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Ice, ice, baby. Every New Yorker has an Italian ice hill they’re willing to die on — forget pizza, bagels or chopped cheese. When the mercury hits 90 degrees, loyalties turn frozen.
The rivalry isn’t just about dessert. It’s about neighborhood pride.
Italian ice — inspired by Sicily’s granita and brought to America by Italian immigrants more than a century ago — has been a Big Apple summer ritual, like Mister Softee jingles and fire hydrants blasting open, for generations.
For today’s Gothamites, grabbing one of these tongue-tingling treats isn’t about chasing a trendy dessert — it’s about honoring tradition, ideally after a day at the beach, or a walk around the block on a steamy night.
The Post scoured the five boroughs to come up with five legendary neighborhood faves — try one or all of them before summertime runs out.
The Godfather: Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices
Across the Verrazzano, the Staten Island Italian ice icon has been cooling off New Yorkers for nearly a century.
At Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices, the modest corner shop at 501 Port Richmond Ave. isn’t just another neighborhood dessert stop — it’s the birthplace of one of New York’s most recognizable Italian ice brands.
The business traces its roots back to 1928, when founder Ralph Silvestro immigrated from Naples and began making Italian ice by hand in his Staten Island garage before selling it from a truck around the borough. In 1949, he opened the Port Richmond storefront that still operates today.
“My grandfather Ralph Silvestro came here to Staten Island from Naples, Italy as a young man and started making Italian ice in his house’s garage, the old-fashioned way,” co-owner Larry Silvestro told The Post.
Silvestro said Ralph’s continues to make its fruit flavors with real cane sugar and real fruit, including lemons, oranges, mangoes, guava, cantaloupe and strawberries — a tradition dating back to his grandfather’s earliest “granita” recipes.
While the company has expanded to more than a dozen locations across New York City and beyond, the original Staten Island shop remains the beating heart of the business.
That hometown loyalty hasn’t faded.
Devyn Kern, 24, of Gramercy Park, called Ralph’s “one of the most tried and true Italian ice spots in the city,” praising its friendly staff, huge selection and loyal following. Her go-to order? Cotton candy water ice.
“There’s truly something for everyone there, which makes it a solid go-to spot for a sweet treat. Not only is it extremely consistent, but the staff is always so friendly and patient — especially for people like me wanting to sample a bunch of flavors before deciding,” she told The Post.
Jeffrey Meza, 31, of Flushing, Queens, said he loves that Ralph’s is “everywhere in New York,” making it an easy stop across the city whenever temperatures climb.
“No matter what part of the city I’m in, there’s usually one nearby, so it’s become my go-to any time it’s hot out,” he told The Post. “The ice itself is amazing, consistent every single time,” he added. “My order is always Rainbow, because it’s a mix of different flavors, so I never get bored of it.”
For Silvestro, though, the magic is still found back where it all started.
“On a hot day, that’s what you say here on Staten Island, ‘Let’s go get an Italian ice,’ and luckily, people say that and come to Ralph’s,” he said.
The franchise favorite: Uncle Louie G’s
But not every Italian ice icon began in a Staten Island garage.
What started as one Brooklyn kid’s neighborhood hustle has grown into a frozen dessert empire with more than 60 locations — all while keeping its old-school roots intact.
The brand’s namesake, Louie G., began making homemade Italian ices and ice cream as a young Brooklynite, selling his creations directly to neighbors before opening the first Uncle Louie G’s storefront on Coney Island Avenue.
The brand later expanded into a multi-state franchise operation while continuing to use its original recipes.
Today, Uncle Louie G’s has more than a dozen NYC locations, including its Prospect Park outpost at 157 Prospect Park Southwest, where Brooklynites and parkgoers flock for a sweet summer escape.
Ernie Aiello, director of operations at Uncle Louie G’s, told The Post that the company is proudly woman-owned, with his wife Melissa serving as president.
The couple first joined the Uncle Louie G’s franchise in 2010, eventually operating five locations before purchasing the company in 2023.
“Since taking over we have been working hard to rebrand the company and really become a recognizable name and a staple of the New York and New Jersey communities,” Aiello said.
For Aiello and his wife, Uncle Louie G’s is also a celebration of their own Italian-American New York heritage.
“My wife’s family migrated from Sicily to the Bronx and then up to Yonkers where she lived when I met her. My family migrated to East Harlem back in the 1920’s from Italy and eventually moved over to the Bronx where I was born and raised so we are native New Yorkers,” he said.
That neighborhood-first approach is exactly what keeps regulars coming back.
Evonne Gambrell, a longtime customer of the Prospect Park location, told The Post that the shop’s playground-side location makes it an easy family outing — and the rotating menu keeps things interesting.
She also praised the shop’s welcoming atmosphere, saying, “The people here are really nice and it’s always a very family-friendly experience.”
For Zach Zierlin, a frequent customer of the Windsor Terrace location, Uncle Louie G’s stands out for making every family member feel included.
“One of our sons has an allergy and they are always incredibly attentive to it,” Zierlin told The Post. “There aren’t many places where we can take him and feel safe and that he’ll be taken care of.”
The flavor king: The Lemon Ice King of Corona
Queens has its own frozen crown jewel: The Lemon Ice King of Corona.
The tiny shop has been dishing out Italian ice since 1944, when founder Nicola Benfaremo started selling homemade treats out of a garage before building what would become one of the borough’s sweetest institutions.
The Corona landmark became so iconic it even scored a cameo in the opening credits of “The King of Queens” — and more than 80 years later, the lines are still forming.
With roughly 50 flavors on the menu, adventurous customers can dig into everything from peanut butter to chocolate chip alongside old-school favorites like lemon.
“A lot of people are initially skeptical when they hear our flavors like peanut butter Italian ice, but then they taste it and change their minds. There’s a big following for flavors like that among our customers,” owner Michael Zampino told The Post.
Zampino, a Queens native born and raised in Corona, said the shop has “become part of the neighborhood’s tradition,” with families making it a must-stop after trips to nearby attractions like Flushing Meadows–Corona Park and Citi Field.
“We hear it all the time — people who grew up coming here are now bringing their own families, so we’ll have three or four generations coming in together,” he told The Post.
As frequent customer Bonnie Winston told The Post, “I was raised in Queens, New York, where one of life’s simple pleasures was a trip to the Lemon Ice King of Corona.”
“Sometimes, the best memories come from the most unpretentious places,” she said.
The Bronx hidden gem: Teresa’s Gourmet Italian Ices
Teresa’s Gourmet Italian Ices has spent nearly three decades turning first-time customers into regulars.
The small family-run shop has been serving homemade Italian ice that’s earned a fiercely loyal following, with customers returning for everything from old-school lemon and cherry to cannoli, cappuccino, birthday cake and peanut butter.
The menu has expanded over the years to include lactose-free and sugar-free Italian ice options as well as ice cream, brownies, cupcakes and coffee, but it’s the colorful cups of Italian ice that keep Bronxites lining up.
“All of the ices are homemade, we make them ourselves. We don’t buy them from anybody and that’s what makes them special,” owner Teresa Darmetta told The Post.
Among the biggest crowd-pleasers is the shop’s nostalgic “Lily with Nuts,” a creamy Italian ice flavored with vanilla, rum extract and toasted almonds that’s become increasingly difficult to find.
Born and raised just blocks away from her current location, Darmetta opened the shop in 1999 after spotting the available storefront next to a neighborhood pizzeria — a pairing she figured was a “natural match.”
“We started out almost 30 years ago and we started serving children, and now those same children have grown up and come in with their own children, so it’s been so special to serve different generations who all love Italian ice,” she told The Post.
Even customers who’ve long since left the borough still make pilgrimages back for a scoop of nostalgia — and, Darmetta said, often tell her they wish she’d “open a shop in their new hometown.”
“Even when people leave The Bronx and move out, they still make it a point to come back in to visit me for a creamy treat,” she said. “That means so much.”
Brooklyn’s best-kept freezer secret: Dolly’s Ices
Across the boroughs, smaller neighborhood favorites have earned equally devoted followings.
Located between a Dunkin’ and a gas station in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, Dolly’s Ices has built a fiercely loyal fan base the old-fashioned way: one neighborhood customer at a time.
The cash-only shop at 2317 Ralph Ave. has been a family-owned Brooklyn staple for 33 years, serving homemade-style Italian ices that have turned first-time visitors into lifelong regulars.
Now run by Canarsie native Nicky Rago and his mother Dolly, the low-key spot remains the kind of neighborhood institution Brooklynites proudly return to — and happily tell their friends about.
With its no-frills charm and cult following, Dolly’s proves that some of the city’s sweetest summer traditions aren’t always the flashiest — they’re the ones locals refuse to let disappear.
Popular documentary filmmaker Nicolas Heller (@newyornico) recently gave the Brooklyn favorite his seal of approval, calling Dolly’s “as quintessential family-owned as it gets” while highlighting flavors he deemed “bangers,” including spumoni, lemon ice, peanut butter & jelly and pancake & syrup.
Fans flooded the comments with their own nostalgic memories.
One follower wrote, “Classic Brooklyn staple!!!! I’ve been eating Dollys since I was kid. Only the real ones know.”
Another added, “I remember as a kid, me and my fam always went and got ices at their previous locations by kings plaza mall… never forget.”
When ice meets old-school Italian charm: Pasticceria Rocco
Manhattan’s Italian ice tradition comes with a side of cannoli.
At Greenwich Village institution Pasticceria Rocco, the frozen treat is a seasonal surprise tucked inside a decades-old Italian bakery.
The Bleecker Street staple makes its Italian ices fresh in-house each summer, serving classic flavors like lemon, cherry and pistachio alongside its famous ricotta-filled cannoli, pastries, cakes and gelato.
Founded by Rocco Generoso, who arrived from Italy in 1957 and worked his way from dishwasher to head pastry chef before taking over the bakery, Rocco’s has preserved the southern Italian traditions of his hometown of Amantea, Calabria, for more than 50 years.
Food blogger Soe Kabbabe recently named Rocco’s Italian ice among the city’s best, praising the bakery’s old-school charm and noting that “the experience is as important as the flavor.”
She highlighted the shop’s signature pairing of “cold, fruit-forward Italian ice” with a rich cannoli or espresso — a combination that proves Rocco’s isn’t just serving dessert, it’s serving a little slice of Italian New York nostalgia.
Tripadvisor reviewer Kristin C. admitted she was surprised by the Bleecker Street bakery’s icy offering, writing, “You wouldn’t expect a bakery to have the best Italian Ice but boy does this place do it right!”
After returning twice just for another taste of the lemon ice, she praised Rocco’s as a must-stop for both its old-school baked goods and its seasonal frozen treat.
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