{Sweet Treats} Ralph's Famous Italian Ices now in Manhattan!

mmm...Ralph's Creme Ices

Forget being a kid in a candy store. For me, with the weather here in NYC being so hot, I'd rather be a girl in an ice cream store.  Thanks to Ralph's Famous Italian Ices, I got to live out that dream and tried a myriad of different Italian ices.

Ralph's Famous Italian Ices storefront

My friends who grew up in Long Island were so excited to hear that Ralph's Famous Italian Ices had opened a location in Manhattan.  I met with Stacy, the Director of Operations for this location, who told me how they completely turned a one bedroom apartment into their Italian ice storefront.  Can you imagine if your neighbor moved out and an ice cream shop moved right in?   

ooh Mango Water Ice...

Since I love almost all flavors of ice cream, Stacy started my private tasting with a few of her favorite water ices.  Water ices contain no dairy and pretty refreshing. 

Cotton Candy Water Ice on top of a trio of fruity ices

My favorite water ice that I tried was the Mango - to me it tasted like real fruit. I appreciated the playful Cotton Candy water ice, especially since it wasn't as sweet as I expected.  Overall, my preference are the fruit flavors.

Spumoni and Tiramisu Creme Ices

Since my half-Italian husband could not make the tasting in time, I took one for the team and tried a few flavors he might have liked (essentially every Italian dessert we've enjoyed at family gatherings).

My husband loves 7 layer cake (those pretty Italian almond cake with pink, yellow, green layers with chocolate) so it was fitting that my favorite creme ice ended up being the Rainbow Cookie Creme Ice.  It was eery how this creme ice tasted like a cold version of those colorful cookies. 

I could easily see why Ralph's has been a nostalgic favorite. With so many different flavors, and a very affordable price point ($3 small, $3.50 medium, $4.25 large), Ralph's Famous Italian Ices will bring out the kid in anyone.  Open daily from noon-11pm, cash only.