Being big fans of Italy, we have been interested in trying this dessert "shack," Jeremiah's Italian Ice, a stand-alone walk-up-to-the-counter building in front of a strip mall. I could not believe the number of patrons. There were three teenage girls working in the stand, and they were all kept busy. They were polite and worked hard. We had heard from friends that it was good. We just were rarely on that side of town. We just happened to be there around dinner time that day. Perfect dessert stop.

The dessert reminded me of snow balls I had growing up in south Louisiana. All these years, the only place in Orlando we've been able to get a snow cone was at Disney. Don't expect a review from that one. So, although to Paul the two layers of peanut butter Italian ice and banana Italian ice tasted like hummingbird food, it was the closest thing to home for me. My flavors were cookies and cream on the top and strawberry on the bottom. I will admit the cream tasted a bit watered down due to the ice content. . .and it looked a bit dirty, but the flavor was fine. The strawberry, as always, is my favorite. Naturally, I suspect the fruit-flavored selections were dairy-free.

I am a bit surprised Paul didn't complain about their term "gelati". Gelato in Italian is Italian ice cream, almost always richer and with greater variety of flavor, true flavors, than American ice cream. This stand called Gelati alternating layers of Italian ice and soft serve ice cream. The definition was odd for us, but most other patrons didn't shy away.

I would visit Jeremiah's Italian Ice again, although Paul would tell me I would be on my own. However, I did purchase a gift card for my parents as an anniversary present from my grandmother because I knew they would enjoy a little reminder of home as well. The girl at the counter kindly "wrapped" it in a serving glass with a lid. Nice presentation.