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If you needed a compelling argument to leave your home and ride the “L” this summer, here’s one: ice cream.
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Logan Square favorite Pretty Cool Ice Cream has teamed up with the Chicago Transit Authority for a limited-edition collection of frozen pops inspired by four of the city’s most recognizable train lines. Available July 3 through August 31 at Pretty Cool’s shop (2353 N California Ave), the collaboration is equal parts transit nerd bait and peak Chicago summer.
The lineup is exactly as playful as you’d hope. The Brown Line becomes a cookies-and-cream pop dipped in chocolate with brown sprinkles. The Orange Line gets the tropical treatment with mango passionfruit ice cream inside an orange-flavored shell. The Blue Line, naturally, is a Blue Moon pop coated in vanilla, while the Red Line transforms into strawberry-coated tres leches cake ice cream. They’re cute, colorful and, unlike your usual commute, unlikely to leave a bad taste in your mouth.
“Chicago summers are all about finding joy in the little moments, and few things are more nostalgic than hopping on the train and grabbing an ice cream to cool down on a hot day,” Pretty Cool Ice Cream cofounder Dana Cree said in a statement.
The collaboration also has a charitable side. A portion of proceeds from every CTA-inspired pop will benefit the CTA Holiday Food Train, the agency’s annual program that delivers food baskets to families across Chicago during the holiday season. Since 1992, the initiative has helped more than 11,900 families.
If you’d rather not pay at all, wait for Sunday, July 19. To celebrate National Ice Cream Day, Pretty Cool and the CTA will hand out free pops at select CTA stations around the city. The locations and times haven’t been announced yet, so keep an eye on both organizations’ social media.
Chicago loves turning its civic identity into merch, but this might be one of the tastiest examples. And unlike standing on a crowded platform in July, these train lines are actually designed to help you cool off.