When Rita’s moved near the Giant on Park Road, I was thrilled. The shop is part of the Philadelphia chain, formerly Rita’s Water Ice (Whutter Ice), and reminded me of sticky nights in South Philly. They dispense a tasty—-if one dimensional and overly sugary—-frozen treat that translates well to D.C.’s even stickier summer nights.
I didn’t realize then that they already had another D.C. location (still new here, I know that excuse won’t last long), at 2318 Rhode Island NE. Is Rita’s trying to take over the world, I thought?
Now they have a shop taking shape on the ground floor of Mint, the bougie gym at Florida and 18th. First of all, the stoop-snack shop seems a little out of place parked under a gym that hands out mint-scented towels in the locker room. How about a branch of that schmancy gelateria in Georgetown? Even as a Philly fan, this is just overload. If we’re gonna keep importing icy confections from up north, I vote for Tasti-D-Lite. Yeah, their “low calorie” claims were debunked. But their “lower calorie” specs will still satisfy the odd “I don’t care that it actually doesn’t taste very good” craving for a cold dessert.