Our Favorite Rita's Italian Ice Flavor Is Bold And Balanced

We love digging into a fresh pint of ice cream as much as the next person. But if you're looking to switch up your frozen dessert du jour, Rita's is a tasty alternative. Here you'll find Italian ice, which is a sweet and primarily fruity dessert, along with creamy frozen custard, gelati (which combines the two in layers), gelati blenders (which blend the two up together), milkshakes, and more.

As mouth-watering as all of these treats are, there is one that reigns supreme — in our opinion, at least. In our ranking of Rita's Italian ice flavors, we dubbed wild black cherry the best. It consists of flavored, blended ice, of course, but also plenty of real cherry chunks, which create a nice textural change from other varieties. Plus, these cups have a deeper, more robust flavor than the classic cherry option. But the real cherry on top is the balance of tastes you'll get in each spoonful, which never veers too sweet or too sour. However, keep in mind that most Rita's locations are only open from March to September, so you may have to wait for the warmer months to roll around to get your hands on these cups.

If you're looking for other delicious cherry-flavored treats at Rita's, you don't have to stop at the plain wild black cherry Italian ice. The regular cherry flavor ranked 11th on our list (although it's the chain's second-most popular flavor), partially due to its artificial taste — but it's not terrible, and if you enjoy other cherry candies and desserts that don't contain the actual fruit, you may like it. You can also test out the Zombie's Blood flavor, which combines wild black cherry and regular cherry, or Rita's cherry lemonade or cherry limeade. 

There are also a few ways to switch up your order of the wild black cherry Italian ice. Request a gelati with the flavor and vanilla frozen custard, which will give you the best of all three notes — sweetness, tartness, and creaminess. Or, try the cheesecake or chocolate frozen custard flavors for extra richness reminiscent of cherry cheesecake or black forest cake. If you're not a fan of this fruit, you can also try Rita's mango Italian ice (alone or with a vanilla frozen custard), which is the chain's most popular flavor. But if you avoid any variety, we'd recommend skipping the mint chocolate cream ice, as the icy texture doesn't go well with the mint chocolate notes.