Rita’s: ice, custard, happiness

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If you like Italian ice or custard then Rita’s is the place for you. They combine the goodness of both delicious treats in one cup. Talk about tasty.

Rita’s is a dessert place that has nothing but Italian ice and custard. They have a variety of flavors of each and the customers have a chance to create their favorite flavor by choosing one of each.

Their promise to each of their guests, which is what they consider their customers to be, is their slogan “Ice. Custard. Happiness.”

Their number one selling treat is called Gelati. Your custard flavor is placed on the bottom, then the Italian ice of your choice, and topped off with another layer of custard. Since you can choose two different flavors, it gives almost unlimited options to choose from.

When I tried this item, I combined vanilla custard with black cherry Italian ice. The two together created a fantastic combination of fruity and sweet.

I love ice cream, but it is often heavy and I feel like I probably should not have had so much basically every time I eat it. This treat was light and felt healthier than ice cream while still being a great dessert.

I loved the combination of the custard and Italian ice so I tried the Blendini, which is similar to Dairy Queen’s Blizzard. They blend your choice of custard and Italian ice with a topping. Like the Gelati, there are almost unlimited options to choose from since you choose a custard, Italian ice and topping.

I chose pumpkin cream ice, which is a creamier version of Italian ice, and vanilla custard with Heath pieces mixed in. I love pumpkin and this was a great fall treat. I liked how the pumpkin was not too overpowering with the combination of the vanilla custard.

Between the two, I liked the Gelati best. I can see why it is their number one selling menu item!

Other menu options include: frozen custard in a cup, cone, or a sundae with unlimited toppings, Italian ice, a milkshake made with custard, custard cookie sandwiches made with Oreo, frozen custard cakes, and a Misto, which is like a Blendini just without a topping mixed in.

There are over 70 flavors of Italian ice, though they are unable to offer all of them every day. Instead, they have a rotation to provide variety.

Rita’s has an app where you can sign up for Cool Alerts to be notified when your local Rita’s has your favorite flavors. In the app, there is also an online punch card so that you can receive rewards without the hassle of carrying around a paper card.

Located right off the I-15 exit at American Fork Main Street, your favorite combination of Italian ice and custard is just 15 minutes away from UVU.

Rita’s started back in 1984 on the front porch of Bob Tumolo in Philadelphia. He named his little Italian ice shop after his wife, Rita. Tumolo and his mother, Elizabeth, created their own formulation of Italian ice that was made fresh daily with fruit. What was not sold after 36 hours, he threw out to ensure each serving was fresh.

Now they have almost 500 locations across the United States, including two in Utah in American Fork and Midvale.