March 20, 2008
Welcome Spring: Free Rita's Italian Ice Today
“Madness” is in the air, Google’s homepage has flowers, and the first of summer treat giveaways has begun – it must be spring. In its 16th annual celebration of the first day of spring, Rita’s ItalianWater Ice is giving away free 10 oz. cups of Italian ice all day today.
BrightestYoungThings has a great rundown of Rita’s 30+ flavors and other desserts. Be forewarned, it's opinionated and subject to debate (or flame wars, since we are on the internets). But I must agree, Mango is the best flavor.
Though not as ubiquitous as other chains, a Rita’s shouldn’t be too far. D.C. has three locations at Tivoli Square in Columbia Heights, on Florida Ave. near Adams Morgan, and on Rhode Island Ave. NE. Use this tool to find other locations.
We expect to see many red, blue, and green tongues today.
Photo by ratterrell
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Warning: Consuming Rita's Water Ice may cause addiction.
FWIW, Philadelphia Water Ice (1204 H St NE) re-opened last weekend. They also have damn tasty cheesesteaks there.
i'm not going to debate what the best rita's flavor is, but the fact that there are real chunks of fruit in the 'woodderice' makes me very happy.
Actually, Rita's isn't in the Tivoli Square building in Columbia Heights, it's in the Park Triangle by Pollo Campero. I'll be there tonight!
I highly recommend combining your Rita's water ice with rum. Maybe not in March though.
Isn't it called Rita's Water Ice, not Rita's Italian Ice? Or maybe that's just what we called it back in South Jersey.
I know in Philly this is called "Water Ice." In fact, according to Wikipedia:
My friends that grew up in Philly were raving about Philly Water Ice. We went to their favorite shop and I noted that it tasted just like Rita's. Learn from my mistake, people. I swear to you when I say that I'm lucky to be alive today.to chime in, it is most definitely water ice and not italian ice.
I first had it in Philly, so I call it water ice. It's no secret that to pretty much anybody else in the world, it's Italian ice.
Even though I call it water ice, I readily admit that "water ice" doesn't even make sense. It's clearly not water, and it's barely even ice.
The nonsensical name is part of its charm!
"Italian Ice" makes me think of those rock-hard frozen cups my grandparents used to give us. It took hours to chisel though it with a spoon. You could microwave it to soften it up, but then it's not as fun.
it's definitely 'wooder-ice'
Philadelphia Water Ice on H is pretty good. Never tried the cheesesteaks. Used to be quite the aggressive panhandlers there, but the Water Ice girls somehow managed to chase them off. Possibly with bribes of Water Ice.
I'm glad I don't have to spend my money cash on the water ice. There's one near my home house.
those who are knocking it don't know what the hell they're missing. ingrates...
The Rita's in Aspen Hill was CLOSED arond 7:50 last night, so no freebies. I THOUGHT THEY WERE ALL SUPPOSED TO BE OPEN TILL 9 LAST NIGHT ???
I went to the Rita's in Adams Morgan last night and not only was my mango water ice fantastic, but the people that work their are ridiculously nice. And unlike a lot of Rita's which are often just take out window store fronts, this one has a lot of room inside including a sizable seating area.
Oh, and a friend got the Birthday Cake flavor. It tastes just like an ice form of a vanilla cake covered in icing. So. Good.