Richie’s Slush

Love Richie’s slush! I moved out of state, but when I am in Boston Richie’s is on my «must have» list!

Love it! Left Boston headed back to the burbs and had to make a stop to get some slush. Got 3 quarts of slush for the family.
Outstanding, but don’t get out of your car too quick on RBP.

Smooth, inexpensive, refreshing. Way better than any other ice/​slush I have ever tasted. Highly recommended!

Located right on route 16, with cars whizzing by at 50mph just inches away from your double-​parked car, Richie’s is the place to go to in the Boston area for an Italian ice. And what is an Italian ice you might ask? Easy. It’s a somewhat unnatural mixture of water, sugar (corn syrup actually I think), artificial fruit flavorings and colorings. It’s mixed and then frozen via a lengthy churning process to create a smooth, tasty and refreshing treat.
And Richie’s is pretty much a staple in that business where they’ve been at it since 1956 and have a national distribution setup to provide their product all over our nation. But in spite of that, this little shop is definitely worth a drive. It’s not too far from downtown Boston and just past the CostCo in Everett when coming in from Boston, Somerville, Cambridge or even Medford. And while there’s no real parking spots or even seating, I’ve made this place a regular destination of mine for the past year or so with the girlfriend; it’s great on a nice, warm evening in the summer. Being a seasonal business, they close down in the autumn and winter but believe it or not, you can still find their stuff in a lot of convenient stores and even some supermarkets.
My all-​time favorite flavor is lemon which I find simple yet very refreshing but I’ve had all kinds of others including watermelon, Arnold Palmer, grape, cherry and all kinds of others. My only gripped with this place is that they advertise a natural version of their treat on their site but don’t actually have it fresh on site, only pre-​packaged. At some point I’ll have to try it out but I know that texture-​wise it just won’t be as smooth as their fresh stuff.
With that being said, the place is great and worth a visit, or two, or three. They are open pretty late on most weeknights and obviously even later on weekends as well. And new this year, they aren’t cash only anymore and even take credit cards for amounts of $ 15 or more. The service is through a window with minimal interaction but most of the time is friendly.

This slush is amazing. I didn’t even know that there were people out there who didn’t know what real slush is, but my husband was one of those people until I introduced him to Richie’s Slush. I’ve always known about it because I grew up in Everett and Malden and used to have it all the time as a kid. They have tons of flavors, and the tastes are amazing! It’s not watery or sugary or crappy. It’s quality slush and it’s all I ate while pregnant. LOL. My hubby now loves it too, and we love it so much that we even rented a slush cart and server to serve slush to our guests at our wedding! Please don’t steal my idea. :-)

What isn’t slush? It isn’t a Slurpee, an Italian ice, an ICEE, a Slush Puppie, sorbet (similar consistency), shaved ice, nor does it resemble any flavor or texture you churned out of your Snoopy Sno-​Cone Machine. So, what IS slush? A closely guarded recipe of water, sugar, artificial fruit flavorings and colors churned for about 20 minutes in a cold drum the size of a small, front loading washing machine. The end product is a semi-​frozen, sweet, smooth, Candida and kid loving treat, the consistency of well, winter’s slush and as refreshing as eating freshly fallen snow. Fast forward to the image of sloshing your galoshes in pink, seedless watermelon, baby blue vanilla, limed green, or red, cherry bomb in winter. Who’s miserable? Richie’s slush could be a remedy for seasonal affective disorder.
Undoubtedly you’ve noticed lots of convenience stores advertising Richie’s Slush, IMHO it just isn’t the same as going to the slush window on the parkway. The difference is theirs is bought from the Garvey St., wholesale warehouse owned by Richie Jr. The smooth texture and original essence seems to get lost in transport and by business owners who don’t know about «working» the product. The slush has to be tended to on a regular basis. It needs to be stirred, beaten, and whipped back into its original consistency. At least that’s how Valerie (the owner of this location) used to do it every morning before she opened the grates and then over and over and over again until just before closing.
When you go, know that the slush only window is to the left of the door and the ice-​cream only window is to the right. Do NOT try to order slush from the ice-​cream window or ice-​cream from the slush window unless you want a black eye. While the treats are sweet, the owner offers all the sweetness of a pissed off pit bull. (I can already imagine her «love» mail for that comment even though I just endorsed her seasonal business by giving it 4 stars.) Know what you want before going to the either window. It quickens the line and thwarts frustration.
Parking is not only dangerous, but limited and their goal is to get you to the window, take your cash, and buh-​bye. A kiddie sized slush will set you back $ 1.50, a small $ 2.00, medium, large, and you’re a freakin’ fatty prices increase by 50 cents respectively. I have no idea what their ice-​cream costs, but it’s Richardson Farm. This is one of the best places to get soft serve as the machines are thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis. In fact, it’s probably one of the safest places to buy soft serve as bacteria loves this confection more than people do. When you get to the ice-​cream window take a whiff, what you don’t smell is milk. Every ice-​cream scoop is rinsed under a constant trickle of water between customers and the freezers and counters are constantly being wiped down by warm watered rags.
The most popular slush flavors are lemon, watermelon, and blue vanilla. No matter which flavor you choose, get out your red spoon straw and shovel the smooth texture into your mouth and taste nothing like the thing you ever thought was slush.

«Richie’s Slush» can be found at a number of local convenience stores, sporting events, and street vendors. It is a far cry from a «Slurpie» or those other sugar-​water + ice creations; it is closer to the Italian Ices you would buy at the supermarket, except way better.
The Revere Beach Parkway store is the primary location and has the best selection of both flavors and sizes (I think you can even order 1 gallon from the window if you want).
Flavors I noticed at my last visit include Sour Blue Rasperry, Peach, Mango, Blue Vanilla, Lime, Grape, etc. Much better than the typical Lemon, Cherry, or Watermelon.
While Everett doesn’t have that much to offer, this Richie’s Slush location on the parkway sticks out as a place to try. Make sure you hug the right lane as you exit the rotary. It comes up very quick. I am not sure who they paid off at city hall to get 15 minute parking *ON* the parkway but its quite dangerous.

Did you ever risk your life pulling into the 99 rotary, only to further secure a death trap by taking the off ramp to the Parkway? See that little shack over to your right with the line of people??? That is a little slice of heaven.
It is sorta like a stationary ice cream truck. They have a large assortment of odd ice cream, like the one shaped like a foot, the cookie sandwich, the firecracker. They have loud workers yelling behind the counter.
Sure I almost rear ended 864 cars because of the neon colored T-​Shirts that say «Richie’s slush.» They always catch my eye when I am driving. How ‘s that for advertising? Cool. Great. Whoopidydoo…
What you should really risk your life for is the slush. Speed up, pull quickly to your right and park. Park anywhere. Stop get out. Quick. The line is long. «What’s that sir?»…” I didn’t trip your kid.”…“You should really go check on him.” Smile to self. One less person in line.
Hello, Blue vanilla slush. Where have you been all my life? Is that a straw or a spoon. It’s both? Swoon. You read my mind. Blueberries. Vanilla. Creamy. Cold. Good… no unbelievable.
Yeah.I know. I know… it’s only a slush…
Note to self: Tilt head to right and apologetically smile to kid you tripped on walk back to car.