It was tough, but I finally got my hands on some Rosati’s Italian Ice. Every season, as soon as it feels even close to warm, the quest begins for seasonal water ice in the grocer’s. Some folks get their fill at Rita’s, as do I, but to me and mine the good stuff comes from a well established company out of Clifton Heights, PA. They’ve been around since 1912, and you have to have something on the ball to produce a product of this quality for 103 years. It’s classic. Yeah, it’s sugary, too. You know you want some.
The first week the ice was in stock at the Acme (or as some locals call it, the “ack-a-me”), shelves were barren. It took until Thursday for some stores to restock, and then I was able to find lemon and cherry, my second and third choices.
I go for the watermelon. And today it finally became mine.
It comes in a tall, foil sealed cup, and it provides spoons full of heaven. Sure beats frozen custard, especially if on your weekends you have been caught short and missed the Mister Softee truck for the billionth time (Eddie Murphy was right: I think they do speed up on some blocks), or they show up when you’ve just started cooking dinner.
Watermelon water ice. The ice in antiquity was snow retrieved from mountainous terrain and laced with honey to appease the rulers (the guys who fetched the stuff got to live to do it again). We get cups conveniently stored in freezer compartments in the “ack-a-me.” Little matter: it’s still one of life’s simple pleasures and worth waiting for all winter.
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