If you are not from Rhode Island it may be hard for you to understand Autocrat Coffee Syrup, Sfogliatelle, Narragansett Ale, Clam Cakes, Haven Brothers, The Hill, Buddy Cianci, Joe Onions, Baby Shacks, The Saint, Cabinets, Raymond Patriarca (jr too), Constantino's Venda Ravioli, Cassertas Pizza, Modox (not Moxie), The Awful Awful and most of all Del's Lemonade.......
Shouldn't there be a location on The Hill for christ sakes...
Fahgeddaboudit.......Slurpin' this cool refreshing sour mixture of frozen lemonade, sugar and real lemon pieces sends you into a Tony Soprano like rant about how good Arti Bucco's hand-made Potato Gnocchi truly are............................! if you have never experienced Del's Lemonade, you must do so............. the history of Del's is deep rooted in RI history, purveying frozen lemonade since 1948.......... making several pilgrimages back to Providence to over indulge in killer Italian pastries and dough based foods, I always find myself on Atwell's Ave. staring over at the Piazza Depasquale to see the majority of the residents of 'The Hill' scurrying to kiss the hand of a 350lb. gray haired old Italian man with a tight fitting Armani suit, a sparkling diamond filled Rolex Presidential and two HUGE goons posted at each shoulder, guarding over every move the man makes........ this means that I am on 'The Hill'.............. where I was born, where I come back to time and again.............. having lived and worked on 'The Hill' for several years one never gets bored of this mob run sector of the city......... I am forever grateful I was born in Providence, even though we lived on a sprawling farm in Smithfield to live off of the land like true Italo-American immigrants.................... down on the farm........................ very similar to Great-Grandfather DeLucia who made the first Del's Lemonade in 1840, Naples Italy. During the winter he carried snow into nearby caves and insulated it with straw. When summer arrived and the world famous local Amalfi lemons were ripe and at the peak of their perfection, he would mix their juice with just the right amount of sugar and snow. Thus making the first Del's Lemonade that he would sell at the local Farmer's Market. Fruit ices are very popular in Europe, yet none is more loved than the concoctions made from fresh Amalfi lemon juice...... Grandfather Franco Delucia brought his fathers recipe to America at the turn of the century. Angelo Delucia, his son, began work on a machine to produce the frozen lemonade, and the method of making it a consistently excellent product. In 1948 Del's Frozen Lemonade acquired its name and the sole product sold at a little stand in Cranston, RI. Soon, Angelo designed the first mobile units in order to sell Del's Frozen Lemonade anywhere in the little state of RI.
Like all things that SCREAM.................RHODE ISLANDAH, Del's will remain a part of my families history for decades to come..................! For today is my fathers birthday (july 5th) so we enjoyed a traditional RI Clam Bake and I managed to hit Del's three (3), three (3) times.............. each time enjoying a whole damn quart......... thats three (3) quarts.................. I love you Autocrat, but you can feel me........! three times in one day........
