Bopper's Italian Ice Adventure

Sometimes fate smiles upon you. I'm having axle (or drive shaft) issues with the Jeep. As a result, I brought it up to Endangered Species 4WD in Holyoke. These guys specialize in Jeeps and other off-road vehicles. That isn't the part where fate was smiling... unless you like spending money on repairs. But, after dropping off the Jeep, I stood outside, waiting for my Uber. Along came this Spanish gentleman with his cart. I think you know where this story is going.

Unfortunately, Lemon wasn't available. I'm finding Lemon is not quite as popular outside the Italian community. Our friend, here, had a few options though. Mango, Watermelon, Rainbow, Cherry, and Pineapple. I chuckled a bit when he called it "Italian Ice Cream", but I hold no grudge. The Watermelon sounded intriguing, but I was craving tartness, so I opted for the Pineapple. You're not going to get top shelf stuff from one of these carts. But I was given a generous amount of product, and it was a bit warm out, so I was pleased as it did the trick quenching my thirst and cooling me down at the same time. So, while I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way for this, if a cart happened by me, I'd be happy to buy one.

Like I said, not the best stuff in the world. But, nice and cold, pretty convenient for my situation, and the Pineapple was quite pineappley (probably artificial though - but who knows?). I'm glad I made that choice. Pineapple makes for a good sour treat. You could almost say this covered two of the three S's - those being Sweet and Sour - and it was very close in the Smooth category. As a result, I can honestly recommend it. If you see this guy, or one of his colleagues, walking around, give them a shot. You'd also be helping a small business owner in the process.

Until next time! 🇮🇹🍋🧊

Do you know what this is?

Pizza Makers on Allen Street near Allen & Cooley is attempting to replicate the pizza from Ernest Bakery on St. James Avenue in East Springfield. Ernie’s was a bakery that sold a sheet pan pizza that was unlike any other pie in the area. Unfortunately, the owner retired and they closed in the mid ‘80s. A Subway resides in the former location. 😐

The new owners of Pizza Makers are trying to duplicate this masterpiece and I was fortunate enough to try a piece today. Now this isn’t Italian Ice, but it certainly is Italian - and this was delicious. If I’m being 100% honest, I can’t remember *exactly* how Ernie’s Pizza tasted 40 years ago, but I believe this is pretty damn close. The staff at Pizza Makers are tinkering around with this recipe to make it as close to perfect as possible. I, for one, applaud their efforts.

Whether you remember the old Ernie’s and want some nostalgia or you were born this century and want to try something historic, when this makes their menu full-time, I strongly suggest you give it a try.

Until next time! 🇮🇹🍋🧊

The other day, I was talked into playing Pickleball. I’d never played before but assumed it would t be too challenging… however, it was also 92° and quite muggy out. So, after sweating through my clothes and being reminded that I hadn’t written one of these in a while, I decided to stop at La Fiorentina in East Longmeadow to cool off!

These guys do a nice job. If you recall from the last visit there, they use a margarita machine to keep the Ice churning. The constant rotation of this machine keeps the Italian Ice nice and smooth. When you see the thing, you might be fooled into thinking it’s cheap, gritty slush you find at Cumbys or 7-Eleven. It certainly is not. This is the real deal. Smooth, sweet, and sour (the three S’s). And if they aren’t using real ingredients, they sure got me fooled.

Point is, it’s freakin hot - has been for a week or two. If your AC isn’t functioning in your vehicle, you are likely extra miserable. I promise, stopping for a Lemon Ice will take the edge off. My only suggestion: don’t eat this while driving a manual transmission.

See you next time! 🇮🇹🍋🧊

It has certainly been a long time, and everyone has been very patient along the way - but we’re back! Extreme weather patterns aside, (it’s been ice cold and blazing hot the past few months) things are warming up again, so it’s appropriate that we get back on track.

I had some business in Connecticut today and it reminded me of Rita’s in Vernon. After I took care of what I had to do, I stopped at Frank Pepe’s in Manchester for a Tomato Pie, but that’s another story… afterwards, I hit Rita’s for some Italian Ice. First thing I noticed was all the lemon zest. You know it’s the real deal when you see zest. If you recall, we’d ranked Rita’s on the top two when we did the extensive research a while back - and they haven’t missed a beat. Excellent texture, excellent flavor, excellently refreshing. If you’re in that area, make a stop!

There are some interesting spots on the to-visit list, so we’re excited to get back out there. Stick around and find out what’s next!! See you next time! 🍋🇮🇹🧊

Hey strangers! So, certainly not Italian Ice, but I do love a good burger. When McDonald’s released a new one, I had to jump on it. The Big Arch was scheduled for a March 3 release here in the United States (it was avaliable in other select countries for some time), but has arrived at some locations early. What is this thing? Short answer, it’s a modified Double Quarter Pounder. If we look deeper, we see that it is two quarter pound patties with three slices of White Cheddar, shredded lettuce, pickles, slivered onions, crispy onions, and a new Arch Sauce, on a sesame and poppy seed bun.

Any good? Yeah. I enjoyed it. It was nearly ten bucks, but I enjoyed it. It’s a substantial burger that does its job. The Arch Sauce seems to be a ketchup/mustard blend with pickle relish involved. It’s tangy, sweet, and creamy. The burger patties are what you expect from McD’s… Lettuce and pickle are a nice touch. There are two types of onions. I’m not a fan of raw onion on my burgers though, so I eliminated those. But I did get the crispy onions - they were an unusual addition and added crunch, however, I’d probably not get them again. As for cheese, the White Cheddar was an interesting substitution. Good for McDonald’s for trying something different. But the truth is, despite its bad reputation, American Cheese is the best cheese for a cheeseburger. It melts without separating. Most other cheeses do not. Cheddar remains a little stiff, not melty like American. But the bun was quite good. You wouldn’t think sesame and poppy seeds would make much of a difference, but somehow, they do.

My verdict? It’s good. Would I get it again? Maybe - but ten bucks is pretty steep for a fast food burger. If you have my tastes, you’re better off with the Double Quarter Pounder. It has less bells and whistles but it’s an unapologetically simple, quite beefy, burger. Or, refer to my previous McDonald’s post where I discuss my custom hack “The Quad” - which is essentially two Double Cheeseburgers put together. It’s an affordable option, especially with McDonald’s current Buy One Get One For $1 promotion. You can get away with a similar creation to the Arch or QPC for about half the price.

We still have snow, but Summer is coming! We’ll be enjoying Italian Ice before you know it. See you next time. 🇮🇹🍋🧊

It has certainly been a while! For obvious reasons, we’re not going to be talking about Italian Ice today… not after the Blizzard of ‘26 and nighttime lows of -5°. Today, we’re going to talk about Subway. More specifically, the new Protein Wraps at Subway. Spoiler alert: I was not impressed.

I was excited to try these. I really was. I’ve been on a mostly ketogenic diet for a few years now (Italian Ice among the obvious exceptions), so something low carb that I could get on the go was right up my alley. Subway offers four types of Protein Wraps: Baja Chicken, Italian Trio, Peppercorn Ranch Chicken, and Turkey & Ham for the low-low price of $3.99 - I opted for the Italian Trio.

Complaint #1: You can’t add any veggies to this thing. Back when I was younger, and Subway was new to us, I’d go to the one at the X in Springfield because I thought it was so cool that I could add veggies local grinder shops didn’t offer - like black olives and jalapeños. But if you want to get your choice of veggies on a Protein Wrap, you’re going to be disappointed. It comes the way it comes. No substitutions. I imagine they’d leave something off for you but don’t expect to add something.

Complaint #2: This thing is *small*. I can appreciate the low-low price of $3.99, but one of these will not get you very far. And what’s worse, Complaint #3 is that the wrap has very little substance to it. Small amounts of meat and one slice of cheese was the extent of the much hyped protein. Lettuce, tomato, some banana peppers, and a Garlic Aioli filled this thing out.

Complaint #4: I might be nitpicking, but to me, the Protein Wrap should be more convenient to eat in the car. It wasn’t horribly sloppy, but it wasn’t neat either. I was super excited about having a handheld wrap to work on while I drove to wherever it was that I was going but this didn’t fit the bill. I imagine typical people eat when they aren’t driving, but I am not typical people.

Let me tell you, I really *wanted* to like these. I really did. But it’s just not worth your time. My plan was to try all four of these. But I was really irked we can’t add veggies, so I no longer have any interest. Subway has been declining (drastically) in recent years and this attempt at both something affordable and low carb missed the mark on both counts. Getting food on the go has become near-impossible today. Fast food is no longer fast. It’s no longer cheap. And it’s no longer good. I’m disappointed in most fast foot joints these days and Subway is no exception… in fact, Subway is at or near the top of my list for disappointing food. If you’re going to spend what Subway is charging, do yourself a favor, go to a nice locally owned pizza or grinder shop. You may want to order ahead if you’re in a rush but it’s worth it in countless ways. You probably won’t spend more than you would have at Subway and the meal will be immeasurably superior.

Stay warm, my friends and I hope to be back with some better reviews soon!