Yesterday may have been one of the most beautiful days we will have all year. Seventy degrees, sunny and the fact it was March made it all the more special. It turned out that yesterday was also free Italian ice day at Rita's and you can see the line that went out the door.
I grew up eating Italian ices. Many of the little variety and grocery stores in Hartford had coolers with five or six flavors of ices. Some of the colors were extremely lurid and a small cup of cherry could leave my mouth red for hours. The cups were small and cost five or ten cents. New York still has some Italian ice stores, and frequently there are coolers in pizza parlors with ices. My favorite Italian ice store -- I can't remember what else they sell -- is in Queens and is called Lemon Ice King of Corona. The ices are delicious and well worth a trip to Corona. Yes, this is the same neighborhood Simon and Garfunkel crowned Rosie the Queen.
The ices were good at Rita's. I tried the Peep's flavor and it was a little too sweet for me, and decided to be a purist and go with lemon. My friend Lynda had mango and chocolate and I especially liked the mango. They do have a sugar free cherry and some fun flavors, which I will work my way through this summer. Is it as good as Lemon Ice King? Not as good, but still very good, and three blocks from my building. I think, however, that there may be a trip to Corona in the not so distant future, and yes, there will be pictures.
Wishes for a very sweet Sunday!
15 comments
Hi Buttercup, Is an Italian Ice, like ice cream or more like a snow cone????
I have often wondered, I do not think I have had one, gelato-YEs!!!!!Ice cream -yes!!But not that, it sounds so yummy and anything cool and sweet is a treat to me!!!!
hugs,
jamie
Wow - what a great marketing device - people will be flocking back to get more. Sounds delicious :)
Looks like the weather for an Italian Ice yesterday - what about today? We are cold and rainy! Most unusual year I can remember.
Think I'll try Rita's. Thanks.
sandie
We can get some Italian Ices in the freezer section of the grocery store sometimes and I was introduced to them by some very Italian friends years ago, but that is about the only place in my neighborhood that sells them. We had cold breezes off of Lake Erie here and the lake is only 33 so yesterday was a chilly one for us but today is a milder one and the sun is shining. Have a wonderful Sunday!
Thanks for sharing your ices with us !! they seemed to be delicious ...the photo's are also good. Can hardly believe you hot weather. when you think only about 3 weeks ago we were all beginning to think winter would never end..
Love sybil xx
Lemon would appeal to me the most....what a fun thing to have so close to your home, as summer progresses, you're bound to make many stops.
Your experiences are always so interesting.
I wonder where I could find Italian Ice in St Paul MN. You make it sound so tantalizing!
It would have been a good day for Italian Ices. You just have to do those things on a nice spring day, don't you!
I am so jazzed that Rita's is open...My personal favorite is the Root Beer with a second fav being pistachio believe it or not :)
I've never had such exotic flavors of Italian Ice. Chocolate ice sounds interesting, lol!
I've never heard of "Italian Ice". I wonder too if its like ice cream or snow cones. Apparently they are yummy and what a beautiful day to enjoy them!
That would make the day worth while ... yummy! Glad you all had such a grand time.
Happy spring!
Have a beautiful week.
TTFN~ Hugs, Marydon
Yummy reads delicious
Sounds like you had a "sweet" day ... now I'm passing on some sweetness to you on my blog ... check it out :-) Oh yea, and enjoy your weather, sounds like you northerners are finally seeing some nice weather.
Let me know when you plan a trip to the Ice King of Corona. I like to ride my bike there. Are there carp swimming in your bathtub yet?
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