Philadelphia's Water Ice

As I was on a mission trip in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last week, I got the opportunity to try many cultural dishes and some of Philly's favorites. I tried soft pretzels with mustard, Philly cheesesteaks and my personal favorite of the whole week: water ice. If you've never heard of water ice, it's basically the same thing as Italian shaved ice, but creamier and more flavorful. 

Throughout the week, my mission team and I tried water ice at least once everyday in between our mission sites. Some of us tried a new flavor every day, while others stuck with their favorites. I tried mango, coconut, Pina colada, and passionfruit, all super delicious and the perfect treat for cooling down before going off to the next place to do work. 

We not only stopped at the same place for water ice, but two different places. We ate most of our water ice at the porch of one lady's house because she had a business that sold the cold treat for 50¢ a cup. My favorite kind from her variety of flavors was mango which was extremely refreshing for the weather being super humid. We ended up trying all of the flavors when the week was done and even tried the gelati, which is a combination of two flavors. My group and I also tried water ice a few times from King's which many Philadelphians claim to be the best restaurant in Philly. Their coconut cream flavor is a fan favorite among all ages and uses real coconut to flavor the ice. 

Philadelphia is a beautiful city, culturally and scenically. I enjoyed every minute of it, and had a fun time trying new foods that are famous and held very dearly to the people that live in Philly. It was a wonderful experience that included helping the people struggling in the city, and running the Rocky Steps all in one trip!