Reader Bites: Bean pie ice cream (two ways) at Shawn Michelle’s

Reader Bites celebrates dishes, drinks, and atmospheres from the Chicagoland food scene. Have you had a recent food or drink experience that you can’t stop thinking about? Share it with us at fooddrink@chicagoreader.com .

It’s a mood. Sometimes you want it easy. Sometimes you want it rough. About a dozen years ago, I wrote about the Nation of Islam’s iconic bean pie , a custardy pastry made from white navy beans, as prescribed by the late Nation leader Elijah Muhammad, and sold on street corners for decades along with copies of the Final Call . The pies themselves are terrific, a bit like pumpkin or sweet potato with a buttery crust and warming fall spices—except wholesome and life-extending, according to Muhammad.*

But research led me down a side path. I began going through pints