Here are 30 essential foods and drinks to celebrate, from Rainbow Cone to Malört

While Chicago’s birthday has traditionally been celebrated on March 4, the truth is more complicated.

Nevertheless, this fake holiday proved to be a perfect excuse to update our list of our most-loved essential experiences in Chicago food and drink. See how many you’ve checked off, and start making a list of the rest.

Order a Chicago Handshake

No matter how many lounges hawking $14 cocktails infiltrate Chicago’s neighborhoods, corner bars persist, a welcome constant in a changing city. Take the opportunity to forget about vintage coupes and fancy ice, and come back down to earth with the now-classic Chicago Handshake — a shot of beloved, bitter Malort served alongside a can of Old-Style. Any old-school bar will be happy to accommodate your request. The Handshake should never top $8, and $4 or $5 is the norm, as easy as putting out your hand and greeting your bartender by name. You’ll be there all night, after all. — Joseph Hernandez

Finish a 15-scoop sundae at Margie’s Candies

With its charming old-school neon signs, worn red-striped awnings and throwback diner vibe, Margie’s has been serving homemade candies and toddler-sized ice cream sundaes since 1921. That’s toddler-sized as in the size of a toddler: What the shop calls “The World’s Largest Terrapin” is served with 15 scoops of French vanilla ice cream and topped with whipped cream, fudge, caramel, banana and a cookie. The elephantine offering, served in a white faux-conch-shell bowl, easily feeds seven. (There are also more traditionally sized cones, bowls and shakes, but where’s the fun in that?) 1960 N. Western Ave., 773-384-1035 — JH

Snack on elotes and mangonadas in the park

From roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day, you’ll find city-licensed vendors in many Chicago parks, preparing and selling Mexican specialties from carts, trailers or kiosks. The two items to look for: elotes, served either as corn on the cob or kernels sliced into a cup, seasoned with mayo, chili powder, cotija cheese, lime and a squeeze of Parkay; and mangonadas, which are slushy drinks made with mango, chamoy (a mouth-puckering sauce) and a hearty shake of Tajin, a spicy seasoning made from Mexican chilies, lime juice and sea salt. Prices vary — just remember to bring cash. Multiple locations, chicagoparkdistrict.com — Louisa Chu

Visit the Original Rainbow Cone in Beverly

The spring reopening of Original Rainbow Cone is a sure and happy sign of warm weather on its way, the signal to make one’s way to Beverly and enjoy one of Chicago’s signature desserts. Prepared as precisely as a true Chicago hot dog, the Rainbow Cone consists of (from the bottom up) chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House (New York vanilla with cherries and walnuts) and pistachio ice creams, finished by orange sherbet, all layered in sloping, thick slabs (not scoops, technically), making it easy to combine all five flavors in one delicious mouthful. (Substitute flavors are available for those with nut allergies.) There’s no place to sit inside, but a few picnic tables are available on the rear patio. Ice cream cones are best enjoyed outdoors, anyway. 9233 S. Western Ave., 773-238-9833, rainbowcone.com — Phil Vettel

Head down to the Goat

To walk down the public staircase from the crowded sunlight-washed sidewalks of upper Michigan Avenue into the perpetual gloom of lower Michigan and enter the Billy Goat Tavern is to cross into a historic and delicious part of Chicago history. For the Goat is more than just a dining place founded in 1934. It is forever tied to the Chicago Cubs, thanks to a goat and a certain decades-long curse (now broken).

The Goat is also a place where generations of Chicago journalists who worked nearby are saluted with framed photos and stories hanging on the walls. And the Goat is, of course, still remembered for inspiring those Olympia Diner sketches on Saturday Night Live. No wonder there are eight locations now; the Billy Goat is, to quote its website, “known all over the world.”

Yet the fare is, blessedly, still fast and simple. Go for the double cheeseburger (the patties are thin) served on a sturdy roll with whatever condiments you want. Add a bag of Vitner’s potato chips, a cup of Coca-Cola (or something stronger; there’s a bar), and sit back, look around, and drink in the atmosphere. 430 N. Michigan Ave., lower level, 312-222-1525, billygoattavern.com — Bill Daley

Drink a martini at Gibsons

For a restaurant that’s more than 30 years old, it’s almost shocking how crowded the bar still is at Gibsons on Rush Street; regardless of day or time, you’re lucky to snag a seat. But if you do, you’ll see why it’s worth trying. The staff is made up of career bartenders, many who have worked here for years and have the stories to prove it. Pair an outrageous tale about craftily nabbing car keys to drive a many-martinis-deep regular home with a martini of your own. These are as classic (read: strong) as they come and as dirty as you ask for. Play nice, and you may even get a refill halfway through. 1028 N. Rush St., 312-266-8999, gibsonssteakhouse.com — Marissa Conrad

Hit up J.P. Graziano for an Italian sub

Opened in 1937, J.P. Graziano in the West Loop represents the clearest relic of what West Randolph Street looked like before it radically transformed into Chicago’s trendy restaurant row. To help the company survive the transition of the neighborhood, the shop established the city’s best Italian sandwich operation in 2007. That means that every single component of the sub is cared for, from the crusty bread to the freshly sliced meat and cheese. Even the lettuce, which lesser shops toss on haphazardly, is dressed to order, so that each bite has a pleasing vinegar tang. If you’re OK with real heat, make sure to ask for some of the shop’s house-made giardiniera, which is an incendiary mix of chiles and other crunchy vegetables in oil. The massive sandwich, about the size of your forearm, is wrapped up tight in white paper, often by the fourth-generation owner Jim Graziano. While you can certainly find fancier restaurants in the immediate area, it doesn’t get a whole lot better than this. 901 W. Randolph St., 312-666-4587, jpgraziano.com — Nick Kindelsperger

Lean in at Johnnie’s Beef

Johnnie’s Beef owner Frank Stompanato may answer the phone if you call to ask if you can order ahead at the original Elmwood Park location, open since 1961. You can’t, “unless you order 40 or 50,” he said recently, laughing, “but go ahead, you already got me.”

If you get Stompanato, talk fast because they’re always busy. Some say you must order a combo, sweet and hot. I say, in the house vernacular, “beef, juicy hot” and if it’s Friday, “pepper and egg, juicy hot.” Since it’s juicy — that is, dipped in the beef’s roasting pan juice — as soon as it’s made, the clock is ticking before your Gonnella roll softens to a nearly spoonable savory bread pudding.

[ The ultimate guide to Chicago’s Italian beef ]

You can eat your Italian beef packed with its slices of roasted meat and topped with hot giardiniera, outside at picnic tables year-round, but there is winter, if not snow. Some people eat in their car, where they must have wet wipes, or I don’t even want to know.

Or just lean in on the narrow window-front counter, so that you can eat without the juices dripping all over you. It’s not quite the so-called Italian stance — elbows on counter, feet planted a step back, legs spread — popularized by one city beef house, but it doesn’t need to be to get the job done. 7500 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park; 708-452-6000 — LC

Dig into Chicago’s hearty, generous Polish food

Buffets may be the thing among Chicago’s Polish restaurants, but when you head out to the woodlands on the Northwest Side, on the far edge of Jefferson Park, hidden behind a typical canopied storefront, you will find the lodgelike refuge of Smak-Tak. Or SMAK-TAK! as the 20-year-old restaurant is officially known. Owner Peter Lakomy says the name translates literally as “taste yes” but really means “just delicious.”

Order takeout or settle in at a cozy red cloth-dressed table, lit with candles and Tiffany lamps, then take in the wonderful world of knotty pine, including a log stacked faux fireplace, with green fairy lights twinkling overhead.

[ An ode to the glories of cabbage, with recipes for a Polish stew and a spicy stir-fry ]

Translation fails us again with the Hungarian-style pancake, but what phrase can describe the platter-size burnished crunchy potato shell, frilled with a sour cream squiggle, barely containing chunky yet tender pork goulash, stewed in rich tomatoes, peppers, onions and mushrooms? Contemplate the question over silken puffed pierogi. You get a dozen per order, so I recommend assorted fillings, from cheese potato to plum jam, one plate savory and another sweet, both in shimmering pools of butter with more lashings of sour cream. 5961 N. Elston Ave., 773-763-1123, smaktak.com — LC

Have dry or wet-aged steaks at Krapil’s

This hidden gem is no secret to southwest-suburban diners, but first-timers need only know that Krapil’s serves top-quality, dry- or wet-aged steaks for a lot less than the downtown steakhouses demand, and throws in rolls, potato and soup or salad for good measure.

You’re too late to experience Krapil’s in its early form, when the bare-bones menu was printed on paper placemats. Now the menu is expanded and laminated, and the dark, hunting-trophy dining room has an adjacent, glassed-in patio decked out in timbers and tree-trunk tabletops. (I like the patio area better, frankly.)

[ Where to find Chicago's best steakhouse side dishes ]

Steaks have that appreciable, beefy tang that only aging provides, topped with onions caramelized for maximum sweetness and custardy texture. The restaurant has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it location just east of the I-294 overpass; I guarantee you’ll miss it on the first try, but double back and you won’t be sorry. 6600 W. 111th St., Worth; 708-448-2012; krapilssteakhouse.com — PV

Wait hours for beer on Dark Lord Day

Standing in line for beer is the way of the world these days, but in 2005, when craft beer was struggling and more breweries were closing than opening, the thought was ludicrous. Yet something about Three Floyds’ Dark Lord inspired the masses.

The annual Dark Lord Day, traditionally held at the brewery in Munster, Ind., brought out thousands of beer lovers quite happy to spend hours in line for Floyds’ most iconic beer, an imperial stout made with coffee, Mexican vanilla and Indian sugar. Dark Lord Day has morphed, over the years, from the industry’s most famous bottle release to a full-blown, all-inclusive beer-and-music festival. Tickets for this year’s festival go on sale March 18.

9750 Indiana Parkway, Munster, Ind.; darklordday.com — Josh Noel

Do the Al’s Beef/Mario’s Lemonade crawl

Like any iconic food developed in the early 20th century, stories differ on who invented the Italian beef. But we do know that Al’s #1 Italian Beef opened in Little Italy in 1938, and, thanks to its distinctive spice blend, it’s still the most uniquely flavored Italian beef in town. Chain locations of Al’s exist around the city, but the quality isn’t the same; at the original, the beef is roasted and sliced in house and served in generous portions on your sandwich. Plus, the location has a bonus: Across the street is Mario’s Italian Lemonade, which specializes in freshly made Italian ice. Made with just-squeezed juice, sugar, ice and nothing else, it’s exactly the cooling antidote you need on a hot day. Mario’s is currently closed for the season, so you’ll need to wait until at least April to complete this essential Chicago trip. Al’s #1, 1079 W. Taylor St., 312-226-4017, www.alsbeef.com, Mario’s Italian Lemonade, 1068 W. Taylor St. — NK

Tackle the Slinger at Diner Grill

So there I was at a house party, when a friend of a friend who was, shall we say, overserved, couldn’t stop screaming, “Gimme a Slinger! I want a Slinger!” Our mutual friend turned to me to explain: “We gotta go to Diner Grill, I guess.”

That was the night I was introduced to a Chicago tradition: a heaving volcano of hashbrowns topped with two hamburger patties, cheese and grilled onions. Not afraid to gild the lily, Diner Grill’s cooks top the whole affair with a shimmering lava flow of chili and two eggs sunny side up. It’s the equivalent of an Exxon oil spill on a plate. If one manages to eat it all, you’ll even net a certificate of completion — a humble piece of paper proving not just your iron gut, but that you have lived, if but for a minute. 1635 W. Irving Park Road, 773-248-2030, dinergrill.com — JH

Sit at the bar at Vito & Nick’s

However you choose to top the Chicago-style thin-crust pizza at Vito & Nick’s (some say sausage is a must; I’m obsessed with the egg), your favored ingredients and dough will be transformed into a miraculously crisp-edged, crunchy-bottomed masterpiece. But where you receive this nearly sacramental bread is key.

Settle at one of the robin’s-egg-blue swivel-backed barstools, where you can watch white-clad pizza chefs — or perhaps third-generation owner Rose Barraco George herself — make your pie. Or you can stand: Culinary legend holds that Chicago’s square-cut pizza was invented to make it easier to hold a slice in one hand, beer in the other while standing at a bar. 8433 S. Pulaski Road, 773-735-2050, vitoandnicks.com — LC

Have a drink at the Hancock Lounge

To catch a towering panoramic of Chicago’s cityscape, you must venture to one of two places: the Willis Tower or the (slightly shorter) Hancock Building. While both buildings have observation decks, each comes at a cost, and that only includes the view — no guided tours or refreshments to be had.

Locals know, then, that when such a sky-high desire arises (probably via an out-of-town guest), the veteran move is to head to the Hancock, or, more specifically, to the Signature Lounge on the tower’s 96th floor, where you can grab a drink — raspberry bramble for me, blood orange margarita for her — and enjoy the same view for practically the same price, depending on what you order.

The Lounge is now a bar and lounge separate from the Signature Room restaurant, and it’s still a tourist favorite, so timing can be tricky — a certain foolish writer waited 45 minutes on a Friday afternoon to settle down. But once you make it, the climb and any wait are worth it: You get every bit of the same breathtaking view as the more expensive version at the restaurant two floors below, plus something to sip while you take in all of Chicago. 875 N. Michigan Ave., 312-787-9596, signatureroom.com — Adam Lukach

Feast on pastrami at Manny’s Deli

Manny’s Deli is that rare city icon that still feels like a place actual Chicagoans go. While known as a stop for politicians, including a certain former president, it’s mostly avoided the tourist throngs that crowd many classic Jewish delis around the country, including Katz’s Deli in New York and Langer’s Deli in Los Angeles. Perhaps the location just outside the Loop helps.

[ Manny's knish collab stuffs goodies from 3 Little Pigs, Tripping Billy into one mouthwatering nosh ]

Regardless, the absolutely gargantuan dining room is filled with locals of every variety, most of whom are waiting in line for one of the biggest and most satisfying sandwiches in town. Manny’s pastrami is fatty, smoky and peppery, and it’s served in fantastic handfuls atop rye bread. Extra crunchy pickle spears come on the side for free, while a hulking fried potato pancake can be added for a measly $1.

While the sandwich is incredible on its own, I highly suggest adding the restaurant’s horseradish-spiked mustard, which brings a sinus-clearing heat to each bite. 1141 S. Jefferson St., 312-939-2855, mannysdeli.com. — NK

Pair mussels with beer in a booth at Hopleaf

Chicago is home to one of America’s beer-drinking jewels: Hopleaf, which has been a champion of both domestic craft and Belgian beer since opening on North Clark Street in 1992. For the ideal Hopleaf experience, there’s only one approach.

Take a seat in the handsome dark wood booths installed by owner Michael Roper shortly after opening . Order the mussels Belgian-style, which here means steamed in Blanche de Chambly, a witbier-style beer from Quebec. And tack on a pint of Allagash White — one of the few beers to have a permanent place on the Hopleaf taps and a faultless pairing with those savory shellfish. There’s no finer single beer-and-food experience in Chicago. 5148 N. Clark St., 773-334-9851, hopleafbar.com — JN

Have a curbside picnic at Calumet Fisheries

It’s, perhaps, the most unlikely place to picnic in Chicago. Hugging the side of 95th Street, just feet before a hulking steel bridge crosses the Calumet River, sits Calumet Fisheries, where you can score genuinely excellent smoked seafood. Catfish, chubs, salmon, sturgeon and whitefish are just a few of the options, but my personal favorite is the smoked shrimp: sweet, plump and delicately laced with smoke. Whatever you order, it will be served with all the ceremony of a fast-food joint, except this place doesn’t even have tables. This explains why I’ve often found myself sitting on the curb of 95th staring out at the heavy industry surrounding the neighborhood, stuffing myself silly and enjoying every second. 3259 E. 95th St., 773-933-9855, calumetfisheries.com — NK

Order the whole duck at Sun Wah BBQ

Nowhere does ceremony and affordability mesh better than at Sun Wah, where ready-to-eat ducks hang in the window and a three-course feast (plenty for at least two people) is a mere $40. The most Chicago way to do this, however, is to gather a group, pre-order a few ducks, meet around the lazy-Susan tables and make it a party. First there’s the soup, flavored with the carcass, stray bits of meat and chunks of winter melon; and then the larger meat trims, incorporated into a fried-rice side dish. Then, the star: the plate of sliced duck, with crispy, lacquered skin and moist, rich meat. It arrives with steamed gwa bao and the usual accompaniments (onion, carrot, pickled daikon, hoisin sauce). This is an experience that every Chicagoan should sample at least once. 5039 N. Broadway, 773-769-1254, sunwahbbq.com — PV

Dine on the lakefront at the Waterfront Cafe

Whenever I want to “escape” Chicago in the summer without having to leave, I walk down Sheridan Road to the Waterfront Cafe in Edgewater’s Berger Park. Sitting at an outdoor table under tall trees, with a wide expanse of Lake Michigan for a view and, often, the backdrop of live musical performances, I feel somewhere other than the city. When it reopens for summer, the cafe offers casual meals, soft drinks, beer, wine and cocktails. 6219 N. Sheridan Road, 773-761-3294 (phone is out of service in the off-season), waterfrontcafechicago.com. — BD

Use the trunk of your car as a table at Lem’s Bar-B-Q

Chicago’s not much known as a barbecue town, which is a shame, because we have a distinctive regional specialty worth celebrating. It’s called a rib tip and hot link combo, which is served on a bed of fries and topped with sliced white bread.

[ The fascinating history of Chicago barbecue, told in Tribune coverage from 1850s to present day ]

Though there are a number of great stands on the South Side practicing the charcoal-smoked art, it’s hard to beat one of the originals, Lem’s Bar-B-Q. The rib tips here are brimming with juice and laced with smoke, while the sausage is peppery and feisty. This is a messy, meaty experience, one that’s sure to require an awful lot of napkins.

It’s also one you’ll have to experience outside of the restaurant, because there’s nowhere to sit. You could show extreme patience and wait until you get home to eat, or do what I always do and perch the hulking styrofoam container of meat on the trunk of your car and dig in immediately. 311 E. 75th St., 773-994-2428, lemsque.com — NK

Wait in line for al pastor at Rubi’s at Maxwell Street Market

Most days of the week, South Desplaines Street in the South Loop is a barren and unremarkable stretch of asphalt. But come Sunday, thousands flood the area for the weekly Maxwell Street Market (as you’d guess, the market used to take place on Maxwell Street — it’s a long story) for what might be the highest concentration of great Mexican food in the Midwest.

While you can eat happily at a number of stands, none maintain the long lines of Rubi’s. It’s completely worth the agony of waiting a half-hour with all the other smells wafting through the air just to be able to feast on the red-tinged pork al pastor, cooked slowly over charcoal on a vertical trompo. The marinated meat is sliced off, tossed in a freshly made tortilla and adorned simply with onions and cilantro. Check the city website for details. 800 S. Desplaines St., 312-745-4676, cityofchicago.org — NK

Get a Hot Doug’s fix in the bleachers at Wrigley Field

Once upon a time, there was an out-of-the-way hot dog shop in Avondale called Hot Doug’s, where owner Doug Sohn proffered cheffy versions of encased meats on a bun. His sausages achieved cult status among Chicagoans, who would wait two hours or more in an outdoor line to sample Sohn’s wares. The wait was often worth it, at least the first time; Sohn himself worked the register and the crowd, and his sausages, quality meats dressed with extra ingredients such as truffle aioli or foie gras, were sublime.

Hot Doug’s closed in 2014, but find the experience, somewhat altered, at Wrigley Field, where a Hot Doug’s stand sits in the center-field bleachers. There, you can choose among three sausage creations, each named after a former, often obscure, Cubs player.

The catch is that only fans with bleacher-seat tickets can get to the kiosk; even box seats behind home plate won’t get you access. “It’s kind of a pain in the ass to get to,” Sohn says. “Just like the original.” Luckily for you, Sohn’s sausages are as satisfying as ever. 1060 W. Addison St., www.hotdougs.com. — PV

Order a mother-in-law at Fat Johnnie’s Famous Red Hots

John Pawlikowski opened his eponymous hot dog shack in 1972 on what’s now a busy stretch of Western Avenue lined with used car lots and fast food drive-thrus. Walk up today, and it’s likely John’s son Ted who will take your order and cook it, but it’s hard to tell because you’re talking through a tiny window to an apron front.

Fat Johnnie himself is still there, seated so you can talk face-to-face; he’s the one who takes your cash. In return, you will receive one of the most carefully prepared mother-in-law sandwiches in town. Their take on the South Side specialty is a warm and soft S. Rosen’s poppy seed bun stuffed with a Tom Tom beef tamale, smothered with Danielson chili with beans (“we add a little something to it but that’s our secret,” says Ted), and dressed with mustard, Lake Valley sweet relish, tomato, onion, and cucumber.

“A lot of people are pickle purists but we’ve always used cucumbers because it’s a cleaner flavor,” Ted says. The whole thing is finished with flourish of celery salt; hot sport peppers and ketchup are available upon request. If you’re lucky, snag a seat at the single picnic table next door, unwrap your white paper roll to reveal a Rorschach test in chili, and strike up a conversation with diverse regulars who may include neighborhood pedestrians and truck drivers who park their big rigs in the middle of the road to eat in messy peace. 7242 S. Western Ave., 773-633-8196 — LC

Eat a Superdawg in your car

A Chicago-style hot dog with all the trimmings comes with a dash of nostalgia at Norwood Park’s Superdawg Drive-In, which opened in 1948. No need to leave the car; place your order via the intercom, relax, and wait for a server to emerge with your order on a tray that clips to the window. The signature Superdawg hot dog comes nestled in a paper box filled with stubby crinkle-cut fries. As you eat, gaze at the two 12-foot-tall hot dogs (named after the founders, Maurie and Flaurie Berman) posed on the drive-in’s roof. 6363 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-763-0660, www.superdawg.com. — BD

Eat the chocolate cake at Portillo’s

This is Chicago’s most iconic chocolate cake, and for good reason: It’s classic, with no frills — just a deeply rich slice. I’ve had friends who have had this cake at their wedding. Multiple locations, portillos.com — MC

Stay for last call at The Hangge-Uppe

This is the best and worst decision you could make. And for the love of god, please don’t actually get another drink. But last call at The Hangge-Uppe — circa 4:45 a.m. on a Saturday, 3:45 a.m. other nights — is a Chicago drinking experience I have to highlight; some of my best (albeit haziest) nights out have ended here, as we all hang on to one last ’80s song, dancing as though we’re at the most fun wedding of all time. Then, together with your 100 new best friends, you will emerge into the dawn and remember, ‘Oh right. There is a world outside of this bar.’ Think nothing good happens after 3 a.m., especially in a place where the floor is stickier than 10,000 pieces of discarded gum? My friend’s parents met during a late-night Hangge-Uppe adventure in the ’70s, and they’re still happily married. 14 W. Elm St., 312-337-0561, hanggeuppe.com — MC

Smell the chocolate at Blommer

There are few things more magical than biking southeast on Milwaukee Avenue and being enveloped, suddenly, in the smell of chocolate. Past Erie Street, over I-90/94 and — bam. If you’re new to Chicago, you think maybe you’re imagining it. But it’s real: Blommer Chocolate Co., now the nation’s largest cocoa processor (with the help of three other factories), has been making chocolate at 600 W. Kinzie St. since 1939. If the wind’s right and it’s a workday for the plant, you’ll catch the exhilarating perfume of the chocolate chunks and cocoa powder made within. Walking near Milwaukee Avenue and Kinzie Street works too, though the rush of wind that hits your face on a bike makes the whole thing so much better. 600 W. Kinzie St., blommer.com — MC

Use a cocktail slingshot at The Aviary

Going to The Aviary, the cocktail bar from the folks behind that little restaurant called Next, is like going to the theater, only your drink is the show and then you get to, well, drink it. The menu is always changing — maybe you’ll get a cocktail poured from a glass ship inside a glass bottle, or one prepared tableside with a Bunsen burner and dry ice. But you can always count on the cocktail called In the Rocks to be available in some form. (I’ve had it both as an Old Fashioned and a Vieux Carre.) The drink arrives looking like an icy egg in a glass. Break the orb with a mini slingshot and the alcohol, which was contained completely inside the ice like an egg yolk, spills out. The magic is thanks to a water balloon, an immersion circulator, a drill and a syringe — which kind of sounds like the world’s weirdest game of Clue, but hey: science! 955 W. Fulton Market, theaviary.com — MC

Join the line at Lickity Split Frozen Custard

The frozen custard and concretes are great; the array of candy, pastries and old-time soda pops jaw-dropping; and the decor groovin’ with its retro vibe. But what always sets Lickity Split apart, for me, is the line of people drawn by all of the above to the Edgewater shop, especially on a warm summer night. As Ken Anderson, the shop’s co-owner, says, the line on some nights “snakes around, does a double snake and sometimes goes out the door.” But I’ve never seen people out-of-sorts, snarky or impatient at the wait. Almost always there’s someone I know or at least recognize in the queue. You nod and smile and maybe exchange a word or joke about the line. The wait is all part of the neighborly experience. Busy times are, as you might guess, on weekend nights. (There tends to be less of a crowd at Lickity Split’s second, smaller location on Western Avenue.) 6056 N. Broadway Ave., 773-274-0830, lickitysplitchicago.com — BD

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