops lie nestled in the valley of a white clamshell dish, capped by heaping mounds of whipped cream. A dusting of nuts and a bright red maraschino cherry tops the peak before hot fudge is poured on like slow, sweet magma. A few crunchy wafer cookies are provided to absorb the wreckage of what you haven’t already devoured. Margie’s ice cream is nothing spectacular or out of this world, but it’s wholesome, and you can tell it’s homemade. We kept it simple this first time around and only had the vanilla with our sundaes, but they offer 13 different flavors in addition to varieties of yogurt and sherbet. The ice cream maintains its shape and can hold its own against the toppings, particularly the hot fudge, which comes served on the side, bubbling hot in a silver gravy boat.

We ordered the Atomic Sundae, a Classic Hot Fudge Sundae (and Margie’s favorite) with the works, as well as the Turtle Sundae, which is similar to the atomic but with added caramel and “chocolate turtle sauce” (the kind that that hardens on top of the ice cream).

Both were delicious! Margie’s offers an extensive variety of all things ice cream, including shakes, ice cream sodas, phosphates (not ice cream, but still a parlor classic), as well a massive selection of sundaes. Perhaps the most spectacular is “The World’s Largest Terrapin,” which consists of 15 scoops of ice cream with fudge, caramel, bananas, nuts and whipped cream.

We didn’t get to sample as much of the candy as we would have liked to. A person’s stomach can only handle so much in one sitting, but we saved room for two Terrapins (chocolate turtles): one regular milk chocolate and one sea salt. Both were lovely, but the sea salt one definitely took the experience to a new level.

Margie’s is a place that’s always bustling. The turnover is high, and it can be pretty chaotic. This is not the kind of place you go to for fancy table service. Orders can be mixed up, and items are more than occasionally forgotten. At times, things can get a bit lax. For example we were asked to move to a smaller table to accommodate a larger party after we had gotten our order, and, as previously mentioned, things are listed on the menu that are no longer being served. However, the service is always friendly.

Margie’s Candies is a one-of-a-kind, family-friendly joint lacking any sort of pretension. Its also very reasonably priced, which is impressive considering its now legendary status. I’d recommend it to anyone desiring a unique atmosphere and killer ice cream experience.