Rita's has arrived in San Diego! The east coast chain is in the process of opening locations all over San Diego. When I say all over, I mean
all over including locations in Scripps, Mira Mesa, Santee, Clairemont, Bay Park...the list goes on and on. They are opening a total of
70 locations. This is not new news but we finally had the chance to visit the Rancho Penasquitos location. My verdict? It doesn't even begin to compare with the beloved OC institution that is
Joe's Italian Ice. I'm not just saying that because I am from OC either. I'm sure the original Rita's is awesome but when special stand alone shops become a chain, something is always lost in the translation and flavors tend to get watered down or lose their originality. It's like comparing Katz's Deli to Subway, there is just no comparison. Rita's offers a wide range of flavors and it was tough to decide which ones we would try but we definitely avoided anything with the words "Starburst" next to it. In the end Tuan and I ordered mango and passionfruit gelatis and we enjoyed them outside on the patio. Not going to lie, I was disappointed. Tuan declared that it's not
that bad and he's right but when you've had Italian ice with fresh fruits and know what good Italian ice tastes like you can't help but be disappointed.
[PQ storefront]
[Our gelatis. The workers really need to work on their swirl.]
[Parker was more interested in the fountain than the Italian ice. Here he is trying to be sneaky about putting his hands in the water.]
