Philadelphia Water Ice appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Philadelphia water ice · Philadelphia
Fine-grained Italian-style flavoured ice, sold from corner stores and stands across the city from April through September. Lemon, cherry, mango, blue raspberry.
Water ice, called wooder ice in the local accent, is Philadelphia's signature warm-weather sweet. Italian immigrants brought granita to the city in the late 19th century; the South Philly version was refined to a smoother, finer-grained texture using shaved (rather than crushed) ice, sugar syrup and fruit. Rita's Italian Ice opened in 1984 in Bensalem and grew the format into a regional chain, but the canonical reference is Pop's Homemade Italian Ice on Oregon Avenue, run by the Pop Italiano family since 1932. Lemon is the founding flavour; cherry, mango and blue raspberry the modern variations. Stands open on the first warm day in April and close after Labor Day. Eaten standing on the sidewalk with a small paper cup and a wooden spoon.
Where to eat in Philadelphia:
- South 9th Street Italian Market