I am coming clean here: I am not a huge water ice fan. Also: I pronounce it “wooder ice” because I am from Philly and that’s what we do. Anywho, ever since I was a little kid, I always thought water ice was a cheap replacement for ice cream, just like sprinklers were a cheap replacement for a pool or Hostess products were a cheap replacement for Tastykakes. Was I a snobby kid? Nah. But it is true, while I won’t run away from water ice, I am not a huge fan.

So, while down the shore the other nite, I had my eye on a frozen custard from Kohr Brothers (side note: I never got there. boooo.) and my cousin Michele starts going on and on about this Polish Water Ice stuff. If it was almost anyone else, I would have blown them off but we both like to eat (she just has a better metabolism then me) so when she recommends, I tend to listen.

As I perused the menu, they have someone, who I guess is the owner, talking in a deadpan way on a loop about how you can try free samples (which I appreciated) and how they were featured on Food Network. What made me giggle was how they advertise “100% fat free, 100% cholesterol free, 100% dairy free, they don’t mention how much sugar and hfcs is in there. But, like I said in the above post, when on vacation, everything is good for ya.

"Polish Chiller"

I like anything cherry (“what? you dipped a tire in cherry? and it’s on fire? yes, please!”), so I knew I’d get that, but they offer this “Polish Chiller” which is like a Gelati from Rita’s: water ice and ice cream. However, this place only has vanilla ice cream, which I found bizarre. Details, details.

The soft serve tastes exactly like you’d like it to: soft, cold and vanilla-y. The water ice is silky smooth and very cherry. No cherry bits, but at least the flavor didn’t sink to the bottom and it held together for a good long time before melting, which was great too.

I don’t exactly know what makes it Polish. I am Polish (I run a pierogie biz) and we don’t have any secret water ice secrets, but I guess I’ll let that slide.

Would I recommend it? Sure. I had a plain cherry one the next day (sometimes kids order stuff then don’t want it. we wouldn’t want to waste would we?) and it was pretty good. Is it better then ice cream? No, but the smooth texture, and I mean smoooth….no chewing involved, no ice crunching, nothing, is a good sell. If you go, and there are locations all over, try all the flavors, they pride themselves on free samples. See which one you want and go to town.