RALPH’S ITALIAN ICES

Address: 607 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, NJ 07738

Ralph’s is an Italian ice place in Lincroft that I’ve been to a few times in the past year with friends of mine, and the other day we stopped by to grab something to chill out. It’s got a really convenient location, especially near some of the restaurants in the area and you can definitely just walk over after a meal or something. A great stop during the summer when the weather is nice outside.

The place has a really large selection of stuff; I felt like I was walking up to the ice cream truck and I see all of the different things plastered on the wall, not really knowing what to choose. Ralph’s offers a ton of stuff, from ices to ice cream to shakes, and they have a ton of different flavors for them too. I went ahead and got a Twister (layered ice cream, Italian ice, and ice cream) with vanilla ice cream and cookie dough ice. I thought it tasted really great, as the flavor and consistency of both things were on point. The cup was overflowing with ice cream and it was dripping everywhere. Luckily, we ate at a table that they had on the side and I just plopped it down on there, dripping into the grass. Like I’ve mentioned in a previous review, I’m a fan of dessert places such as this. Even though Ralph’s has a lot of different flavors, I’m pretty confident that most (if not all) of them are pretty darn good.

Here are my rankings for Ralph’s:

Food: 4.5 / 5
Taste was great, texture was great, really refreshing. Great combinations to choose from on the menu too.

Atmosphere: ~
There is a small area on the side of the shop with tables that you can sit down at to enjoy your dessert.

Service: 5 / 5
The girl in the stand was really quick at making our desserts.

Price: 4 / 5
The prices are very reasonable and comparable to the other dessert places in the area. I think my dessert might have been a bit on the more expensive side since it is considered one of their specialty items.

Overall: 13.5 / 15 (90%)

LIGHTHOUSE ITALIAN ICE

Address: 64 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank, NJ 07701

There’s just always something about dessert shops that makes me want to head over and try it out. Especially now that it’s summer, there’s no better time to enjoy some nice, cold dessert outside in the beautiful weather. The night after we went to Pizza Fusion for dinner, my friends and I decided to stop by at Lighthouse. When the weather gets nice, this place gets packed. The parking area behind the stand was completely full, and some people were even parking right alongside on the street just to grab some dessert. But for the italian ice, it’s well worth it.

Lighthouse specializes in italian ice, as the name would suggest, and they have a large variety of flavors there, including peanut butter, root beer, cherry, pistachio, and pineapple to name a few. You can get their frozen desserts in a cup or a cone, but I always prefer the cup because it’s easier to hold without worrying about it falling and I feel like I get more dessert sometimes. I went with a half peanut butter italian ice, half vanilla ice cream combo, although you can choose just one solid flavor of something if you’d like as well. The peanut butter / vanilla really worked, and it was especially refreshing in the 80 degree weather we were having. You can make a lot of different combinations from their dessert offerings, but they really make all of their offerings pretty well, so don’t be hesitant to be a bit adventurous.

Here are my rankings for Lighthouse:

Food: 5 / 5
The flavors were wonderful and there are so many to choose from!

Atmosphere: ~
This is just a stand at a street intersection, so you do get to see quite a bit of cars (we saw two racing Ferraris, quite a rare sight for sure). There are a few tables outside where you can sit and enjoy your dessert.

Service: 5 / 5
The girl in the stand was really nice and was expeditious in preparing our italian ices and ice creams.

Price: 4 / 5
As far as desserts go, my large cup size ran me a solid $3.50. It is a bit more expensive, but it is comparable to some of the other local italian ice chains locally as well. One thing to note: Lighthouse is cash only.

Overall: 14 / 15 (94%)