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🍧 Save Saratoga's iconic Italian ice truck

🍧 Save Saratoga's iconic Italian ice truck

Plus, Home of the Week and all the music listings

Phat Chiem
August 27, 2024

In partnership with

Happy Tuesday, Capital District! Today, we’re taking you down memory lane with Grasso’s Italian Ice Truck in ‘Toga 🍧 Plus, see our handsome Home of the Week 🏡 and get ready for Stars Wars burlesque-style 😲

May the farce be with you…

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

Today in The 518

The iconic Grasso’s Italian Ice Truck needs your help 🍧
Reader poll results: Gondolas in Albany? Heck ya! 🚣
Scottish Games, county fairs & free screening of Spider-Man 🕷️
A stately 1880 Tudor Revival is our Home of the Week 🏡

📣 TALK OF THE TOWN

Grasso’s Italian Ice Truck needs your help 📷️ via Facebook

Help restore a Saratoga Springs childhood tradition 🍧

Italian ice has its roots in Sicily, where locals scooped ice year-round from Mount Etna, and mixed it with sugar and fresh lemon juice. This became the classic Sicilian dessert known as granita.

As the story goes… in 1915, an Italian immigrant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, named Caterina Di Cosmo tried to recreate granita—but ended up making something with a smoother, creamier texture. What became known as Italian ice was born, and spread throughout the Northeast. You can even find a not-so-great version in your grocery store nowadays.

For the real thing, kids and kids at heart in Saratoga have been chasing after the familiar bell of the iconic Grasso’s Italian Ice Truck for decades. Ralph W. Grasso Sr. started the business back in 1936. The oranges and lemons were squeezed by hand, and the freezing buckets of ice and salt were also hand cranked.

While Ralph passed away in 1985 and his son, Ralph Jr., turned 90 last year, the Grasso family is now serving the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of their original customers. Older patrons can still recall ringing the bell and sitting in front of the truck with their sweet treats.

But the 1954 International Harvester Step Van, which was purchased new by Ralph, is still in use today—and it needs some tender loving care. A GoFundMe campaign was launched earlier this year to help pay for the estimated $28,300 in repairs. About $5,300 has been raised so far.

“Our goal is simple: to ensure that future generations can experience the same joy and excitement that we did when we heard the familiar jingle of the ice cream truck approaching,” the campaign notes.

Of course, Grasso’s isn’t the only place to get authentic Italian ice. Other popular spots include Penny Lane across from Crossgates Mall, Civitellos in Schenectady (although it’s temporarily closed), and Scoups in Loudonville. We’re probably missing some good ones here. Let us know by commenting in the poll 👇️

If I really had to choose, I'd pick:

🚣 Reader Poll: Can Albany be the Venice of the Northeast?

Y’all really want to see gondolas floating through downtown Albany. A full 72% of you voted in support of the wildly audacious plan from the Albany Waterway Canal group to build a canal from the Warehouse District to Broadway. This is what our readers had to say:

“People will poopoo this like every big idea in this town but it'd be great for revitalizing downtown and bringing in more money to the city to help with infrastructure, etc. We need to take bigger swings on ideas here.”

“The waterfront is a great asset and should be used in all planning.”

“If not now, then when! Time to transform Albany into a world-class capital city!”

“Yes! Other cities have done this—let’s get it done!”

However, a third of you said the idea is never going to happen, and want the city to focus on other ideas:

“People are willing to prioritize anything except pedestrian oriented development 🙄”

“This would be a nightmare with flooding, which is already bad enough.”

“From what I understand, there are some serious environmental impacts to this proposal, though it is extremely exciting on its surface.”

🌞 WEATHER WATCH

"Mangia bene, ridi spesso, ama molto” (Eat well, laugh often, love much)—Italian proverb

Enjoy the last lovely weeks of summer weather, tinged with the approaching coolness of autumn.

🌤️ Tuesday 87°/68° 💧0%

🌦️ Wednesday 86°/63° 💧70%

🌤️ Thursday 73°/70° 💧17%

🌤️ Friday 76°/62° 💧75%

🌤️ Saturday 74°/64° 💧43%

🌥️ Sunday 83°/61° 💧25%

We personally subscribe to the 1440 for its excellent roundup of all the news you need to know—without the bias. Give it a try!

All your news. None of the bias.

Be the smartest person in the room by reading 1440! Dive into 1440, where 3.5 million readers find their daily, fact-based news fix. We navigate through 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive roundup from every corner of the internet – politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a quick, 5-minute newsletter. It's completely free and devoid of bias or political influence, ensuring you get the facts straight.

Subscribe to 1440 today.

🗞️ CAPITAL DISTRICT DIGEST

A purrr-fect place for caffeine & felines 📷️ Pretty Paw Lounge

🐈️ Cat cafes are hugely popular in Japan. But you don’t need to book a ticket to Tokyo to soak in some feline joy. Get yourself to the Pretty Paw Lounge in Rotterdam, the Capital District’s first cat cafe which is celebrating its first anniversary. We hear it’s the cat’s meow. [News10]

🍔 Jumpin’ Jack’s Drive-In in Scotia is closing for the season on Sunday, Sept. 1. Tonight, the US Water Ski Show Team performs its last show of the season at 6:30 pm on the Mohawk River right outside the iconic restaurant. [News10]

🥡 The Albany Business Review takes a look at all of the recent retail changes on Wolf Road in Colonie, including the closing of Buca di Beppo, the opening of the Sierra discount outdoor store, and what’s replacing the Hong Kong Bakery & Bistro.

🪐 The early reviews for the visual extravaganza ‘Mesmerica’ at miSci are good. We wrote about the museum’s newly upgraded planetarium and the interactive show last week. You can get tickets for the show here.

🎟️ WHAT’S HAPPENING

See Boba Fett like you’ve never seen him before at The Egg

Note: Our full weekend roundup now publishes on Thursdays. Keep an eye on your inboxes!

🪵 The Scottish Games return to the Altamont Fairgrounds this weekend. Break out your kilts, gentlemen.

🐶 The AAA of Hudson Valley in Albany is hosting a Pet Day on Wednesday. Get photos with your pet and free pet tags to take home.

🎡 The Fonda Fair and the Columbia County Fair both open tomorrow. Be sure to check the schedules for specific events. And get the most out of your visit with our Guide to the Capital District’s County Fairs.

🕷️ The Palace Theatre’s Summer in the City Series closes out the season on Wednesday with a free screening of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Doors open at noon.

🫣 The Empire Strips Back comes to The Egg this week with a burlesque show set in the world of Luke Skywalker and Yoda. Thrilled by seriously sultry Stormtroopers you will be.

🏡 HOME OF THE WEEK

76 Western Avenue, Albany, NY 12203

Own a piece of Albany's aristocratic history with this 1880 Tudor Revival home sitting pretty on landscaped, fenced grounds in the Washington Park Historic District, across from the SUNY Dewey Graduate Library. It’s an architectural gem rich with detail, from the gabled roof to the intricately carved oak woodwork, with ornate herringbone brick, stucco niches, and wrought ironwork throughout. Additional highlights include a butler's pantry/laundry rm with hidden back stairs, an alfresco dining patio and large family room. The master suite features a walk-in closet, gas fireplace and en-suite bath.

The deets: 4 bd, 4 ba, 3180 sf. Asking: $524,900. Days on market: 5. See the full listing here.