Be Cool, Eat a Rita's

"Everybody want to be cool/everybody wants to be happy/everybody wants to put a smile on their face - real fruit, real fresh- the ice is Rita's"

It was already a balmy 60 degrees before I left the house this morning, and while I was getting ready to leave I saw a report on Rita's, a franchise which offers "ices, cones, shakes and other cool stuff." GLORIOUS!

Back in the dirty jeerz - we used to buy the hell out of this stuff. When I was younger (before Rita's hit the scene) we used to beg my mom to stop by the Seven Eleven on the way home from the beach to buy us all Slurpees. We usually succeeded (mom had a sweet tooth for the Coke flavored Slurpee) - ah, the glory days.

Rita's became popular right around the time that I was old enough to drive (or at least get rides from older friends), but not yet old enough to do anything "cool" like go to the bars, etc. Rita's became the destination/hangout for nightly hooligan antics. We used to buy a couple Italian Ices and drive down the road - lobbing them at the local 'hoods riding their bikes with their friends on the handlebars. It was great fun.

Aside from being the perfect thing to pelt locals with, Rita's Ices are fantastic! I've tried my share of Italian Ices, but nothing compares to Rita's Italian Ice and Custard....oh, sweet mother of god - it's that good.

The first Rita's Ice of year marks the onset of spring. I'm not sure how long this beautiful weather is going to hold out, but I think I might just head on over and pick one up...bikers beware!