Review Visit: September 29th, 2013…read more "Do you want to go to The Ice Cream Shack?" "Sure! Which one?" "THE Ice Cream Shack." "Right, but which one? Peoria has a ton of them." "It's a place called THE ICE CREAM SHACK." "Ohhhhhh..." I imagine that is a common conversation among people when they are talking about coming here. I know there was some slight confusion between my cousin and I when we made plans to check this place out. After spending the afternoon hiking at Forest Park Nature Center with my friend Tim and my cousin's family, we needed some sugary treats to recharge our batteries. The kids were vocally loud in their agreement on getting ice cream. So, we hopped in our cars and headed over. I had been by this area quite a few times and never realized there was an ice cream place. The building itself is a bit recessed from the road and doesn't really have an outlandish look that some ice cream shacks have. So, you can end up driving by without noticing it (as I have). It was a slow when we pulled up so there was plenty of parking for our two vehicles. We hopped out and walked on up to the window to figure out what we wanted. Luckily this place doesn't have a million different options to pick from like a lot of places. Their menu is simplistic and focused on ice cream with a small selection of non-frozen desserts to pick from. On this day, I snagged a Peanut Butter Cup-flavored wizard. As we waited for our snacks, I eagerly anticipated getting a peanut butter cup-themed wizard staff and hat to go with my delectable. When they called my name, I sprinted up to the window to get my goodies. What they gave me was just the wizard that I ordered and no garments or anything else. Dream crushed. I'm kidding. We all got our orders in a fairly quick time as there weren't many people there. I don't recall what everyone else got but we took some funny photos while scarfing down our sugary dairy products. Everyone seemed to enjoy what they ordered and after goofing around a bit more, we parted ways. Not only did the kids get to be kids jacked up on ice cream and hiking, us adults got to be kids at heart while being goof balls loaded up on sugar.

I don't understand for the life of me why a business can't accept credit cards. It's 2025 not 1910,…read moreare the owners that cheap? It's not like their prices are low enough to justify it. They actually cost more than Dairy Queen. Once I saw that and there prices I just turned around. I just can't support a business that can't support itself

Amazing ice cream! I love supporting local and all of the flavors that they have! Service has been…read moregood the last three times I have went. The ambiance is nice. Very family friendly! Also the serving sizes are BIG! Perfect for an ice cream lover like me!

The soft serve was yummy, HOWEVER! $1.65 to add sprinkles?!?!? My friend ordered fries, and we…read morewaited 15-20 minutes for a singular basket. When I asked for no sprinkles because of the price the lady who checked me out rolled her eyes because she had already printed the receipt. The atmosphere is littered with children, makes it a very loud and stuffy environment. With that said not everyone's cup of tea. So if you like rude servers, lots of kids, over priced add ons, and long long waits this is the place for you! Update! It's been 50minutes since we've ordered. Still no fries.

I used to love Theo's. But under the new ownership it's gone downhill. At least for the icebergs…read more They are more expensive now with less ingredients. I used to always get the banana cream pie iceberg but now it's terrible. Never mixed right- just plain ice cream halfway down. And hardly any ingredients. I tried getting a Oreo iceberg but it only had one crushed up Oreo in it.

Review Visit: June 17th, 2015…read more Theo's is The-o place to be for ice cream. Peoria seems to have a lot of ice cream places and Theo's was next on my list to visit. So, I gathered my good travel buddy Matt and my girlfriend at the time to drive there and check it out. I have actually tried to visit Theo's a few times prior to this but the location is just odd. It's kind of on the corner of a busy main street and a busy side street. Due to that, it's a pretty hopping place to go. On top of that, the parking arrangement is also strange. There is maybe room for a few cars in front of the building and a few spots on the side of the building but beyond that, you are relegated to using the curbs along the road. On our way there, we devised a Plan B as we have failed to try and get Theo's before. Luckily, we beat the crowd and were able to find a place to park. Memory is a bit foggy on this part but I believe Theo's is/was cash only. Don't quote me on that but do make sure you have some money on you as a precaution. I don't exactly remember what I ordered. I think it was an espresso-flavored ice cream while my girlfriend ordered a coffee-flavored one. We, of course, sampled what the other got. I have to be honest and say that while mine was great, her choice in flavors was 10x better. We actually came back by ourselves on another day and I got what she got and was happy. Matt ordered something unique off the menu. I don't remember what it was but he said it was delicious. I think it was a low-calorie ice cream treat. Since we ordered simple ice creams, we didn't have to wait too long for the cashier to yell out our order to pick them up. If you've never been to a proper ice cream shack, do know that if you order a lot of food it can take awhile to get it as they usually cook the food fresh and to-order. Theo's does offer a wide variety of options between ice cream and food. I have yet to try their non-ice cream offerings but I would imagine they are pretty good. At least the photos I've seen on Google/Yelp makes their food look good. If I do get to try their food, I will add my thoughts of it to this post.

Review Visit: September 14th, 2014…read more Where diabetic dreams come true. Every town has a few things: A Casey's gas station. A Subway Restaurant. A Dollar General store. Lastly, a locally-owned ice cream shack. Any small town will have a combination of these things, if not all. Bartonville is a smaller town that happens to have their own ice cream shack. I am not sure about the others but that isn't why we are here today. Today, we are here to talk about a place where diabetics dream about. A place that causes diabetes. A place that your sweet tooth (or teeth) dream of. The Dream Hut is like many ice cream shacks. It is nestled in a smaller standalone building that has a store front where you can walk up and place your order and then awkwardly mingle with everyone else that is standing around. The store front is wide enough to accommodate a place to order and a place to pick your food up. Their menu is plastered on the glass where you order and you can stand off to the side and gawk over it without standing entirely in the way of people who have dreamt here before. On a cold day, a few of us decided to take a trip to this hut to see if we could order something dreams are made of. Around this time in my life, I was hopelessly dreaming about Peanut Butter Malts or anything similar. In a confession, I have a terrible peanut butter addiction that continues to this day and for the rest of my life. Upon arriving, I knew I needed something peanut butter-y. Glancing over the menu, I was drawn to the Peanut Butter Cup Blitz and I knew that was the thing my dreams were made of. One sip... well, what can be had for a sip as slurping a thick Blitz through a straw is entirely nightmarish... I knew I hit something good. The Blitz had a nice chocolate/peanut butter blend that can only be described properly by scientists and clairvoyants. Absolutely delectable. My friend Matt ordered the same thing and he rather enjoyed his drink/meal, but not nearly on the level of mine. Devin ordered a simple ice cream cone but even that put a huge smile on her face. Despite the change of the season and that nightfall was quickly approaching, the Dream Hut was everything I could dream in a ice cream place and more. While I only had the one item from their menu on this one and only visit, I would assume the rest of their offerings are just as good. I would like to revisit and try other menu items in the future. Still to this day, I dream of that Peanut Butter Cup Blitz...

We live in Louisiana and anytime we come to visit family it's a must stop! We stopped multiple…read moretimes this last trip and it never disappoints!!!! Look forward to shakes and ice cream every time!!!

Review Visit: May 13th, 2015…read more This ice cream is '¡muy caliente!" I knew Mexican soda was a thing but Mexican ice cream? Not in the capacity to have it's own ice cream shack. Well, queue my surprise when I learned that there was a Mexican ice cream shop in Peoria. One that has a name that leads you to think that maybe... just maybe this place is delicious. Doing what I normally do (as avid readers of this blog will know), I gathered up one of my friends who likes to travel (Matt) and we headed over the Illinois River (not the Peoria River) to get some ice cream (and add more bracketed comments to this paragraph for no reason). The location of Las Delicias is a bit of an odd one. Actually, those whole road of shops is not a greatly planned out area. You have all these shops along Main St but the parking situation leaves a lot to be desired. You usually have to hunt for a place to park and sometimes walk a small distance to your destination. I just wanted to put this in here as a warning should you want to venture down Main St. Matt and I found a place to park and headed in. Upon entering, we were greeted by a friendly cashier and shop that was small and felt homely (in a good way). This place truly felt like it was a family-owned. Matt and I browsed the handful of offerings and I was surprised by the flavors. Granted, this was over 5 years ago, so I don't remember the specifics and I failed to take a photo of what was being offered at the time. I grabbed some kind of strawberry ice cream while Matt got himself some flavor that I never heard of before. We paid for our ice cream desserts and headed out. I think there were a few chairs inside to sit but due to the small-sized of the restaurant, we opted to eat outside as we walked back to my car. I am a sucker for strawberry (and peanut butter) flavored treats. At this point in my life, I had quite a few different strawberry-flavored items but this one is the only one that instantly blew me away. Something about the quality of this dessert was unreal. It was far and above beyond anything you would find in the store unless you option for the expensive stuff. This stuff tasted homemade and had love in every scoop. I can't properly describe how much I loved this ice cream cone and how sad I was when it was gone. If you find yourself in Peoria and are on a circuit of trying out all the ice cream places, this one needs to be at the top of your list. You won't regret it. If you do go and you do regret it, lo siento. That's what life is all about though, right? Trying new things and seeing what the world has to offer.

Great variety it options, traditional and non-traditional flavors and very consistent in quality! I…read morelove going here for the yogurt cups and horchata as well!

Love this little place! Great ice cream and food. Very speedy service as well ever when they are…read morequite busy. Been going here for years

The best ice cream in Pekin, if you can get past the attitudes. After going to the Funeral home, to…read moremake arrangements to bury her father, we thought we would go here to get away from the craziness in our lives the past few days. When we arrived, the attitudes were short wicked and it looks like everyone hated their job. My wife was made out to be a dumb*** in front of everyone because she accidentally grabbed someone's Strawberry Shake instead of her Strawberry Shortcake. I won't be back, that was very embarrassing for my wife and put her in tears, she just can't get away from all this cruel crap. She just lost her father and just can't get a break

The ice cream was delicious, and the service was excellent! We were offered samples of multiple…read moreflavors without asking, and the employee was very friendly and informative. It is a little pricier than your average ice cream shop; however, these are unique homemade flavors, and I feel the price is deserving of this level of quality. As of my post, the cost is $7 per scoop or two scoops for $9. My husband chose the caramel brownie. I choose one scoop of Cookie Monster and one scoop of Starry Night. It was our first experience with this little shop, but it definitely won't be our last!

We wanted to try a local place for ice cream with the family, and decided to give this a try. We…read morewere not impressed at all! The lady behind the counter started out nice, but then got super annoyed when we couldn't make up our minds right away and when we asked to try a couple of different flavors. Every flavor is different than what you are used to, so we wanted to try some out before putting down $7 a scoop! We had 9 people in our group, and only one or two of us asked for two flavors to try (everyone else just wanted to try one flavor). She mumbled something strange like "I'm sorry. I can't give out any more flavors". Anyway-we ended up buying ice cream and sitting outside because it is stuffy inside. Overall-not a good experience. Can't even recommend the ice cream, because we ended up trying each other's flavors, and they all had a weird texture, and were not tasty at all. Would not recommend because of how we were treated, and we won't be returning.

Uncle Bobs has the BEST ice cream!! We usually buy it from Hyvee, but made a trip to the motherland…read more(aka the storefront in Eureka). It's a cute little store with indoor and outdoor seating and a drive through. The employees were friendly and helpful. They gave my dog a pup cup which was so thoughtful!!

Review Visit: April 1st, 2015…read more Good ol' Uncle Bob. He is the Uncle you never hear of. But when you do, you love him. Well, that's how I feel about Uncle Bob's Homemade Ice Cream. I discovered this place while grabbing coffee in Eureka, IL. Oh boy, was it a good discovery. I sampled a few ice creams and loved each one. Conveniently when I was there, they also had dollar hot dogs! So between amazing ice cream and cheap hot dogs, I was in heaven. If you love ice cream and haven't visited Uncle Bob's, do yourself a service and go try some! The do sell Uncle Bob's ice cream at some local eateries, so keep your eyes peeled if you can't make it to the Eureka location.